Sara Bixby is the Director of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs for the National Waste & Recycling Association. She has worked in solid waste and resource management for more than 30 years and joined NWRA in 2024. In addition to her work supporting NWRA members on regulatory and environmental issues, Sara will support NWRA’s Healthcare Waste Institute.
Before joining NWRA, she worked as a recycling coordinator, environmental consultant, and Director of the South Central Iowa Solid Waste Agency. Most recently, she worked for 10 years as a Deputy Executive Director for the Solid Waste Association of North America where she oversaw internal operations and governance. She led development of the SWANA – CRRA Zero Waste Principles and Practices certification course, fulfillment of a US State Department grant project to provide landfill management training for solid waste professionals in Colombia, and the drafting of SWANA’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan.
Sara has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, and a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State University. She was recognized with an MSW Management Legacy Award in 2020 and was a SWANA International President in 2010-2011.
