Established by the City of Albuquerque in 1948, the Solid Waste Management Department provides a unified, comprehensive solid waste and recycling service for Residential and Commercial customers in the Albuquerque Metropolitan area. Guided by the vision and mission established by the City of Albuquerque, the department is continuously expanding its role to meet the growing needs of the community.

Mayor Richard J. Berry appointed John Soladay in 2009 to direct the Solid Waste Management Department.  John Soladay brings more than 34 years of public service to the table. He started his career in Southern California where he spent 25 years with the City of Redondo Beach retiring as the Public Works Director in the late 1990’s. Since coming to the City of Albuquerque, John has served as the Fleet Manager; Associate Director of the Department of Municipal Development managing the Facilities and Energy Divisions; Sustainability Officer in the Mayor's office working on the Albuquerque Green Initiative and for the last two years as Environmental Health Director before accepting the position of Solid Waste Director.

Department Mission Statement

The Solid Waste Management Department Team in its commitment and dedication of ensuring a sustainable, vibrant, and a beautiful Albuquerque, delivers premier solid waste collection, recycling service, anti-graffiti efforts, weed and litter clean up, and related community outreach programs. These services are united, comprehensive and available to City residents, business, and other government agencies. In continuing to meet the needs of a growing community the Department is ever expanding its role for a cleaner environment and researching ways to convert waste to a sustainable resource for the benefit of the public.