It’s American Public Works Week, and we’re celebrating public works leaders in solid waste on our blog. Check back for a new profile feature each day!

Every day is a new adventure for Kanika Greenlee. 

Greenlee is the Executive Director of the Keep Atlanta Beautiful Commission and the Interim Solid Waste Director and Program Management Officer for the City of Atlanta. 

She spends her days leading environmental and sustainability initiatives for the city’s public works department; acts as a liaison between other city departments, the mayor’s office, and external partners; oversees Atlanta’s collections operations for garbage, recycling, and yard trimmings, as well as enforcement teams, the landfill, a yard debris processing facility and four closed landfills — and there’s more.

“I stay pretty busy,” she laughed.

Her dedication to her community and the planet shine through in all that she does. These qualities paired with her readiness to help and her resilience to champion even more work are some of the many reasons to celebrate Greenlee and others like her this week, in tandem with the American Public Works Association’s National Public Works Week, running this week May 15-21.

How it started

The Atlanta native has let her experience and her knowledge snowball since she began her career more than 20 years ago with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Office of Environmental Management. 

There she also became a program assistant with the state affiliate of Keep Georgia Beautiful. “Kinda just by happenstance, my aunt was on the Keep Atlanta Beautiful board at that time, and you know, it’s kind of a full-circle moment here,” she says.

Her aunt had told her the organization was looking to fill the role, and she thought Greenlee might be a good fit. 

“I applied, and the rest is history.”

From there, Greenlee worked to climb the ranks, gain responsibility and the knowledge she needed to make a difference. 

“I was a sponge, really, because I was so interested about the environment and solid waste, and so every opportunity for training and growth, I took advantage of it,” Greenlee says. “I said ‘yes’ way more than I said ‘no,’ and I guess I’m still doing that today, considering how much I have on my plate.” 

Greenlee spent 10 years in the Office of Environmental Management with the state, and among its functions, “we reviewed the solid waste management plans for all the local governments in Georgia, so I got a first-hand opportunity to look at rural, urban, and suburban communities and how they manage their solid waste.”

It also gave her insight into how various communities manage solid waste, the infrastructure they need to do so, and how it affects communities in the long run. Because of this experience, Greenlee was able to then work for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, “which is the state organization for all county governments in Georgia,” Greenlee says.

“There I worked with a legislative and policy team and was a registered lobbyist. … I learned a lot about legislation and the state capital, and how the ‘sausage is made,’” she says. While she enjoyed that work, she saw an opening at the City of Atlanta, and it “was something that really excited me, and I took advantage of the opportunity. And here I am, now.”

How it’s going

Prior to the beginning of her career in sustainability and the solid waste industry, Greenlee says she did not have any background in the work — and it wasn’t a field she ever truly thought about until she “kind of just fell into this career.” 

But once she got her feet wet, she realized, “I really enjoyed it and learning, and I’m still learning today,” she says. “The industry is ever-changing and ever-evolving. … I think this is an amazing field (that) often gets overlooked. The work that we do, a lot of people know that their solid waste is being handled … and it goes away, but no one knows where ‘away’ is,” Greenlee says.

“That’s my job to figure it out.”

At work and at play, Greenlee says she is a curious person, “just about life — period.” She always wants to uncover the “why” and learn the backstory. This natural inquisitiveness paired with her passions for the environment, sustainability and responsibly handling solid waste is really what inspires her work.

“When I think about the environment, sustainability and managing our waste and doing it responsibly, and knowing that the decisions I make today will benefit generations to come? That’s really my ‘why,’” she says. “That’s what drives me, and knowing that I get the opportunity to do good things every day.” 

Greenlee starts her days around 5 a.m. with a workout, and when her work day begins. “Like a lot of people,” she says, it starts with emails. Then meetings. Oh, the meetings.

“When you get to this level, I tell people, it’s more meetings than you care to think about,” she laughed. 

When she can, she enjoys getting out into the community, talking with residents and neighbors about the issues that affect them, participating in community cleanups, and getting to interact with the city’s frontline staff — “the real heroes” of the work, she says.

At work, Greenlee says, “we are fortunate enough to have lots of projects going on at the same time,” from finishing off a bulky waste project and incorporating digital tools from ReCollect so residents can self-serve and schedule bulky item pickups, to carrying out work related to a three-year grant.

The grant work is in its final phase, she says, and “we’re excited to see the results. We’ve made some great strides in reducing contamination, and we’re hoping we’ll make some great strides in increasing participation, which was the focus of the grant.” 

The city is looking at the feasibility of using more automated side-loaders and other fleet upgrades to streamline routes, capture efficiencies, and better serve the community. Her next project, she says, will improve driver experience and make “life easier for them.”

There’s “lots of exciting things happening,” Greenlee says, adding that “our Commissioner is very focused on us being a part of the smart city initiatives and the ways that we can incorporate technology into solid waste. 

“We are all about it — and working smarter, and not harder.” 

Ch-ch-ch-changes in technology

Throughout her career, there have been many changes in the waste and recycling industry, but technology seems to be the biggest change of them all. “We implemented (digital tools from) ReCollect some years ago,” she says, which has been “so useful and helpful.” The city has also been considering robotic mowers, which would be especially handy on the slopes of the landfill.

“There’s so many advances in technology, it’s kind of sometimes hard to keep up with and can be very overwhelming at times,” Greenlee says. But she’s up for the challenge.

Making it — and making a difference

Personally, Greenlee says she plans to continue being a “sponge” and empowering others to join the industry through her work with the city and Keep Atlanta Beautiful Commission. She’s particularly focused on education and outreach efforts with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), “which I’m a graduate of, and letting them know about internships and fellowships in the solid waste and recycling industry and as a career opportunity,” she says. 

It’s all about “making sure that they understand that this is a career, and that you don’t have to fall into it like I did.” 

Greenlee says there is space for everyone in the industry, especially women and people of color. “I think the beauty of this industry today from where it was 20 years ago — there’s so many different roles and opportunities that you can take advantage of,” she says. 

“Be a sponge and learn as much as you can, because you never know when the right opportunity will present itself. … This is a male-dominated industry, but there is a place in this space for us, and I think we provide a valuable voice to this industry. Women, you know, can be very compassionate and thoughtful leaders given the opportunity to do so.”

Her best advice? “Be willing to speak up and be heard — and don’t always wait to be asked.”

Learn more. Are you a solid waste leader who wants to help your organization up its game? Technology from Routeware can help. Let’s talk!