THOMASVILLE — The City of Thomasville Landfill Department was recently presented a Communication, Education, and Marketing Tools Award from the Georgia Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). Founded in 1962, SWANA is the leading professional association in the solid waste field, providing education, management, and advocacy for its more than 10,000 members. 

“We are honored to be recognized by the Georgia Chapter of SWANA for our communication, education, and marketing efforts,” said Lee Thomas, assistant solid waste and landfill superintendent. “This award is presented annually to solid waste programs and individuals throughout the state that provide valuable educational programs to their local community.” 

According to Thomas, the award was presented in recognition of an educational video that was produced as a substitute for school field trips that were temporarily suspended due to COVID-19. 

“On an annual basis, the landfill offers field trips to local schools, as well as the public, as a means of providing important information and statistics about solid waste disposal,” Thomas said. “An educational void needed to be filled when we were unable to provide the tours. In collaboration with Keep Thomas County Beautiful (KTCB), the vision and production of the video became a reality.” 

Funding for the video production was made possible through a Community Grant provided by Golden Triangle RC&D to KTCB. 

“The Community Grant was awarded to KTCB to expand educational programming for their Youth Environmental Stewardship (Y.E.S.) school program,” Thomas said. “This funding allowed us to contract with Summerhill Creative to assist with the production of a first-class educational video that included safe interaction with local children and plenty of statistical details that engaged our local children during a time when they were unable to visit the landfill on a field trip.” 

The Georgia Chapter of SWANA serves nearly 300 members throughout Georgia and other areas through conferences, certifications, publications, and technical training courses. 

“SWANA-Georgia represents industry leaders from every discipline in solid waste management,” Thomas said. “The chapter provides multiple benefits to its members, including the opportunity to learn about the latest technologies and/or developments in our industry and the opportunity to network with other solid waste professionals.

“This recognition is the ultimate tribute to a collaborative effort between the Landfill Department and KTCB aimed at continuing to provide solid waste education for our local children that are working to become our future community leaders,” Thomas said. “We are appreciative of this award that acknowledges the work of many dedicated individuals that help bring this industry to our community.” 

For more information about the education award, the City of Thomasville Landfill Department or to view the video, visit www.thomasville.org or call 227-2494.