Michael Foote

Michael’s professional passion for the environment began with receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Oceanographic Technology from the Florida Institute of Technology. This early interest led to an eclectic career in the private, nonprofit and public sectors. Prior to entering government service Michael owned and operated a recycling buy-back center for 18 years in Stuart, Florida. With that foundation of working with local governments, he created a second business to own and operate an extremely successful contract-based drop-off recycling program for Sarasota County, Florida utilizing a unique European collection system using “Igloo” containers and custom built trucks. This program diverted well over four times the County’s projected amount of materials collected with virtually no contamination. This accomplishment was due to wonderful on-site volunteers during the implementation and unwavering community interest. Of note, these initiatives preceded today’s commonplace curbside recycling programs. After receiving a Master’s Degree in Somatic Psychology from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado Michael was able to work for his early recycling inspiration, Eco-Cycle. During his tenure as Community Relations and Business Development Manager, he was able to expand on his understanding of waste diversion, event recycling, food waste composting, and zero-waste initiatives. His team performed two rounds of successful grant-funded projects increasing recycling participation rates for Spanish-speaking residents for one of its municipal partners. While initially focused on recycling and waste diversion, Michael attended multiple conferences throughout Colorado regarding sustainability programs. It was at these conferences he realized the role of local government in supporting the implementation of initiatives above and beyond recycling. Michael decided it was time to enter local government to serve as an agent for change. His government career began with the City of Gillette, Wyoming serving for eight years as the Sustainability Manager where he received his Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Wyoming. During his tenure with Gillette, he served on APWA’s Solid Waste Management technical committee for six years, his final year as Chair.  In his sustainability role, Michael worked on a variety of projects including route optimization for waste collection, adding yard waste collection and food waste disposal to an existing municipal biosolids composting program, contributing to the development of an in-house GIS-based data collection and route management system, water conservation initiatives, and energy efficiency projects. The boom and bust economy of Wyoming caused Michael to move back east to his roots of Long Island, New York. He was fortunate to obtain his first position in Pennsylvania as the Sustainability and Solid Waste Manager for the City of Reading. He then transitioned to his first administrative role as Indiana Borough Manager where his team earned the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. From there he transitioned to Lancaster Township Manager. Michael is currently the Borough Manager for Castle Shannon and has recently joined the Western PA Chapter as a board member. Although now serving in an administrative role, he has been able to use his experience in waste reduction & management by serving as chair for CONNECT’s Materials Management Steering Committee. He looks forward to serving the membership of the Western PA Chapter of APWA and assisting members to achieve their goals relating to Public Works