The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) has announced a Jan. 13, 2017, deadline for its annual awards for Driver of the Year and Hall of Fame honors. The Washington-based association also has introduced an Operator of the Year award, the first industrywide honor for postcollection heavy equipment operators.

The Women’s Council Scholarship deadline is March 1, 2017.

“We hope this change will give you the time you need to put forth your best and brightest in pursuit of these three highly sought after honors,” NWRA says in a new release.

The association continues, “We have also streamlined the Driver of the Year application to make it easier for you to submit your best drivers. We are currently recruiting independent judges from outside of the industry to assist with evaluating the Driver of the Year and Operator of the Year finalists. If you are not familiar with the selection process, finalists are selected using our computerized scoring system.”

All award winners will be recognized at NWRA’s Awards Breakfast May 9, 2017, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at WasteExpo 2017, scheduled for May 8-11, 2017, in New Orleans.

Driver of the Year

Each year, NWRA awards the safest drivers in the industry. More than 900 drivers were nominated for the honor in 2016. NWRA says it has streamlined its application process to make it easier to nominate companies’ most qualified workers. For the 2017 awards, there are nine different categories. Driver of the Year nominees will receive a leather jacket, a plaque and a $1,000 prize. All Nominees will receive a certificate of achievement.

Operator of the Year

For the first time, NWRA will honor the safest, most industrious postcollection worker from either a material recovery facility (MRF), landfill or transfer station. Operators should use heavy equipment such as bulldozers, front-end loaders, compactors, etc. Operator of the Year nominees will receive a leather jacket, a plaque and a $1,000 prize. All Nominees will receive a certificate of achievement.

Hall of Fame

NWRA’s Hall of Fame Award is presented annually to select industry visionaries and icons that have created an enduring legacy through their inspirational leadership, core values and significant contributions. The 2017 inductees will join 187 inductees from 1986-2016 who helped guide, build and transform the industry into what it is today.

For more information, contact Spencer Brignac by phone at 202-364-3709 or by email at [email protected].