Cam Awesome shares his transformative journey from a bullied youth to a boxing champion, demonstrating the power of resilience and determination. His engaging storytelling inspires audiences to embrace their unique paths to success, regardless of obstacles.

Cam's core message: Failure is not the opposite of success, but an essential part of it. He encourages reframing failure as an opportunity for growth and learning.

Key Audience Takeaways:

• Embrace failure as a stepping stone to success
• Develop a champion's mindset through self-belief and mental toughness
• Set ambitious goals and create actionable plans to achieve them

Through his personal experiences, Cam motivates audiences to overcome challenges and pursue their dreams with unwavering perseverance.

Track A: Keynote Speaker Cam Awesome

Cam Awesome digs deeper into his transformative journey from a bullied youth to a boxing champion, demonstrating the power of resilience and determination. His engaging storytelling inspires audiences to embrace their unique paths to success, regardless of obstacles.

Cam's core message: Failure is not the opposite of success, but an essential part of it. He encourages reframing failure as an opportunity for growth and learning.

Through his personal experiences, Cam motivates audiences to overcome challenges and pursue their dreams with unwavering perseverance.

Track B: Understanding Iowa's New Composting Regulations, Theresa Stiner

Significant revisions have recently been made to regulations for compost facilities. These changes provide a tiered approach based on both volume and type of feedstock. This will allow some smaller compost facilities that currently have an individual permit to instead operate under a permit-by-rule as well as allowing facilities that currently only accept yard waste to also accept a limited amount of food waste. Come and find out how the new regulations will impact your compost operation. 

Track C: Targeted Education and the Data to Back it Up, Cassie Riley

Metro Waste Authority manages curbside recycling for more than 100,000 households in central Iowa. In this session, learn how the agency used community-specific data to target recycling education and drive measurable reductions in contamination. 

Track A: Keynote Speaker Cam Awesome

Cam Awesome digs deeper into his transformative journey from a bullied youth to a boxing champion, demonstrating the power of resilience and determination. His engaging storytelling inspires audiences to embrace their unique paths to success, regardless of obstacles.

Cam's core message: Failure is not the opposite of success, but an essential part of it. He encourages reframing failure as an opportunity for growth and learning.

Through his personal experiences, Cam motivates audiences to overcome challenges and pursue their dreams with unwavering perseverance.

Track B: Space Is All You Have to Sell, Tony Knight

The key to conserving space is a mix of compaction, soil cover versus alternative daily covers (ADCs), and maintaining a more homogeneous waste stream. We must focus on space conservation due to the rising costs of leachate treatment. Sustainability is defined as making decisions in a way that balances both economic and environmental concerns. Yet, recently, social and community issues have become more involved in these decisions. How does saving space fit into this?

Track C: Update on Iowa City Compost SWIFR Grant Progress, Jen Jordan and Jane Wilch

Iowa City Landfill staff will present on the facility progress and program updates associated with the 2023 EPA SWIFR funding. The facility is being resurfaced and expanded, and programs are being expanded to accept more food waste from commercial entities and public drop-off locations around the landfill service area. 

Track A: Education Roundtable

There have never been more ways to communicate, and communicating has never been more difficult! If you know, you know; and if you don’t know, this session may be for you too! Join Education and Communication Coordinator Bev Wagner, of Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency, as she moderates a roundtable about all things related to trying to help people learn and care about solid waste and recycling.

Track B: Construction & Demolition Solutions, Brad McAlister

Explore the options and benefits of pre- and post-processing of construction and demolition materials by stopping the bulky waste and removing contaminated materials for recycling.

Track C: From Vision to Value: AI in Waste Hauling, Mark Hoadly

AI is already changing how waste haulers operate, but separating what works from vendor hype isn't easy. This session covers three practical AI applications built for hauling operations: computer vision for automated service verification, conversational AI for customer service, and analytics that let operators ask business questions in plain language and get answers in seconds. No theory. No slideware. Just what's working in the field today.

Track A: Compost Roundtable

If you are passionate about compost, want to learn more, or get help with your operations, this session is for you! Moderated by Iowa Composting Council Board Vice Chair Jeff Phillips of SCS Engineers, this discussion will cover everything from operations to lessons learned and anything in between. 

Track B: Solving LCS & LFG System Failure: Goo Review 2026, Steve Carl

EREF funded a five-year study focused on goo in landfill liquid systems led by Dr. Craig Benson. This was followed by research led by Dr. Yalan Liu through the UF Hinckley Center to continue the work on remediation strategies. Steve Carl has served on panels with Drs. Benson and Liu to present the results of their research, along with insights from their experiences restoring landfill systems. Drs. Benson and Liu typically present only at national conferences, so this will be a valuable opportunity for attendees to hear about their latest findings.

Track C: Technology, Automation and AI, Fearghal Murphy

Fearghal focuses on AI & Tech Trends in the waste industry. Technology development and adoption is continuing to grow in the waste industry. 2026 will see a major acceleration in the impact that tech is having on everyday operations for waste companies. The 4 key areas I talk about are 1) Trucking, routing, optimization 2) Cameras 3) Contamination & Hazard Detection 4) Material Recovery. For each area, Fearghall will look at what technologies there are and how AI will impact them. 

Track A: Staying Professionally Neutral in a Divided World, Joe Bolick

We are living in a time of pretty significant divide, especially politically. It can be hard to separate your personal political beliefs from your professional duties, and there are times when those can be at odds with one another. In this session, we'll talk about how to approach some of these difficult topics and tactics you can use to break through the divide and keep your organizations moving forward.

Track B: Reducing Contamination in Composting Operations, Zac Hornung

Reducing contamination is critical to producing high-quality compost. Members of the Iowa Composting Council share practical, field-tested strategies from Iowa facilities, including hands-on removal and new screening technology. Learn how CRLCSWA removed over 110 tons of contamination, and explore scalable solutions to improve operations and end-product quality.

Track C: Leading the Way - Not Waiting for EPR, Ken Miller

This presentation will cover how the DMSWA is leading the way by recycling both latex paint and all consumer-sized batteries in the absence of state-established EPR. 

Each attendee will have a bid card (small piece of paper with a unique number) included in their nametag. Please utilize your individual bid card to bid on items during the Live Auction (starts at 5:45 p.m.)! 

DNR Update - Mike Sullivan

The Department of Natural Resources presents updates on staffing, rulemaking, budget, legislation, and programming. 

SMM Vision for Iowa: Update - Jeff Phillips and Jennifer Wright

Over the past several years, the Iowa DNR has led activities to evaluate transitioning Iowa from traditional solid waste management approaches towards a more sustainable materials management (SMM) approach. These efforts have included recycling and organic management evaluations, material life cycle assessments, and strategic planning with many different stakeholders across Iowa. This presentation will review the accomplishments of these initial objectives and discuss possible next steps.

Share, listen, and learn about operations for landfills, transfer stations, and material recovery facilities as well as unique safety challenges. This roundtable will be moderated by Field Project Coordinator Todd Courtney, SCS Engineers; and Environmental Health and Safety Manager Nolan Moore, Waste Commission of Scott County and ISOSWO Safety Ambassador.