Members of the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC) team attended the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3) 36th Annual Conference & Trade Show, held November 12-14, 2025 at The Otesaga, Cooperstown, NY.
The team hosted a booth throughout the conference to showcase WDAC’s recent waste characterization work. This provided an opportunity to connect with a diverse group of professionals, educators, and experts from the field and discuss practices in sustainable materials management.
On the second day, moderated by Graduate Assistant Sameena Manzur, the team led a panel discussion titled “Let Me Tell You About Your Garbage”. The session covered three research findings: Dr. Firman Firmansyah (Research Manager) presented “Which approach leads to cleaner recyclables: single-stream or dual-stream?”; Dr. Yiyi Wang (Program Manager) presented “Does New York’s bottle bill still work?”; and Hailey Lee (Sampling Specialist) presented “Why do some systems have more (or less) food waste?”
The presentation was followed by a Q&A session where the team received constructive feedback from the audience. This engagement helped validate ongoing work and provided practical perspectives for future research.
“Hearing directly from professionals helps us ensure our data analysis remains relevant and useful for real-world waste management solutions,” said Dr. Firmansyah.
The event allowed WDAC to share its latest findings and maintain connections with partners in the solid waste management community.