“I like to think that the only easy day was yesterday,” says Tony Miano of his job. Miano is the Public Works Deputy Director and Solid Waste Manager for the city of Tempe, AZ, and supervises more than 150 people responsible for maintaining parks, solid waste and recycling, fleet services, Tempe Diablo Stadium, and the city’s cemetery and sports fields.
Safety tops the list of his priorities for the city’s employees and the public. “I look at root causes on accidents, and have dedicated myself to our training program, new development construction to allow for safe ingress/egress, and accountability for corrective action,” he says. “These three pieces are game changes and will lower your accident rate—it’s been proven over and over.” Miano also is entrenched in strategic planning and improving diversion rates.
What He Does Day to Day
“I try to spend a lot of time in the field with my managers and supervisors doing site visits, and helping them identify areas of importance,” notes Miano. “We also are working on strategic plans for our areas, which involves planning and strategy meetings.”
Miano also frequently works with other deputy directors on cross-departmental city projects. “Moving the needle in a positive way for the organization is important to me and how I manage—from vision, budget, employee programs, and safety training,” he says.
What Led Him Into This Line of Work
In 1980, Miano had just moved from his home state of New York, to Phoenix, AZ, when he had the opportunity to work for SCA Services, which was under contract with the City of Phoenix. He took a job building and washing garbage containers, as it was full time with benefits. From there, he was hired by the City of Phoenix, and learned how to work every piece of equipment as he worked his way up to supervisor and managerial positions, before moving into an executive role. Miano holds a B.A.S. degree in occupational education from Wayland Baptist University, from which he graduated cum laude.
What He Likes Best About His Work
“I enjoy the challenge and unpredictability of each day,” notes Miano. “I also take pride in knowing the services we provide help improve the quality of life for people in so many ways—from having their trash picked up every day, to playing in a park, to seeing the joy in kids’ faces at our Touch-A-Truck events.”
Miano enjoys having an active role in Tempe’s sustainability efforts. “We have implemented the region’s first closed-loop compost program for green organic waste and have diverted thousands of tons from the landfill since our program began in 2012,” he says, adding that the compost created from the effort is used in city parks and sports fields. “We also are working towards several ambitious recycling diversion goals for residents, businesses, and multifamily properties.”
Miano is most proud of the employees who have worked for him, who he has mentored and pushed to get higher education. They are now managers and branching out throughout the country.
“There is no better feeling than that,” he adds.
His Greatest Challenge
“Diversion is one of the biggest challenges we are facing,” notes Miano. “Arizona has no recycling mandates and does not allow cities to implement their own, which means we have to convince people to do the right thing organically.”
The residential blue bin program is successful, but Miano sees room for growth. The department is analyzing recycling wastestreams geographically so as to be more strategic with its outreach, and is refocusing educational efforts in schools. Multifamily recycling is much more challenging, says Miano.
“The transient nature of multifamily properties makes it difficult to develop strong programs,” he says.
To help increase diversion rates and reduce contamination, the department plans to offer customized programs to its apartment/multifamily customers. “Falling and stagnant commodities prices also create a challenge for diversion,” says Miano. “Historically, cities have been paid for their recyclables, but those rebates are dropping, fees are being added, and plants are closing down. Plus, the recycling rules change frequently, which makes keeping residents educated a challenge. So, turning trash into commodities within your community is the wave of the future.
