James “Jim” Warner helped create an attraction for visitors to Lancaster County around something residents literally don’t want anything more to do with: their trash.
As longtime leader of the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, Warner helped stabilize the finances of the authority that oversees that user-friendly recycling program, operates a plant that turned trash into electricity and created public parks and trails in and around its properties. His work attracted worldwide attention.
“When groups from overseas came to the United States and were looking to see solid waste and recycling operations that were state of the art … they would visit the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority,” said Barry Shanoff, former legal counsel for the Solid Waste Association of North America, where Warner served as president.
James D. Warner, chief executive officer of the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, stands on a bridge along the Farmingdale Trail in East Hempfield Township that the authority built for the community.
BLAINE SHAHAN | Staff Photographer
Warner, who shaped the county’s waste operations into an internationally recognized standard, died Sept. 20, at age 68 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Warner is survived by his wife, Kerry Sacco; his brother, William Warner; and sisters, Joann Warner and Karen Bechtold,
A formidable presence known for his intense drive and sharp candor, Warner brought passion to the job of ensuring trash was removed and disposed of in an environmentally responsible way.
Remembering Jim
Here’s what those close to Jim Warner had to say about him:
Joe Frank, childhood friend, regional president for Penn State Health: “Everything Jim did, he did it the right way. It was often the longer and harder way to do it, but he was just like that.”
Dan Youngs, executive director of Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority: “Jim was an individual full of energy, passion and an unwavering commitment to the people, organizations, and communities he served. He poured himself into the relationships he built and the causes he believed in.”
Barry Shanoff, former legal counsel for Solid Waste Association of North America: “If there was a process or procedure or way of doing things that was demonstrably ahead where things were normally done and likely to be quite successful, Jim was on it.”
Stephen Mohr, Conoy Township supervisor: “Jim knew that the idea for developing the Northwest River Trail, was first started in Conoy Township. Jim made a deep commitment to seeing that the Northwest River Trail was completed the entire length of Conoy Township.”
Tom Baldrige, former president of Lancaster Chamber: “He loved hard. He worked hard and he played hard. He was wickedly funny. He cared deeply about the community and the people that were around him. And he would always tell you the truth whether you wanted to hear it or not.”
Among his initiatives, Warner helped launch a drive-thru drop-off for household hazardous waste and worked to make the authority’s waste-to-energy plant a model of efficiency as well as a source of electricity for tens of thousands of homes. The use of the incinerator to burn trash also reduced the need for landfill space.
“I often reflect on the reality that people in Lancaster County rarely ever complain about their trash and, more so, don’t even think about it,” said Tom Baldrige, former president of the Lancaster Chamber and a friend of Warner. “And the reason that is, is because of Jim Warner.”
Early career
Warner was born in Lebanon and attended Lebanon Catholic High School. His father, Eugene, served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and later worked for 30 years as a postal clerk at the Lebanon Post Office. Warner’s mother, Patricia, worked as a medical administrative assistant and insurance clerk.
Warner was a standout athlete at Lebanon Catholic, particularly as a linebacker on the football team, earning team MVP honors.
“Big heart, big personality, very intense and very focused, but also a prankster who would love to have fun,” Joe Frank, regional vice president of Penn State Health, said of Warner, who he knew in high school. “Jim was one of those people that you met and you just sort of stared at that energy and said, ‘This guy is going somewhere.'”
Warner earned a degree in secondary education from Millersville University and spent several years teaching. He then became a graduate assistant in the geoenvironmental department at Shippensburg University, where he earned a master’s degree.
An undated photo of Jim Warner, who became executive director of the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority in 1996.
Courtesy of Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority.
Warner was 29 years old when he left a job as a recycling coordinator in Gloucester County, New Jersey, to become the recycling coordinator at LCSWMA in 1987.
“I understand there’s a lot of support in Lancaster County,” Warner said when he was hired, according to a 1987 story in the Lancaster New Era, an LNP | LancasterOnline forerunner. “But it takes a lot more than the willingness of the people to do it and get an effective plan in motion.”
Over the next 31 years, Warner was the driving force that put the county’s recycling plans — and much more — into motion.
After that first job, Warner quickly moved through a series of escalating roles at the authority — recycling director, waste flow manager, and general manager — before becoming executive director in 1996.
“I think everyone is absolutely convinced that you’re the man for the job and it would be superfluous to look elsewhere,” an authority board member said at the time.
Over his three-decade tenure, Warner would justify that early faith in him. He eliminated millions in debt, stabilized long-term tipping fees, and expanded the county’s renewable energy footprint by harnessing landfill gas and installing wind turbines on authority property.
“What made Jim particularly impactful was his ability to turn vision into action,” said Dan Youngs, LCSWMA’s current executive director. “He recognized opportunities where others might have seen challenges and had the determination, entrepreneurial spirit, and willingness to take calculated risks necessary to bring ambitious ideas to life.”
Infrastructure and Impact
Under Warner’s leadership, LCSWMA achieved industry milestones, including operating a free household hazardous waste facility and extending landfill life through high recycling rates.
He also championed the development of parks and trails, including the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail, a 14-mile trail along the Susquehanna River that skirts the authority’s waste-to-energy plant where trash is burned to produce electricity.
A photo from 2001 of Jim Warner giving a presentation about plans to expand the county’s landfill
LNP file photo
Stephen Mohr, a longtime Conoy Township supervisor, recalled Warner as a dedicated partner to the municipality that hosts the authority’s waste-to-energy plant.
Mohr credits Warner with helping complete a raised pedestrian walkway under the Shocks Mill railroad bridge to close a key gap in the 14-mile trail that runs from Columbia to Falmouth. A plaque dedicating it as the “James Warner Shocks Mill Walkway” commemorates his assistance.
“How many other executives get the opportunity to protect the environment, build a renewable energy portfolio and build some cool trails along the way? Not very many, and it’s been very special,” Warner said in a 2018 LNP | LancasterOnline story about his retirement.
After Warner retired, he worked as a consultant and later served as interim CEO of the Delaware County Solid Waste Authority, where he inherited an agency with less than $6 million in cash, just one year of remaining landfill capacity, and decades-old neglected incinerators.
Brooks Stayer, who succeeded Warner as CEO, said that in two years, Warner and the governing board stabilized the agency, launched a new landfill expansion, secured a long-term master plan, and built financial reserves.
“Jim boarded and rescued a sinking ship,” Stayer said.
Katie Sandoe, who spent 11 years working with Warner at LCSWMA as communications director, recalled him as an exceptional mentor who modeled enthusiasm for all aspects of life, not just business.
“Jim helped me see there is something bigger to success than just business success or individual success,” Sandoe said.
A celebration of life service for Warner was held Sunday at West Art Community Center in Lancaster city. A recording of the service is linked to an online obituary for Warner at Groff Funeral & Cremation Services.
The obituary suggests memorial contributions can be made to Music for Everyone, Lancaster AmBucs, Lancaster History, Millersville University Foundation, Millersville Football, ALS MidAtlantic and The Sacco-Warner Endowed Scholarships for the Arts at the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design.
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