By sharing experiences working at landfills, we can help prepare some portion of the next generation to become Landfill Engineers and ensure that our waste management facilities function efficiently and effectively, now and in the future.
Adam Jochelson, P. E.
Land路fill En路gi路neer [land-fil en-juh-neer], noun: an environmental engineer who specializes in the design, management, planning, and development, of solid waste management facilities; a unique combination of engineer, surveyor, data analyst, computer programmer, construction worker, manager, teacher, writer, conservationist, and experimenter.
I wasn鈥檛 always a Landfill Engineer.
My career path has followed a crooked line that has carried me far afield. This highly unpredictable path did eventually bring me to the landfill industry and most recently to my position with GeoShack, where I work with landfills to help them embrace the use of technology (primarily GPS grade control systems) to operate better facilities. I am very happy with my current status as a Landfill Engineer, but I never could have predicted that this would be my career choice. It could have easily turned out any number of other ways.
My college years started with the intention to be a structural engineer. Expecting to leave my mark on the world by designing stunning buildings, I hoped to leave behind enormous, shining beacons of my accomplishments that would tower over humanity.
After a couple of years, and a realization that the odds of reaching such pinnacles were slim, I changed course slightly. I stayed within the civil engineering curriculum but switched my focus to environmental engineering. This seemed a better fit for me, tree-hugger that I am, but by the time graduation arrived I wasn鈥檛 sure that engineering was right for me at all. Now, don鈥檛 get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the study of engineering. On the other hand, I鈥檇 spent several summers and winters interning at engineering firms and found the work utterly boring. So, I did what any young college grad would do鈥擨 went to the beach.
Specifically, I moved to San Diego where I worked as a computer programmer for a very small startup software company. This, of course, was a thinly veiled excuse to hang out on the boardwalk and play sand volleyball several days a week. When that job didn鈥檛 lead to fame and fortune, I packed my things and travelled all way across the country, settled in Vermont in the dead of winter, and worked as a ski lift attendant during the day while waiting tables at night. You probably would not be surprised to hear that my parents were not pleased with my choice. 鈥淵ou need to come home and start your engineering career,鈥� they said. But I wasn鈥檛 ready.
After the winter in Vermont, family issues did bring me home to Dallas, but my work path continued to along a wavering path. I spent several years teaching, then worked part time in computer consulting while pursuing a professional soccer career. A brief stint in Slovakia鈥檚 2nd Division convinced me it was time to hang up the boots and I went home again.
Learning the Ropes
Jobs were scarce at the time, so I decided it was worth applying for some engineering positions to keep the bills paid until something more desirable came along. As fate would have it, this was the beginning of my transformation into a Landfill Engineer. I took a job with the City of Dallas in the Sanitation Services Department. I was an Assistant Engineer, a rather unglamorous role in support of two Senior Engineers managing various aspects of disposal operations. My boss, the department鈥檚 Assistant Director, told me, 鈥淚 want you to go learn what we do at the landfill and help figure out ways to do it better.鈥� Her words defined a mission that would shape the next decade of my professional life.
My environmental engineering curriculum at Duke included a semester studying solid waste management. During that course, we spent several weeks discussing landfills. So, naturally, I was thoroughly unprepared for what awaited me at McCommas Bluff Sanitary Landfill, the largest waste management facility in Texas. Early on, I figured out that landfills are fascinating places that bear little resemblance to the mythical theoretical facilities I鈥檇 learned about in engineering school. As such, it was in my best interest to dispel myself of any misconception regarding who knew the most about how to run the place. Seasoned landfill operators can spot a rookie at a glance; you鈥檝e got to be willing to get your boots dirty to win their respect. Highfalutin engineering degree or not, I was no exception. But I did have a couple of things on my side鈥攄etermination to understand the place and eagerness to follow their lead, regardless of the muck and grime. My colleagues quickly recognized that I was willing to literally get buried up to my waist in whatever was in front of me, and they decided it was worth showing me the ropes (sometimes to haul me out when I got stuck).
My nine years at McCommas Bluff taught me lessons about design, operation and development of landfills that I couldn鈥檛 have learned any other way. Those daily experiences turned me from a student of engineering with some knowledge of waste management facilities into a full-blown Landfill Engineer. Now, I鈥檓 able to share my knowledge with landfills everywhere. And it all started with a lucky chance . . . a roll of the dice that came up landfill and brought me to a facility that, against all odds, would start my journey into a long-term career path. I鈥檓 glad it turned it turned out the way it did, and I place great value on the experiences I gathered along the way, but it was as likely as not that I might have never stumbled across this chance. It seems crazy that such an opportunity to find my calling arose only by coincidence.
The Need to Develop Talent
But it turns out that it happens that way for almost everyone in the landfill industry. From top to bottom, pick any employee at a landfill, ask how they got there, and they鈥檒l likely have a similar story. Despite the fact that landfill facilities form a crucial part of many communities, nobody grows up hoping to work at one鈥攗nless your family happens to own one. But almost without exception, new employees arrive at landfills with little or no understanding of how the facility works or its importance to the people it serves. Furthermore, many of the engineers who create important policies and procedures for landfills spend very little time visiting them.
I challenge you to name another career that affects so many lives on a daily basis with a similar training structure. I can pretty much guarantee that we would have more efficient, more effective landfill facilities if we made an effort to develop talent in the field before they arrive for the first day on the job. Unfortunately, a typical response to this statement is, 鈥淪o what?鈥� Most people care very little about where their garbage ends up as long as it disappears when they put it out on the curb. Once it鈥檚 out of sight, it is (quite literally) out of mind. However, just because nobody cares doesn鈥檛 mean it doesn鈥檛 matter. Most of us take it for granted that our garbage is handled safely, and in most cases (in America) it is. But not always, and certainly not without thought, skill, and effort applied. We must take care to ensure that we continue to have dedicated professionals prepared to keep our waste management facilities operating effectively.
So, how do we get there? I don鈥檛 have the answer to that question. But I know where to start鈥攍et鈥檚 have some discussions about it. By sharing my experiences working at landfills and my passion for making them as useful as possible, perhaps I can influence some portion of the next generation of engineers and convince some of them to become Landfill Engineers鈥攁nd not by accident.
Adam Jochelson, P. E., is a Landfill Engineer and Facility Specialist working for GeoShack, Inc., where he promotes the application of cutting edge technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of landfill operations. Adam built his knowledge and techniques over a nine-year period as the on-site engineer at McCommas Bluff Landfill in Dallas, TX. His unique experiences in engineering and other fields have combined to create an exceptional understanding of the various challenges inherent in landfill planning, design, and operations. Adam can be reached at (972) 342-3055 or e-mail [email protected].