NEWS

Hailey Lee, Sampling Program Specialist at the Waste Data & Analysis Center (WDAC), was selected to present at the 12th Annual NYS Organics Summit, held April 14–16, 2026, at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown in Syracuse, New York. Representing WDAC, she delivered a presentation titled “Trends in Food Waste Composition in…

Dr. Lori Clark, an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Public Health at St. Lawrence University, along with 10 of her students, visited the Waste Data and Analysis Center’s (WDAC) sampling event on December 3, 2025, at the Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) facility in the Town of…

Conducting waste characterization studies is never a simple task, but doing it in the middle of a New York winter adds a new layer of complexity. On Tuesday (12/2/25), 7 News joined the WDAC team (Yiyi Wang, Hailey Lee, Ali Mayeli, and Alfred Manu) and John Phelps, the recycling coordinator…

Sameena Manzur, a research student at the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC) and the third-year PhD student in the Department of Technology and Society, has been awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the Evan R. Liblit Memorial Scholarship Fund Annual Award. Under the guidance of Dr. David Tonjes, the former…

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…

Sameena Manzur, a PhD research assistant at the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC), has been awarded the Anne & Robert Reithmiller PTR Scholarship by the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF). This highly competitive scholarship provides $15,000 a year to support promising graduate students pursuing research in sustainable waste…

Members of the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC) team traveled to Lake Placid last week to participate in the New York State Association for Solid Waste Management (NYSASWM) annual conference, held from September 21-23, 2025. Dr. Elizabeth L. Hewitt (WDAC Director), Dr. Yiyi Wang (Program Manager), and Dr. Firman…

A Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC) research team (Sagarika Srivastava, Dr. Firman Firmansyah, Dr. Krista L. Thyberg, Dr. David J. Tonjes, and Dr. Elizabeth Hewitt), has published a new study in the journal Waste Management. The paper, titled “EPA model estimates and waste characterization studies: US paper disposal dynamics,”…

Sagarika Srivastava, a PhD research assistant at the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC), and Dr. David Tonjes, founder of WDAC, have co-authored a new research paper published in Detritus journal. Titled “Food Waste Crisis in the United States of America: The Known, the Overlooked, and the Undisclosed”, the paper…

Sameena Manzur, a former sampling specialist and current PhD research assistant at the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC), has been awarded the 2024–2025 Christian-Roller-White-Miles Foundation Scholarship by the New York State Association for Solid Waste Management (NYSASWM). This prestigious $1,000 scholarship honors individuals who demonstrate exceptional dedication and impact…

Maeen Md Khairul Akter, a PhD student researcher at the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC), has recently published a research article in the Journal of Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, exploring the role of textile solid waste in the circular economy, with focus on the Mirpur cluster in Dhaka, Bangladesh….

Sera Lee, a former research student assistant at the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC), has been awarded the 2024-2025 Christian-Roller-White-Miles Foundation Scholarship by the New York State Association for Solid Waste Management (NYSASWM). Valued at $1,000, this competitive scholarship recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of solid waste management….

Members of the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC) attended the 2025 Federation of New York Solid Waste Conference and Trade Show, which was held from May 18-21 at the Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, New York. At the conference, WDAC hosted a booth where team representatives met with New…

The Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC) participated in Stony Brook University’s Earthstock Street Fair on Friday, April 25th. Located on the Academic Mall near the Student Activity Center (SAC) from 11 AM to 3 PM, the event allowed the WDAC team to discuss their work with attendees. The WDAC…

Dr. Elizabeth L. Hewitt, Director of the Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC), was featured as a guest on “C4E Presents,” the podcast from Stony Brook’s Collaborative for the Earth. Hosted by Dr. Heather J. Lynch, Dr. Hewitt discussed factors that drive people’s decisions around recycling, energy use, and waste…

Responding to the global pursuit of zero waste, Waste Data and Analysis Center (WDAC) researchers have introduced a comprehensive systems-based approach for assessing related programs, moving beyond traditional metrics. The framework, presented by Dr. Ashpreet Kaur, Dr. Krista L. Thyberg, and Dr. David J. Tonjes, was recently published in the…

Dr. David Tonjes, founder and former director of Stony Brook University’s Waste Data & Analysis Center (WDAC) was awarded the prestigious “Dr. R. Lawrence Swanson Environmental Stewardship Award of Long Island” on November 13, 2024. Presented by the Evan R. Liblit Memorial Scholarship Fund, the award recognizes Dr. Tonjes’s significant…

The Waste Data & Analysis Center (WDAC) actively engaged with New York’s recycling and waste reduction community at the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling (NYSAR3) Conference, held in Cooperstown from November 6th to 8th, 2024. Our team connected with sustainability professionals, local government leaders, and industry…