Certified Compost Operations Manager™ Spotlight: Tom Leonard
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Tom is the General Manager for Sevier Solid Waste, Inc., a solid waste authority that serves the waste disposal needs for the Cities of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Sevier County. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from East Tennessee State University and holds compost management, manager of landfill operations, solid waste management and transfer station certifications from SWANA and the State of Tennessee.
He started working for SSWI in 1999 and is currently responsible for managing over 500 tons of MSW per day at a MSW co-composting facility. He also manages a Recycling facility, a Class I Landfill, and a Class III Landfill. He is the founder of the local Keep America Beautiful Affiliate, Keep Sevier Beautiful, and still serves on the Board of Directors.
Why did you choose to become certified through the USCC Certification Comission?
I wanted to become a CCOM certified manager in hopes of bringing awareness to Municipal Solid Waste Composting. This is a field that has gone largely unnoticed over my career but has recently gained interest as a way to handle our nation’s solid waste problem. Hopefully we can continue to inspire the next generation to look at solid waste as a resource rather than a waste.
