Peer Match, Information Request and Project Staff

The link below allows the user to request information in two ways. You may request information about a town similar to your own by completing the "peer match" form or you may request specific information, i.e. "Do you have suggestions for implementing PAYT in a manufactured home park" or "Can you help find ordinances regarding multiple haulers and licensing"

Request form to get “peer match” information for other PAYT communities similar to your town, or to request specific data or advice on PAYT issues

PAYT Consultants

Lisa A. Skumatz, SERA

David Juri Freeman, SERA

Guest Workshop Speakers

Gary Horton, President, Western Disposal

Douglas M. Short, Director, Lafayette Public Works

Bruce Philbrick, Solid Waste Superintendent, Loveland  

Lisa A Skumatz. Ph.D. Principal, SERA

Dr. Skumatz, Principal of SERA, is an economist with more than 25 years of experience in economic and policy issues in: solid waste, sustainability, energy, resource conservation, and environmental analysis. She has been working in PAYT since 1987 and is considered the nationwide expert on the subject. She has completed quantitative and detailed studies on PAYT at the national level and has literally written the manual on PAYT. Additionally, Dr. Skumatz has conducted scores of PAYT workshops in California, Iowa, Ohio, Georgia, Colorado, Illinois, Wyoming and other states. She has conducted more than 250 projects for clients across the US , Canada , and internationally (including Chile , NZ, Peru , Japan , and elsewhere).  She has been an active contributor to trade journals and conferences for over 20 years, and her more than 70 publications are widely-cited.  In solid waste, she has extensive experience in program evaluation, rates, funding, and cost analysis, efficiencies and detailed quantitative analysis, forecasting and a wide array of economic and policy analyses for solid waste.  She understands theoretical and practical issues and tradeoffs in solid waste.  She has “hands-on” experience, having worked for the Seattle Solid Waste Utility for three years, and working as a consultant to communities and agencies nationwide for more than 15 years. She is the only individual to be awarded two lifetime achievement awards from both the national solid waste associations (National Recycling Coalition 2001, Solid Waste Association of North America 2007, and locally, Colorado Association For Recycling 2007) She has conducted a number of projects evaluating programs and their performance. Dr. Skumatz received her Ph.D. in Economics from Johns Hopkins University and completed her undergraduate work on Economics at the University of Wisconsin . 

David Freeman, SERA

Mr. Freeman is an environmental analyst with SERA, Inc.  He has collected data on the wide variety of recycling and solid waste programs across the US – including recycling, yard waste, source reduction, electronics, single stream recycling, education / outreach programs, and others -- to provide information for benchmarking, program potential and performance, costs, and other planning and evaluation purposes.  These data have been used to identify cutting edge programs and provide key data on the factors affecting program performance.  He has conducted survey research across the United States and has conducted analyses for clients in California , Oregon , Colorado , Alaska , Washington DC , and elsewhere. Mr. Freeman received a BS in Environmental studies and a minor in Economics from Bucknell University in Lewisburg , PA.

Gary Horton, President, Western Disposal

Gary Horton, President of Western Disposal, has been in the collection, landfill and recyclables processing business for 25 years.  Gary has been the driving force behind Western’s many joint projects with local governments, including many Boulder County and city of Boulder recycling programs.  In particular, he participated on committees and task forces that were integral to the creation of the Boulder County Recycling Authority, the development of the City of Boulder Pay-As-You-Throw system and the development of the city of Boulder Waste Hauler Regulation that requires haulers to “bundle” trash and recycling services to residential customers.

Gary has also been the force behind Western’s technological advancements.  His vision that technology could offer distinct advantages in a traditionally “low tech” industry paved the way for Western’s superior proprietary customer management system, their GIS computer routing system and their use of tools like barcode scanners and GPS units.   

Including his tenure at Western, Mr. Horton has 35+ years of business experience having begun his career as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Ernst, an international accounting firm.  After Ernst & Ernst, Gary spent five years as Controller at Leprino Foods, the world’s largest manufacturer of cheese products.   In 1980, he brought a new and broader business perspective to Western, a small local company.  Today, under Gary ’s leadership, Western continues to strive to achieve the right blend of big and small business attributes to best serve local communities

Douglas M. Short, Director, Lafayette Public Works

Doug is the Public Works Director of the City of Lafayette, Colorado.  He responsible for Water Supply & Treatment, Engineering, Street Improvement and Maintenance, Storm Water Drainage, Traffic Control, Fleet Maintenance and Wastewater Treatment.  As of October 1st, 2007, his duties now include Recycling/Trash services.

During Doug’s 35 years of professional experience his career has spanned both the private and public sector in the Western U.S. Doug is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in Engineering, a Colorado native and a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado .

Bruce Philbrick, Solid Waste Superintendent, Loveland  

Bruce Philbrick is the Superintendent of the City of Loveland ’s Solid Waste Management Division, overseeing the weekly collection of refuse, recyclable materials and yard wastes from over 20,000 Loveland residences.  The Solid Waste Management Division annually recycles or composts more than 50% of the Loveland residential waste stream, and has received numerous national, regional and state awards for its progressive waste reduction and recycling efforts.  Bruce has held this position since January 1997, and has worked in the field of solid waste management for 18 years.