2026 NYSACC Conference on the Environment 

 Conservation via Zero Waste in NYC + NYS:
Leveraging AI, Technology and Infrastructure to Make Zero Waste Possible 

A Message from the President: 2026 NYSACC COE

Our 2026 Conference on the Environment, held at the Cornell Tech Center on Roosevelt Island in New York City, was a success on many levels.  While in past conferences we’ve created a broader context, this year we decided to focus on primarily one topic -  Conservation through Zero Waste in NYC + NYS.

The New York State Association of Conservation Commissions finally has held their conference in the Big Apple.  Over our 54 years, we have sought to hold this annual event in every part of the state.  Sometimes in areas brimming with volunteer advisory boards and commissions, sometimes in places that sorely need them.  New York City has always been a goal, and we’ve finally attained that this year.  To see that couplet, “NYC + NYS” was a long-time coming.

Region 2, that populous entity encompassing the five boroughs, has provided us with a landscape of so many active solutions to the issues surrounding Zero Waste. Thursday’s splendid day of field trips that spanned from Staten Island, reached by that amazing free Ferry, to Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan opened up areas that are alive with excitement from the top levels of City government to meeting the incredible cadre of volunteers making dreams into reality.  

The day of meetings on Friday provided such insightful and useful knowledge from state agencies to academic institutions to private entrepreneurs to volunteer organizations.  New York City Department of Sanitation’s Commissioner inspired us with insights into the running of the world’s largest such municipal organization.  We learned about one of the cutting-edge companies in the AI refuse sorting and robotics field.  We heard Basil Seggos, past commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, in a very relaxed chat, discuss with the CEO of one of the most advanced operators in the field of circular economies sharing how their business has grown and flourished.  I could go on and on in listing luminaries in Zero Waste in the public, academic, and private sectors.  Cornell Tech’s reputation of being an innovation center was right on the mark for the issues presented at our conference.

I was particularly happy that our outreach to students was such a success.  NYSACC sponsored the attendance of 10 actively enrolled students to both the field trips and the conference events.  This year’s program of providing free access is the largest we have ever done.   In addition, we offered greatly reduced conference fees to additional students or recent grads.  It’s easy to say we support students.  NYSACC will always go the extra mile to assure their attendance to the best we have to offer.

Each conference no matter where it is located brings along a strong local flavor, while striving to reach statewide issues.  We whole heartedly thank and appreciate the well-done job that the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board gave us this year!

Thank you.

Simon Skolink

NYSACC President