Be Cool, Go to School

Bill Wolpin

“Too soon old, too late smart,” my grandfather said as he drove me home from my Saturday morning movie ritual. “Right on, Pop,” I replied in my best '60s accent, as I shoved another handful of popcorn in my mouth.

I don't remember what prompted his warning, but I knew he was right. You don't get smarter because you get older. Rather, you improve over time because you've paid attention to mistakes as well as successes.

Solid waste is an industry where experience can be your best teacher, as witnessed by the thousands who've learned what they know on the job. In recent years, however, rapidly changing ground rules have required a revolution in solid waste training and education.

Because our job is to help you do your job better, Waste Age is pleased to announce that we have joined with the University of Wisconsin to create a Landfill Independent Learning Correspondence Credit Course beginning in this issue on page 38, and continuing through Dec. 2002. This 12-part course is open to anyone interested in landfills, and there are no prerequisites.

Once enrolled, you can access an Internet webpage, which sports links to your homework, sources of solid waste information and a chat room.

Successful completion of the course earns you 2.0 continuing education units (CEUs), which most state regulatory agencies accept to fulfill landfill operator and manager continuing education requirements.

Waste Age has offered this training on three other occasions, the last being in 1990. Reworked and rewired, this new series of continuing education courses has been completely rewritten to include the significant changes to the landfill business in the past decade.

Remember, everything moves in this industry, from the trash to the training. And if you don't pay attention, you could get buried.

The author is the editorial director of Waste Age Publications.