The leading institution lighting a clear path, through research and education, translating ideas into action for sustainable waste management practices. They created what was then called the National Solid Waste Management Association Foundation because they accepted the premise that research by the waste industry was so small that it was judged to be insignificant; and to fill the information gap, these early leaders designed the foundation which would serve as a subsidiary and resource for NSWMA and, later, the Environmental Industry Associations. This changed in 1998 when the board of directors voted to make the foundation independent of the trade association and renamed it the Environmental Research and Education Foundation. Its mission: to develop and evaluate new approaches to manage municipal solid waste and to provide scholarships to America’s brightest and best.