Submitted by the Lopez Soild Waste Disposal District

The Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District (LSWDD) Board is pleased to announce the hire of Paul Andersson as district manager. Andersson will join the current team of five part-time employees, along with our full-time Facility Manager David Zapalac.

Andersson has an MBA in sustainable business from Pinchot University, formerly the Bainbridge Graduate Institute. He carries a strong entrepreneurial streak and has developed electric vehicle charging stations and solar energy programs for a major Washington metropolitan area.

Andersson has managed multi-million dollar grants, has extensive experience working with government agencies, is committed to the zero waste vision, has “hands-on” carpentry skills, and is currently self-employed with his own composting company on Orcas Island where he lives with his wife and young children. The board is pleased to have found someone with this skill level.

“I am excited for the opportunity to continue the progress of the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District. LSWDD is a unique model nationwide and has a real opportunity to lead by example and achieve the community’s goals of zero waste and comprehensive recycling combined with cost-effective operations,” said Andersson. “I look forward to working with the community on these efforts.”

The LSWDD board is coming of age, moving from a “founding” board to a “governing” board with a new district manager. When the founding bBoard began its work in 2012, there was an immense amount of nitty-gritty work that needed to be done, including creating a sustainable financial model, hiring staff, setting protocols and procedures, redesigning and upgrading the facility and more. This meant that board members spent day and night building a solid waste facility that is affordable and friendly to users, award-winning, Lopez appropriate and works towards zero-waste. The “founding” board also took on the role of manager. Kudos to those board members who got the job done.

Now that the founding board members have retired, the present board acknowledges that it is no longer reasonable to ask board members to give days and nights managing as a board, where a quorum has to be present for all management decisions. The time is right to hire a part-time manager for the district itself. Please join us in welcoming Andersson to the team.