CRRA2020

Senior Research Specialist, Plastics

Ivy Schlegel is a senior research specialist with the Greenpeace USA plastics team, focusing on strategic corporate research, the petrochemical and plastic value chains, and health and climate impacts of plastic production. Prior to joining the plastics team, Ivy worked on Greenpeace USA's forest team focusing on Indonesian palm oil and other forest-based commodities. Ivy has worked with Greenpeace USA since 2009.

How the Plastic Industry Exploited Coronavirus Fears to Influence Legislation

Early in the pandemic, the plastics industry exploited the COVID-10 emergency to create fear about reusable bags and  assert that single-use plastic is necessary to keep us safe.  Many of the actors in the plastic industry have waged a public relations battle to fight legislation banning single use plastic for years, and they saw a pandemic as an opportunity to seize the narrative.   Industry surrogates activated a multi-million dollar public relations echo chamber that was straight out of the fossil fuel industry’s playbook, and deployed many of the same surrogates, professors and front groups. These narratives featured older research funded by the American Chemistry Council and other affiliates to claim that reusables are dangerous, though none of the cited studies included COVID-19 or coronaviruses. In fact, early relevant scientific studies from the National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA, and Princeton University showed that the virus can live on plastic surfaces longer than others. 

Some states or municipalities with legislation banning plastic bags or instituting bag fees then began pausing or delaying legislation or enforcement, citing concerns about COVID-19 specifically linked to this media misinformation. The echo chamber creating fear about reusable bags was a profit-driven distraction from vital safety information that consumers need in order to navigate the COVID-19 crisis.

Justin was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. He graduated from University of Cape Town with a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Public Administration and a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies.

Justin and his wife sailed a circuitous route to the USA in their home-built sailboat. They settled in California in 1986 and have been living in Sacramento ever since, except for 2007 when they sailed with their family across the Pacific.

After working for several years in State government and the California Legislature, Justin started his environmental advocacy and consulting firm – Ecoconsult. For the past three decades, Justin has worked extensively with the California Legislature, public interest groups and state regulatory agencies.

The Local Health Director Perspective on Food Safety and COVID

In this session, Justin Malan, Executive Director of the California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health will:

• Provide an overview of the role of local environmental health departments in retail food safety and “solid waste” management;
• Explain local EH interest in sponsoring AB 619 (Chiu) 2019;
• Explain guidance issued by local EH on AB 619; and
• Discuss local EH perspective on renewables and single use utensils and items during COVID.

Oceanic Global Program Director, Cassia Patel, will present recently-launched COVID-19 Plastic-Free Reopening Guidelines as a tool to guide businesses through this difficult transition while staying true to their sustainability values. Created in consultation with a coalition of public health experts and industry leaders, this guide clearly outlines best practices to achieve both hygiene and sustainability for the restaurant and hotel foodservice industry globally with a focus on eliminating unnecessary single-use plastics and improving waste management. This guide includes a compilation of existing research and resources from public health authorities, governments, research institutes and leading organizations.

COVID-19 Reopening Guidelines for Food Service

Executive Director

Doug has been “talking trash” for nearly 28 years and is currently Executive Director for the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC).  Previously, he spent 18+ years with Sacramento County, 2+ years with Edgar & Associates, and 5+ years with Yolo County.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from California State University, Chico.

Doug is the Vice-Chair on the SWANA California Chapters Legislative Task Force.  Formerly, he was the Chair of CPSC, the Founding President of National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC), Chair of the Mattress Advisory Committee, and a member of the California Carpet Stewardship Program Advisory Committee.

Legislative News on Packaging Reform

Since the CRRA 2019 conference, several legislative fixes have been proposed to help resolve the growing packaging crisis.  Whether the fix comes from the statewide initiative that Mr. Potashner will describe, or though several legislative bills currently working their way through the California state legislature, the recycling industry is looking for answers.  Mr. Kobold's presentation will provide an update on several current legislative bills, SB 54 / AB 1080 & SB 372 for example, and any current bills not yet named at the time of this submission.  He will provide details about each bill, along with the pros and cons of each.

Vice President & Senior Director of Strategic Affairs

Eric Potashner joined Recology’ Corporate team in 2012. Eric is responsible for the government affairs, permitting and planning as well as community and media relations activities in the 4 states and over 100 communities where Recology operates. Outside of his duties at Recology Eric serves on the Board of Directors for Young Community Developers and Clinic by the Bay. Prior to joining Recology, Eric was a political consultant at Platinum Advisors (2008-2012) and worked as a Chief of Staff for State Senator Carole Migden in Sacramento (1999-2008).

The California Recycling and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act of 2020

Mr. Potashner will provide an update on the statewide initiative, the “California Recycling and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act of 2020”.  He will also provide an update on how recycling companies like Recology are adapting to the new recycling markets since the implementation of China’s National Sword policy.

Master's Student

Banning plastic straw by straw won't work. Or will it?

The trend of banning single-use plastic products item by item is the most common way to reduce plastic pollution in California, the European Union and world-wide. In June of 2019, the EU passed one of the first comprehensive plastic reduction legislations in the world. Four months later, California failed to pass a similar bill. As the State works towards a comprehensive legislation, local agencies who have more regulatory agility will need to ensure that each additional product ban is as effective as intended. This session will evaluate current plastic pollution policies so that attendees can make informed decisions regarding comprehensive and coordinated plastic packaging legislation in an effort to reduce contamination of recycling, support recycling markets and decrease land and marine plastic pollution. Attendees of this presentation will hear the results of the research as it relates to legislative goal attainment and unintended side effects of single-product bans as a means for supporting argumentation for sound policy development. 

Director

Director of Sustainability

Michael Gross has been in the waste and recycling industry since 1979. In his position as Director of Sustainability for GreenWaste and the Zanker family of companies, he focuses on greenhouse-gas emissions reductions, procurement opportunities, C&D diversion opportunities, waste management and recycling alternatives and marketing, and energy and water conservation programs. He provides leadership to reach the company’s environmental goals, advocates the transformation of the waste industry and works with the communities to integrate sustainability into their daily lives.  

Case Study - ZWEDC Dry Anaerobic Digestion facility in San Jose

The ZWEDC AD Facility is the largest dry fermentation anaerobic digestion project in the world processing organic waste and generating renewable power. Up to 90,000 tons per year of organic waste (250 tons-per-day) is produced.  The facility consists of 16 AD tunnels, 4 In-vessel Composting Tunnels, and 2 x 800 kW combined heat & power supply units that provide the electricity production.

Managing Director Western US

Yaniv Scherson is the Managing Director for the western U.S. region for Anaergia and is based in Carlsbad California where he leads Anaergia’s projects integrating organics recycling from solid waste with anaerobic digestion and wastewater for production of renewable power and renewable natural gas. He is a licensed professional engineer in California and holds Ph.D. and MS degrees from Stanford University.

Wet AD projects development in California

Sorting organics from MSW for anaerobic digestion offers a cost-effective solution that avoids the additional collection, outreach, or new bins. By utilizing traditional solid waste processing equipment that fits within existing transfer stations and by partnering with existing AD infrastructure the deployment of food waste to green energy production can be quickly ramped-up. Two California case studies (North & South) will be presented of centralized solid waste processing with organics extraction at MRFs coupled with the use of new and existing anaerobic digestion infrastructure.

Owner

With over 100 employees, South San Francisco Scavenger Company serves three cities, operates 40 collection trucks with 25,000 residential and 1,800 commercial accounts, including the San Francisco International Airport.  Food and green waste is anaerobically digested onsite and the biogas is used to fuel the company's collection fleet. 

Dry AD to vehicle fuel project case study

The Blue Line Biogenic CNG Facility has given the ability to reduce the organics going into the landfill by converting that same waste into CNG fuel that powers our collection routes…a true closed loop system. It’s good for us, the cities we serve, and California.  This unique closed-loop system transforms 11,200 tons of food and green waste per year into biogenic compressed natural gas (CNG), produces heat to run the operations and provides high-quality compost. The facility can produce up to 120,000 diesel gallon equivalent (DGE) per year of carbon negative biogenic CNG—enough to fuel up to 18 of Blue Line sister company, South San Francisco Scavenger’s collection vehicles.

Sr Operations and Contracts Manager

Senior Director Social Change, Behavior and Impact

A magical mix of visual designer and creative thinker with keen insights on behavior change, Elizabeth brings over a decade of recycling-specific communications experience to The Partnership. As Senior Director Social Change, Behavior and Impact, Elizabeth builds operationally-sound outreach programs and resources to mobilize measurable action. She has honed her ability to address technical recycling challenges through visual and human-centered design via her work with university recycling programs, the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, the Southeast Recycling Development Council, RRS, and a variety of brands and retailers. Original, funny and smart, Elizabeth and her family call Asheville, NC home.

An Introduction to Behavior Change

Elizabeth's presentation will do the following: 

• Prime the audience to think about their residents differently and how to talk to them in a way that makes sense to them
• discuss the importance of segmenting audiences
• bring an academic perspective to this municipal issue, and cite case studies from her own research in the field as well as other experts
• introduce the topic of trust into the conversation: why is it important, how do you build it, and how it shapes your brand

Co-Director

Julie is the Co-Director of Cascadia’s Oakland, CA office, serving in the role with fellow Co-Director Julia Chang Frank.  She leads our Bay Area team’s public sector zero waste planning and outreach efforts. Julie has over 15 years of zero waste experience, including eight years serving as the City Government Zero Waste Senior Coordinator at the San Francisco Department of Environment where she administered contracts and managed the resource recovery and waste prevention programs for the City’s 30,000 employees and over 1,000 facilities.

How Does Your Program Measure Up?

Julie Bryant, Co-Director of Cascadia Consulting Group’s California office, will present the findings of a literature review commissioned by The Recycling Partnership which studied over 100 articles to better understand the universe of research available around behavior change strategies for multicultural community participation. The research identified several themes across articles including key barriers and motivators to behavior change. Julie will present the research findings including how thoughtful identification of one’s audience and developing an understanding of beliefs, values, and practices of the audience of focus will support effective outreach and education to improve recycling participation.

Multicultural Account Supervisor

Recruited Spring of 2018, Andrés brings more than five years of multicultural marketing experience managing cross-cultural teams in fast-paced environments for all types of businesses.

Why Context Matters and How to Account for It

Andrés' presentation will do the following:

• explain translation vs. trans-creation
• showcase examples of how a brand or organization has implemented this ideology
• demonstrate firsthand the importance of context (through games, activities, etc.)
• explain how to implement the power of intepretation 
• cite C+C's work with the City of Seattle and provide updates on their outreach progress

West Coast Liaison

Waste Reduction Program Manager

Leslie O’Malley is the Waste Reduction Program Manager for the City of Santa Cruz, Public Works Department. She holds professional association certifications in Zero Waste Principles and Practices and was recently named Sustainability Champion of the Month by University of California, Santa Cruz.

Her creative and bold education and outreach strategies garnered her department the "Outstanding Recycling Program" award from  the California Resource and Recovery Association in 2019.

Master Recycler Program - Small investment - Big return!

Now is the time to increase efforts to engage and educate community members about the importance of reducing waste and recycling properly.

Daily, people witness a barrage of news stories about the current state of recycling and the need to rethink purchases and avoid creating waste in the first place. Receptivity is high, don't squander this opportunity!

Providing community members with the history, current practices and future goals of sustainable materials management will amplify and expand the efforts of a small staff tasked with reducing solid waste disposal and contamination in recycling streams. A Master Recycler Volunteer Training Program is an efficient and effective way to accomplish this.

No need to reinvent the wheel. This "How To" session will leave attendees inspired and armed with the information and framework they need to design and implement a program of their own. Why, What, Who, How and Where will be our guide. Topics covered will include; Identifying your end goal or outcome, creating a curriculum, finding guest speakers, advertising and recruitment, communication tools and retention strategies.

Investing in this program now will yield results immediately and into the future. Within weeks you will have community champions with specialized knowledge to educate and empower friends, neighbors, schools, businesses, local groups, and special events to waste less and “recycle right.”

Recycling Specialist

Amy Hammes is the Recycling Specialist for the City of Burbank. Prior to joining the City, she was the Director of Reuse for EcoSet Consulting where she created an award-winning materials recovery reuse and food donation program from production set cast-offs. She served on the Leadership Advisory Board for the LA Food Policy Council and is currently a Board member for the California Product Stewardship Council. Amy earned a Master’s in Public Administration and Sustainability from Presidio Graduate School and holds a certificate in Recycling and Resource Management from California Resource Recovery Association.

Waste Warriors Program: Waste Reduction Fans Find Their Tribe

The Waste Warrior program is a volunteer training for people who want to learn more about Zero Waste, engage their community, and shape the future. Burbank Recycle Center has hosted this program for 6 years, graduating over 120 of the most engaged residents, armed with real world knowledge and created a vast alumni network of Change Agents.

The programs includes eight classes highlighting the 6 Rs of waste reduction:
• Rethink (redesign systems, habits, & mindsets)
• Refuse (say no to unnecessary waste )
• Reduce (share it, rent it, borrow it)
• Reuse (repair & repurpose)
• Recycle (sort it & send it on)
• Return (give nutrients back to nature)

The Waste Warrior program is free. Classes include lively discussions, hands on learning,
tours, guest speakers, and instruction from the professionals at the Burbank Recycle Center.

Waste Warriors who complete all eight classes and thirty hours of volunteer time
receive a graduation certificate and recognition by the Burbank City Council. Volunteer committments can include their own personal interets and community projects that focus on waste reduction, thoughtful consumption, composting, recycling, policy,  product stewardship, and manufacturing responsibility. 

Sustainability Specialist: Climate Action Planning

Avana Andrade is a Sustainability Specialist at San Mateo County. She leads a public environmental education program, called the Sustainability Academy, and the County’s Climate Action Plan. She has worked on environmental policy, land conservation, and western land issues for over ten years in the National Park Service, the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Public Lands History Center at Colorado State University. Her undergraduate degree is in Environmental History from Colorado State University and her masters degree is in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Building Cultural Relevance in Environmental Education

After seeing the same demographic coming to events, Sustainability Academy staff began wondering how to be more responsive to diverse interests. This endeavor has unearthed a range of questions: what would environmentalism and environmental education look like if we expanded the kinds of topics we covered? What do we hope to get out of “educating” people about the environment? What are these kinds of programs really for? The Sustainability Academy is in the process of exploring these questions, expanding its reach and altering its curriculum to reflect deeper cultural relevance for more members of San Mateo County.

The Sustainability Academy started over 10 years ago and focused primarily on training and building up a composting community network. It is funded through the County’s solid waste tax (AB939) and is oriented around solid waste reduction through public education and making resources available to community members to make changes in their daily lives. The program currently includes the following:

• Master Composter Course – 6 weeks
• Fundamentals in Climate Change and Natural Resources– 9 weeks
• Resource conservation workshops and edible forest at the Maple Street Jail
• 2-3 hour workshops throughout the year
• Socials, field trips, volunteer workdays

The key changes made to date in the program are:

• Transitioning into more dedicated partnership with community leaders and organizations
• Moving away from a “general public” marketing and curricular model
• Locating workshops in neighborhoods and centers where people already gather/where important community events already take place

Principal at Envirolutions Consulting

Sustainability Manager

Monica White is the Sustainability Manager at Edgar and Associates. Monica has over 10 years of experience working in the sustainability arena where she has led teams in developing programs for a range of companies including waste haulers and processors. Monica has played a leadership role in assisting companies to develop strong sustainability and environmental programs, and strategically achieve desired goals, including how to incorporate carbon projects into their businesses to meet their carbon reduction targets.

A Regional Approach to Maximizing Food Recovery

Edible Food Recovery is a focal point of the upcoming SB 1383 Regulations, where jurisdictions, food recovery agencies, waste haulers and businesses are trying to figure out what it means for them as they start working towards compliance. We have found a regional, collaborative coalition provides the most cost-effective and efficient approach to recovering the maximum amount of edible food. By bringing partners together, we can leverage assets, create innovative solutions to systemic challenges and support non-profit agencies that will become the workhorses of food recovery. Edgar & Associates, in partnership with Waste Not Our Communities, has assisted to create the model for collaboration. Through State and regional grants, pilot programs and full implementation we understand the opportunity for California, and the Nation, to significantly improve our approach to edible food recovery. The approach has received attention across the Nation and is now being sought to guide the use of funds, and understand the social and medical cost benefits associated with the recovery of excess edible food. This presentation will discuss an overview of the Coalition approach, the roles and responsibilities of each partner, the most integral aspects of the Coalition, common challenges that hinder effective collaboration and food recovery, cost estimates of a regional approach, the role of the solid waste industry and franchise agreements and examples of implementation throughout California. Focus on how the Coalition meets the needs of SB1383, and the multitude of co-benefits of food recovery, including potential funding will be discussed in detail.

Environmental Scientist

Martine Boswell is an Environmental Scientist in CalRecycle’s Statewide Technical and Analytical Resources Branch. She serves as CalRecycle’s technical advisor on food waste, and provides scientific analyses on California’s food system and climate change. Martine is also engaged in statewide efforts to increase safe surplus food donation in California, and is a member of the CalRecycle team tasked with developing the edible food recovery regulations for California’s short-lived climate pollutant law, Senate Bill 1383. She received her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of California Santa Cruz, and her master’s in environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

SB 1383 Regulatory Requirements for Edible Food Recovery

California’s short-lived climate pollutant law, SB 1383, establishes a statewide target that 20 percent of currently disposed edible food must be recovered for human consumption by 2025. The law also requires CalRecycle to adopt regulations that include requirements intended to meet the 20% edible food recovery goal. In this presentation, Martine Boswell will provide an overview of SB 1383’s edible food recovery regulations, and discuss CalRecycle’s efforts to measure the amount of edible food in California’s disposed waste stream.

Executive Director

Mike Learakos is a Foodservice professional with over 35 years of industry experience as a Restaurateur, manufacturer, processor and distributor.  In addition to being a Restaurateur for 27 years, Mike volunteered to head the Waste Not OC Food Recovery Pilot Program in 2014 becoming the full time Executive Director in 2016.  As the Executive Director, Mike has developed and directed this innovative public/private/non-profit coalition’s efforts to reduce hunger and food waste through the recovery of excess edible food.  Waste Not Our Communities is recognized as the country’s most innovative and effective food recovery program and a national model.

Regional/National Evolution of Food Recovery

We are now in the 'next generation' of food recovery as a means of reducing food waste yet most efforts are still feeling their way through the initial process.  In most cases, jurisdictions are repeating the same hard lessons learned by Waste Not OC three, four and five years ago.  With SB1383 compliance around the corner, it is critical that we elevate the effectiveness of food recovery with large scale regional and national solutions using a collaborative public, private and non-profit coalition approach that allows each city or county to have their own signature programs but provides large scale benfits associated with working nationally.

Waste Not OC (Our Communities) along with Edgar and Associates have created a state model that maximizes those regional and national resources and assets to improve capacity and efficiencies.  We would like to discuss an overview of how a regional/national coalition can exponentially improve performance levels and cost benefits.  We would like to dive into the details of how this approach benefits the public, private and non-profit sectors by fundamentally changing and improving how we reduce food waste and hunger.

Executive Director

Waste Prevention Specialist

Kendra Bruno is the Waste Prevention Specialist for the City of Napa. She oversees commercial and multi-family programs, as well as the social media presence of the recycling on the City's Facebook page. Kendra has been with the City for a little over three years, coming from the Higher Education world where she was a Sustainability Coordinator/ Interim Director. 

Reduce Recycling Contamination through Flipping the Lid on Carts

The City of Napa is presenting case studies on educational outreach impact through flipping the lid on recycling carts and measuring contamination levels pre and post outreach. There has been different types of outreach conducted - post card and sticker on cart - with another underway prior to the conference. 

Sustainable Materials Management Specialist

Ms. Coelho is a Sustainable Materials Management Specialist with SCS Engineers in Pleasanton, California. Lisa has a background in agricultural systems management and environmental sciences with a B.S. from San Jose State University. With over 5 years of experience in the solid waste industry, Lisa is currently assisting municipalities with planning for California’s Short-lived Climate Pollutant Act known as Senate Bill (SB) 1383 by providing waste characterization studies, technical assistance for organics recycling and food recovery program strategies.

Preventing Household Food Waste at the Source: Pilot Program

Community-based social marketing (CBSM) is an ideal framework for developing a residential food waste prevention campaign that applies to a majority of residents in Santa Clara County, but can be customized to individual lifestyles. The behaviors related to the prevention and recycling of food waste may be more personal than other types of recycling, because the actions that lead to food waste are much more complex and not always visible, (including cost of food, pace of work, commute and family schedules, convenience, health goals, social pressure, family history, etc.). It is important to understand all potential barriers and benefits to a behavior to design an effective behavior change program.

A combination of in-person intercept surveys and literature review were used to identify the most effective and efficient strategies to overcome barriers and increase participation in residential waste prevention behaviors. The intercept interviews focused on four genres of strategies: (1) fruit, (2) vegetables, and (3) leftovers, and (4) organizing the refrigerator. Each of these strategies also aligns with data collected by the National Resource Defense Council. From this foundational research, SCS Engineers, Gigantic Idea Studio, Action Research and Santa Clara County’s staff developed a pilot outreach campaign to implement and evaluate food waste reduction strategies for a scalable countywide campaign.

Attendees will learn about the consumer research informing selected behavioral strategies, recommended communication approaches and customization of collateral, practices for measuring behavior change, and other insights from our residential pilot campaign that support the reduction of household food waste.

PhD Fellow of the Convergent Behavioral Science Initiative at the University of Virginia

Michaela Barnett is a PhD Fellow of the Convergent Behavioral Science Initiative at the University of Virginia and a writing fellow at the Behavioral Scientist. She researches the role of human behavior in waste systems, with a focus on sustainable consumption and recycling. Her writing on sustainability has appeared in both popular and academic publications, including Appetite, Behavioral Scientist, and Alluvian.

Human Behavioral Aspects of Waste Systems

Human behavior is perhaps the most difficult component of any waste system to manage. It is complex, variable, hard to predict, and often stems from how people perceive waste systems. What are the perceptions people have about the waste and recycling system? In this talk, I will unpack some of the insights from my research examining the misperceptions consumers have about the recycling system, what they think are effective strategies to reduce waste, and the disconnect between how people think about waste generation and disposal. I’ll also dive into my work studying whether or not recycling staff at higher education institutions (and likely staff at cities and counties) feel that they matter to their organizations – and the impact this has on waste diversion and recycling.

Participants will leave this talk with a better understanding of the role of human perceptions in the waste system, including how lay people perceive the recycling system and how institutions can empower and resource waste diversion staff. 

Public Education and Outreach Specialist

Angela Goebel has been in the resource recovery industry for 11 years after receiving her B.A. in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College. She worked for Recology as a Customer Service Representative in San Francisco and developed diversion programs for businesses in Silicon Valley as a Waste Zero Specialist. She led communications, education and outreach programs for San Francisco urban gardens Hayes Valley Farm and Bloom Justice. She is currently the Public Education and Outreach Specialist at Monterey Regional Waste Management District.

Combat Contamination and Re-engage Residents through Digital Communications

Educating people to reduce waste may mean improving your communications. New digital communication tools provide avenues to engage residents and collect data, with the aim of reducing contamination. Monterey County’s recycling app and website What Goes Where is the newest digital outlet to reach residents. Data from the app has been used to develop targeted outreach campaigns and measure success. However, the picture is most complete with multiple sources of information: a statistical public opinion survey in coastal Monterey County shows people believe they are better recyclers than the annual local recycling composition studies find. Angela Goebel brings strategic insight and experience on how to leverage digital communications to re-engage residents and empower them so that they can be the champion recyclers they believe they are.

General Manager

Commission Chair & Zero Waste Specialist

Zero Waste Specialist/Educator. BayArea-based, specializing in stakeholder outreach, policy implementation, consultancy, and project management, with a focus on responsible/ethical production/consumption and reuse/recovery of materials and resources through zero waste principles and practices. City of Berkeley’s Zero Waste Commission Chair. Creative director professional for over 25 years. Past experience includes project manager of CARE/carpet recycling’s marketing, education, and outreach effort through Gigantic Idea Studio, executive director of EcoMom Alliance, director for Sustainable Business Practices Certificate program at Dominican University, and Marin County supervisor’s project lead, initiating county-wide bag ban effort, and local foodwaste-to-biogas feasibility studies. She speaks internationally on zero waste.

The Power of Citizen's Advisory Action in Creating Effective Policy

In 2018, the City of Berkeley began a process that resulted in a 2019 landmark piece of legislation, the Single-Use Foodware and Litter Reduction ordinance. For a municipality to successfully develop, adopt and implement zero waste ordinances, it is essential to solicit and build community buy-in and support. The City Council understood the power of its citizen advisory bodies and referred the proposed ordinance to its Zero Waste Commission for handle public outreach and input gathering, and then provide recommendations to Council before voting on the final language. Identifying key stakeholder groups and who will be most affected by proposed laws was a key strategy in designing a public information program. A three-pronged outreach/education approach - explanation of the ordinance, background on the necessity for it, and zero waste-approach conversion success stories - achieved the goal of gathering articulate and extensive public input, while aiding in an ever-evolving authoring process. Face-to-face interaction and surveys with the business community were effective in fine-tuning elements of the proposed ordinance. The role of an active citizen's advisory body can be instrumental in garnering valuable information from the community to create an implementable and effective law. It can also serve to assure elected officials that because a comprehensive outreach and education process was conducted, a more confident vote could be cast. Attendees will get a deeper understanding of how to design a community input program and present it to elected officials that have shared vision and goals.

Executive Director

Since 2000, Martin has led Berkeley's Ecology Center. Under Martin's leadership, the Ecology Center leverages local community services like running the nation's first curbside recycling program and pioneering the use of food stamps at farmers' markets to have state and national impact. Martin has spearheaded innovative policies such as piloting the disposable bag reduction strategy that became California state law, passing the nation's first soda tax, and driving the nation's first foodware reduction ordinance. By linking grassroots grit, highly competent program implementation, and effective policy advocacy, Martin has led the Ecology Center to become a high impact engine for change.

Leadership for Lasting Change

In today's context, where the executive branch is dismantling 50 years of regulatory infrastructure, denying climate change, and exacerbating environmental injustice, local jurisdictions must lead. When Washington goes low, we have to go local. Even where environmentally minded legislative bodies exist, passing innovative policy solutions us hard. It takes strong vision, leadership, and persistence to make change regardless of context.

Founded in 1969, the Berkeley Ecology Center is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving health and reducing the environmental impacts of urban residents. The Ecology Center's mission is to inspire and build a sustainable, healthy, and just future for the East Bay, California, and beyond. We address critical issues through a model of education, demonstration, replication, and advocacy. We deliver information you can act on, infrastructure you can count on, and leadership for lasting change.

This session will outline the approach and processes undertaken by Berkeley's Ecology Center to pass the nation's first disposable foodware reduction ordinance. The best of community-based policy processes involve an active role of the residents and impacted parties in defining the problem and proposing solutions. Still, even with consistent community involvement, dynamic leadership and support from experienced and trusted anchor organizations make a huge difference.

From conception to coalition building, to City Council engagement and support, this session will explore the strategies, tools, tactics, communications, community engagement, and consensus-building that helped the ordinance pass, and that made it a true model.

Vice Mayor

Vice-Mayor Sophie Hahn represents Berkeley’s 5th District. She authored the recently adopted Single-Use Disposables and Litter Reduction Ordinance, a model approach to reducing throw-away foodware and transitioning to reusables. A deeply committed environmentalist, Hahn authored legislation to legalize/facilitate urban agriculture, implement high green-building standards, and brought 100% renewable energy to Alameda County through establishing East Bay Community Energy. She co-sponsored Berkeley’s Climate Emergency Declaration and Electrification Ordinance (electric-only new buildings), chairs the Northern Alameda County Sierra Club, and operates an urban farm/CSA in her North Berkeley backyard. Hahn earned a BA in History (UCBerkeley) and a JD (Stanford Law School). 

Collaborative Legislation Efforts to move from Throw-Away to Reusable Foodware

Berkeley has a long history of leadership in sustainability, environmental protections, and Zero Waste. The City pioneered curbside recycling in the 1970s and banned polystyrene in 1988. In 2009, Berkeley adopted an ambitious Climate Action Plan, and goal of achieving Zero Waste by 2020. Elected officials share a vision for Berkeley to be a global environmental leader.

In 2018, responding to the precipitous rise in throw-away foodware, the collapse of global recycling markets, and heightened awareness of plastic’s impact on oceans and wildlife, Councilmember Sophie Hahn introduced the nation’s first ordinance designed to facilitate a transition from throw-away to reusable foodware, addressing both dining-in and taking-out. Based on a concept led by Berkeley’s Ecology Center and aided by zero waste and anti-plastics advocates, the Single-Use Disposables and Litter Reduction Ordinance takes significant steps toward ending Berkeley’s reliance on SUD foodware and reducing street litter, ocean pollution, marine/wildlife harm, and greenhouse gas emissions.

How does a community make a breakthrough to fundamentally change its habits around the use of throwaway foodware? The answer: by coming together in a spirit of partnership with advocates, experts, legislators, citizen advisors and city staff, food vendors and the consuming public. Only through collaboration with a range of stakeholders is it possible for an elected official to create legislation and programs that really work, and to lay the groundwork for a dramatic shift from throw-away foodware and plastics toward both a reuse mindset, and creation of a system supporting reuse across the entire community.

Resource Conservation Specialist II, Waste Reduction

Chris Slafter is a Resource Conservation Specialist on the Waste Reduction team of San Mateo County’s Office of Sustainability where he is primarily responsible for bringing the County’s department facilities into compliance with the County food ware ordinance. Formerly, Chris implemented California Clean Water Action’s ReThink Disposable program and has experience working with the local restaurant community. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from San Jose State University and a master’s degree in Environmental Management from University of San Francisco where he conducted an extensive and thorough survey of single-use food ware ordinances of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Establishing a Methodology for Berkeley's Foodware Ordinance and How Other Municipalities Can Benefit From This Approach

City of Berkeley’s food ware ordinance has served as a model for other Bay Area municipalities because it bans single-use plastic food ware items and accessories, requires alternate materials to be compostable and free of fluorinated chemicals, requires the use of reusable food ware items for on-site dining, and charges customers a fee for taking single-use disposable cups to go. Chris will be discussing the survey methodology that Berkeley used to incorporate business feedback into the ordinance writing process. Chris has managed survey projects to support single-use food ware ordinances in Berkeley, San Francisco, and San Mateo County.

Moreover, replacing single-use food ware items with compostable alternatives or reusable food ware items can be challenging and Chris will be discussing his experience providing technical assistance to restaurants through Clean Water Action’s ReThink Disposable program. ReThink Disposable provides micro-grants to cover the cost of reusable food ware items and expertise to help businesses integrate reusable items into their existing operations. Clean Water Action’s data collection demonstrates that, typically, businesses which replace single-use items with reusable items save money, reduce waste, and provide an alternative to the petrochemical industry driven market for a single-use consumer lifestyle.

Lastly, Chris will discuss the leadership role that County of San Mateo has taken by adopting a county-wide ordinance, providing incentives to the County’s many municipalities to encourage them to either adopt the County ordinance or to pass an ordinance that goes further, and to mandate their own department facilities to comply with the ordinance.

Zero Waste and Environmental Professional

Policy Director

Miriam  leads UPSTREAM’s program to make throw-away a thing of the past. She leads UPSTREAM's policy initiatives and is launchingreusable foodware pilot programs in the Bay Area.
She has been a leading California advocate helping to advance local and state policies that
reduce plastic pollution at the source. She has previously worked with local, state and federal
agencies implementing pollution prevention and water quality programs, including technical
assistance to reduce industrial plastics discharges and support clean boating.
Miriam holds a JD Degree from Vermont Law School and was an undergraduate at Vassar
College.

Reusable Foodware Policy Models that Work During COVID

UPSTREAM is leadiing the development of reusable foodware ordinances across the country. Since Berkeley enacted its forward-thinking Disposable-Free Dining ordinance in January 2019, five cities in California and the City of Vancoucer have enacted similar measures. UPSTREAM is catalyzing similar initiatives in the SF Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, Boston, and Honolulu. With each new policy, we are learning how to navigate hard questions, like how to ensure that businesses aren't financially whipped, addressing the growing online and app based delivery systems, addressing the needs of disadvantaged and disabled customers, and determining what types of disposable foodware will be acceptable.

In this session, participants will learn about:

1. the reasons why reusable foodware ordinances are a win for local communities,
2. how to ensure businesses benefit financially from these policies, and
3. how to create the opportunities for reusable services, like Vessel, to thrive and provide a convenient alternative to BYO.

Business & Innovation Director

Samantha brings years of experience in program development and implementation, specializing in zero waste, community outreach, and behavior change. Before joining Clean Water Action in 2014 she implemented an AB 341 project developing recycling outreach and education programs for commercial businesses and multi-family dwellingsfor the City of Santa Monica and served as an Adjunct Professor in Recycling and Resource Management at Santa Monica College. Samantha is a CRRA Certified Professional in Sustainable Resource Management, holds a degree in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz, and a Masters in Community and Regional Development from UC Davis.

Reusable Business Innovation and How Reuse Saves Business Money

Launched in 2012, ReThink Disposable has been developed a winning model of technical assistance for cities that produces measurable waste reduction results and saves food businesses money. Local jurisdictions that have implemented or are considering reusable foodware policies are uniformly turning to ReThink Disposable to provide the technical assistance needed to help businesses comply. 

In this session, ReThink Disposable will present the variety of compliance assistance services it now offers to local government facing the need to comply with waste diversion, organics, and trash / stormwater regulations. ReThink Disposable will present recent successes in transitioning the Palo Alto school district to reusable dining, unpackaging 80 businesses in the City of Alameda, and recent progress unpackaging food businesses in Los Angeles. We will demonstrate how reducing single-use foodware in local businesses can  reduce litter, packaging, and trash and save businesses money.

CEO and Founder, Vessel

Vessel is Dagny’s latest venture but she is no newcomer to bringing ideas to fruition. She built her first business while still a university undergraduate and went on to executive level business and not-for-profit appointments that have traversed five continents and represent two decades of experience in strategy, management, sales and government and community engagement. She teaches at Parsons The New School for Design, was formerly the Managing Director of Strategic Global Affairs for New Hope Natural Media and Executive Director of the Peace Initiatives Institute. 

Vessel's Reuse System and why Policies and RFP's Make Cents

Vessel is the most successful reusable cup system in the landscape of take-out beverages to date. In this session, participants will hear about the successful pilots launched in  Boulder and Berkeley and new pilot programs on the way. Founder and CEO, Dagny Tucker, will showcase Vessel's  tech-enabled reusable cups for customers that provides customers with a convenient reuse system and businesses with instant feedback on positive impacts. Vessel is the only service with 24/7 street side return kiosks.  As of January 1st, Vessel offers customers in Berkeley a free reusable alternative to paying 25 cents for a disposable cup. This is the kind of complementary approach (policy initiatives plus innovative alternatives) that is likely to have the biggest impact on consumer behavior change. 

Manager

Patrick oversees implementation of the City’s many sustainability initiatives that include a robust recycling program, the current transition to a renewable energy focused Community Choice Aggregation, water efficiency and turf conversion projects, greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts, and projects to enhance walkability and biking in the City of Palm Springs. In the last year, he has had a particular focus on researching and developing a draft ordinance to reduce disposable food ware and waste from single-use plastics. He coordinates regularly with a City Council-appointed Sustainability Commission, neighborhood organizations, and business associations to better understand community needs and interests and he reports periodically to the City Council on new initiatives and accomplishments. Prior to joining the City of Palm Springs in 2019, Mr. Tallarico served as a consultant for federal environmental and natural resource programs often serving as a convenor and facilitator for multi-stakeholder initiatives such as EPA’s America Recycles Day Roundtables and Workgroups, an international Sustainable Materials Tracking initiative, a national meeting on sustainable materials management in the building sector, and an international dialogue for the G7 on sustainable materials management. Mr. Tallarico holds an M.S. in Conflict Analysis & Resolution and a B.S. in Engineering & Public Policy. 

Launching a Reusable Foodware Policy in Palm Springs

The City of Palm Springs has been developing a new ordinance to promote reusable food ware and reduce single-use plastic waste. We were poised to present the ordinance to Council in March, but the COVID response derailed those plans. The ordinance features were finally presented to Council in July and, based on their overwhelming support, the City is going to be pursuing a comprehensive ordinance to address this important issue. Join us to hear about what we learned during the development process, the features of our ordinance, feedback to date from stakeholders and residents, and planned next steps.

Policy Director

West Coast Program Manager

Jeremy Jones is West Coast Program Manager for PaintCare. In a previous role, he recruited and set up more than 100 retail paint collection sites to coincide with the launch of Minnesota program in 2014. Prior to joining PaintCare, Jeremy worked at Hennepin County in Minneapolis, with a focus on environmental programs and legislation to address carbon emissions reduction, material management and recycling. He holds a Bachelor's degree in political science from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Master's of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Minnesota.

Paint Stewardship - Successes and Challenges

Jeremy Jones will present highlights about PaintCare’s California program to date. He will cover successes, significant challenges, and lessons learned in developing a statewide paint stewardship program that now offers over 750 year-round drop-off sites, has processed over 19 million gallons of architectural coatings, has performed more than 550 large volume pick-ups (200 gallons or more), and exceeds convenience goals with 98.5% of residents living within 15 miles of a drop-off site.

Executive Director

Robert Peoples, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Carpet American Recovery Effort (CARE). Prior to joining CARE, he was Director of the ACS Green Chemistry Institute in Washington, D.C. Dr. Peoples spent 23 years with Monsanto and its spinoff Solutia as Director of Nylon Technology. Dr. Peoples has over seen the growth of the CARE organization from its beginning in January 2002 to what is today a $35M operational enterprise. Dr. Peoples holds a PhD in physical organic chemistry from Purdue University. He has served on numerous Boards including on California’s Green Ribbon Science Panel.

Carpet Stewardship - Successes and Challenges

Bob Peoples will talk about the progress and challenges associated with implementing recycling initiative for hard to recycle materials, with a focus on carpet. Bob will specifically discuss what it takes to build a collection infrastructure to support processing and conversion into new products. He will also discuss residual materials with little or no value in the recycle stream and touch on the development of sophisticated models to aid establishing appropriate subsidies

Managing Director

Mike has over 25 years’ experience managing recycling programs for a variety of product categories including household hazardous waste, paint, electronics, mercury containing lights and mattresses. As Managing Director for the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC), he is responsible for legislatively mandated statewide mattress collection programs in Connecticut, Rhode Island and California. MRC launched the California program in  2015 and has since recycled over 5 million mattresses. The program has demonstrated success through convenient access to mattress recycling, a comprehensive education and outreach strategy and high landfill diversion rate.

Mattress Stewardship - Successes and Challenges

Mike O’Donnell will provide a 4-year historical overview of the Mattress Recycling Council’s California program focused on key metrics including convenience, recycling rate, education and outreach and the programs landfill diversion rate. He will also discuss challenges with secondary markets for mattress commodities and MRC’s Research Program which is key to sustaining growth.

Executive Director

Ralph serves as Thermostat Recycling Corporation’s executive director.  He has a broad background in engineering, business management, operations, finance, strategic planning, and law. He started his career at Fiberlux, an independent producer of compounds and extrusions for the construction market. While there, he eventually ran the day-to-day operations and rose to the position of President. He has served as chairman of the Vinyl Window & Door Institute. Ralph received a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University and a law degree from Pace University.

Thermostat Stewardship - Successes and Challenges

Ralph Vasami will present a brief history and current state of Thermostat Recycling Corporation’s program in California. He will discuss successes, as well as challenges, in operating a robust mercury thermostat takeback program that utilizes a collection network of wholesale, retail, HHW and contractor drop-off locations.

Managing Director Services & Solutions

Shane Thompson serves as Managing Director of Services and Solutions for Call2Recycle^®where he leads the team responsible for optimizing battery collections and delivering personalized collection and recycling solutions to program participants across the U.S. 

With more than 20 years’ battery recycling experience, Shane has held leadership roles in the battery recycling industry - ranging from household batteries to advanced batteries used to power electric vehicles. 

Batteries Stewardship - Successes and Challenges

Shane Thompson will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of “voluntary product stewardship” for batteries, highlighting Call2Recycle’s experience in operating in over 60 jurisdictions throughout North America. Specifically, he will discuss how its approach varies and how certain attributes of program design can yield a more favorable outcome for policymakers and consumers.

President

Director of Waste to Wealth Initiative

Seldman co-founder ILSR, 1974, National Recycling Coalition, 1980, Grass Roots Recycling Network, 1995, Zero Waste International Alliance, 2010, Save the Albatross Coalition, 2015.

Seldman is a leading anti incineration and Zero Waste activist who was trained in the 1970s by recycling pioneers and activists in California. He works with local governments, small businesses, civic and environmental organizations to increase recovery of materials and adding value through processing and manufacturing.

Prior to 1974, Seldman worked in manufacturing and was a professor of political science at The George Washington University.

The five-letter word for recycling is LOCAL

When recycling pundits were predicting, “The future of US recycling is a five letter word – CHINA”, ILSR said, “No. The five letter word is LOCAL”

Local and regional recycling is accelerating as a result of the collapse of international recycling markets in 2018 by single stream recycling and processing by Big Waste. This debacle made it clear that cities that control their materials can thrive without Big Waste and without China as they focus on clean stream recycling and local and regional market development. The private sector is responding by increased investment in domestic markets for paper, plastic, electronic scrap and organic materials.  

The presentation will describe the process of monopolization of US waste and recycling and the current process of re localization in processing, composting and reuse. ILSR has recently published Monopoly Impacts on Solid Waste and Recycling Management and is preparing case studies of model enterprises in collection and processing of organic, glass, metal, paper, plastic and C&D materials. Participating companies are spread geographically across the US:  Southern California, Steam Boat Springs, CO, Tulsa, OK, Twin Cities, Baltimore, MD, MN, Philadelphia, PA and Pittsburgh, PA.

Researcher, Waste to Wealth Initiative

Rahul is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy at the Harris School of Public Policy in the University of Chicago. Prior to joining Harris, he worked at Praja, a non-profit in Mumbai which works towards enabling accountability in urban governance, and advocates for empowering local representatives and governments. His areas of interest include using data-driven research to bring about a change in civic engagement, urban policy, waste management, and moving towards a circular economy. He holds an Engineering degree in Computer and Communications from Manipal Institute of Technology, India.

(co-presenting with Neil Seldman)

Chief Ecological Officer

After working for 20+ years as the Green/Industrial Specialist on the City of Oakland's Business Development Team, Steve has retired from local government to pursue independent projects in recycling market development, and other sustainability initiatives. Through this change, Steve will continue to seek strategies that create good jobs while reducing climate impact. 

Steve co-founded the Recycling BIN (Build Infrastructure Now) Coalition, and is past President of the California Assn. of Recycling Market Development Zones (2003-19) and the Northern California Recycling Association (1993-95).  He is currently on the boards of the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse and SPRAWLDEF.

Are You a Pro-Manufacturing Environmentalist?

The realities of China’s National Sword, California’s unfulfilled recycling mandates, and the larger imperative to address climate change combine to present waste reduction enthusiasts with a sobering sense of starting over.  How can we connect the vision of Zero Waste to parallel efforts to create a Circular Economy?  How can we balance the push for increased diversion from landfills with the demand for consistent, high quality feedstocks for manufacturing?  What lessons can materials managers learn from the successful growth of renewable energy technologies and companies?  As the push to drive organic materials out of the waste stream, what is required to finance, site, permit, and build the necessary infrastructure to make quality compost and other products that truly closes the loop for this material?  While these are certainly some of the right questions to frame where materials management stands today, the answers are harder to grasp.  Surely however, much more attention needs to be paid to the “demand side” of the Zero Waste equation (vs. the supply side).  This shift will require a fundamentally different approach.  With government resources stretched thin for the foreseeable future, we need to use a skillful blend of carrots and sticks to leverage private investment to drive toward a Circular Economy, much faster than we will get there by simply mandating achievement of landfill diversion targets.  While the export market will always play a role in our marketplace, the next phase of materials management requires that we focus on building a strong, sustainable manufacturing economy in California, and with partners throughout the western United States. 

Zero Waste Coordinator

Kikei Wong is the Zero Waste Coordinator of UCLA, helping the campus achieve the initiative to go Zero Waste by 2020.  She has multiple years of experience in the solid waste industry working with waste haulers to help customers be in compliance with city and state solid waste policies.  Kikei has worked closely with public officials and city staff to provide outreach and education as well as technical support to commercial businesses of all kinds, from casinos to cemeteries.

Kikei holds a BS in Environmental Science and Management with an emphasis on Ecology, Biodiversity, and Conservation from UC Davis. 

Shifting the Paradigm: Transforming Waste Disposal Systems

Right-sizing and streamlining recycling program infrastructure, while rolling out operational programs is essential in reducing contamination and increasing community engagement.

The University of California set a goal to go Zero Waste. However, very few buildings at UCLA had proper accessibility to compost and recycling receptacles, and it was clear that there was very little source separation.  In order to achieve the goal, the campus needed to find a way to capture the organic material generated from the buildings and improve the current infrastructure.  

Kikei will speak about Facilities Management outreach and training efforts to custodians and building occupants, bridging the communications gap and providing resources and additional support.  By working with student organizations and ambassadors, she is able to engage with the larger campus community.  In addition, she will go over case studies on UCLA’s centralized waste collection program which details how departments introduced the compost stream and transitioned from full size trash containers to small side-saddle 5 gallon containers. The session will highlight the issues that arose from balancing shifting streams while maintaining best practices for successful execution. This will provide key learnings for the audience to use in their own campus facilities.

The session will also focus on culture and communication, which are driving factors in the success of campus recycling and zero waste programs. The presentation will include case studies and best practices on how to create a paradigm shift and affect culture change to ensure increased community engagement to achieve zero waste goals.

Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer

As Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer, Bonny is a key member of the leadership team for sustainability at UCLA, helping manage sustainability across the university and working to foster partnerships among academic, research, and operational departments to create a world class living laboratory. Bonny began her career in higher education sustainability as the Assistant Director of the Office of Sustainability Initiatives and the Director of University Sustainability Practices at Arizona State University. She then served as the Director of Sustainability for GreenerU, a greater Boston area consulting firm focusing on the higher-ed sector in New England.

Shifting the Paradigm: Transforming Waste Disposal Systems

Right-sizing and streamlining recycling program infrastructure, while rolling out operational programs is essential in reducing contamination and increasing community engagement.

The University of California set a goal to go Zero Waste. However, very few buildings at UCLA had proper accessibility to compost and recycling receptacles, and it was clear that there was very little source separation.  In order to achieve the goal, the campus needed to find a way to capture the organic material generated from the buildings and improve the current infrastructure.  

Bonny will speak about culture and communication on the campus as well as major overlaps across the UC sustainability goals.  She will provide a larger context of operational challenges in implementing zero waste initiatives and navigating the waters across a large, decentralized institution.  In addition, she will touch on the various policies and stakeholders that have influenced the success of zero waste initiative.  This session will highlight the complexities and challenges of making institutional changes where many stakeholders are involved.

The session will also focus on outreach efforts and case studies, which are driving factors in the success of campus recycling and zero waste programs. The presentation will include best practices for engagement and operations to create a paradigm shift and to affect culture change to ensure increased community engagement and achieve zero waste goals.

Energy & Sustainability Coordinator

Nikhil Schneider graduated from the University of Houston in 2016, where he earned a B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Energy and Sustainability. While there, he spent three years working in the Outdoor Adventure program, and two years in The University's Office of Sustainability. In September of 2017 he began the position of Energy and Sustainability Coordinator in California State University, Northridge’s department of Facilities Planning, Design & Construction. He has since played a key role in The University's progress towards more sustainable waste practices, transportation, energy management and more.

Bin There, Done That: Improving CSUN's Indoor Waste Infrastructure

This presentation will describe the process undertaken by California State University Northridge (CSUN) to update its waste hauling contract, indoor waste infrastructure and educational efforts to divert more material from the landfill. Prior to these changes, CSUN had separate bins for CRV material (bottles and cans), mixed paper, and landfill material. Each of these streams were handled by different vendors, and this system forced users to put other recyclables, such as mixed plastics or non-CRV aluminum, into the landfill stream.

Shortly after adopting a Zero Waste Plan early in 2019, CSUN’s waste hauling contract expired, and the university took that opportunity to comingle its recyclables and add a new stream for compostable material. To accompany this change, new trios of bins were installed in centralized areas throughout all campus buildings, with separate streams for landfill, recyclable and compostable material. This was a drastic change for university employees, students and custodial staff, and CSUN has undertaken significant efforts since then to educate the campus community on what goes into each bin, keep up with shifting guidelines from its hauler, and keep the new system functioning smoothly.

Attendees will learn about CSUN’s approach to its new hauling contract, user education, and bin deployment, as well as the multitude of challenges that accompanied each of these steps. Audience members will be able to hear CSUN’s key takeaways, ask their own questions, and bring insights back to their own organizations to improve their own waste handing processes.

Zero Waste Manager

Ms. Muir has managed Stanford University’s Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Composting Program for the last 25 years.  She leads the implementation of Stanford's University's Zero Waste Plan to reach Stanford University's goal of Zero Waste by 2030.  She enjoys most working with students and the campus community on waste reduction and educating on the connection between zero waste, sustainable materials management, the circular economy, and climate change.  Julie Muir is Past-President and current Senior Advisor to the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) and Chair of the Zero Waste Campus Council of CRRA.

Implementing a Zero Waste Building Plan

Stanford University announced its Zero Waste Goal by 2030 in May of 2018 and developed a plan and budget in the fall of 2019.  The Zero Waste Plan calls for a transformation of the waste system in 300 buildings on campus, including redesign bin placement, custodial and waste service procedural changes, and changes in procurement, and outreach and education methodology to communicate and incentivize reducing waste, using reusables in the building, and sorting waste properly.  This presentation will review two pilots that changed the waste syste, encouraged reusables, and incentivized occupants to make the change possible within two seperate populations in two geographical areas at Stanford Unversity. The speaker will discussed what was learned about moving a population in a building to zero waste and how those lessons will be incorporated in the rollout to the other 298 buildings.  

Sustainabilty Program Manager

Brie is a Sustainability Program Manager at the Berkeley Lab. She leads the development and implementation of the Lab’s zero waste plan. Brie has a background helping organizations define and execute their sustainability strategy, foster employee engagement, as well as measure and communicate their environmental footprint. Past roles include managing sustainability and communications at Straus Family Creamery and as a consultant for a variety of Fortune 500, nonprofit, and government organizations. She earned her B. A. in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara and her MBA in Sustainable Management at Presidio Graduate School.

Redefining the Path to Zero Waste: Driving Strategy with Data

Berkeley Lab, a research campus with a daily population of five thousand, has used data gained from more than 120 waste audits to inform their strategy to meet ambitious zero waste goals. Faced with a diverse set of waste streams and a decentralized network where employees best respond to what is relevant to them, the Sustainable Berkeley Lab (SBL) group needed to take a personalized approach. So, in 2017, SBL developed a program to conduct mini waste audits on a building-by-building basis and communicate the results. The data has informed targeted strategies to tackle the many types of waste streams found across the Lab’s campus. Data from audits is processed, analyzed and distributed publicly using Google Data Studio (see reporting at www.bit.ly/sblwaste). 

The data from the audit program has helped the Lab to:

• Focus on reducing contamination rather than simply trying to meet a 90% diversion target 
• Motivate building occupants by showing them how their building ranks against others 
• Identify single under-desk waste bins as the most contaminated source of waste (4.5 times more contaminated than central 4-bin waste stations). 
• Highlight food and organics as the primary contaminate of the landfill waste stream (about 50%).
• Better identify buildings that needed specific infrastructure, bins, and signage.
• Monitor and track trends of increased diversion and decreased contamination. 

This program was set up with limited resources and is replicable on many levels. Attendees can learn how data can be collected and shared to engage and motivate people.

Environmental Specialist

Janet Whited is an Environmental Specialist for San Diego Unified School District and is on a mission to help students, teachers, and staff reduce waste, help the environment, help the community, and save money.  Her focus is to engage the entire SDUSD family in developing an overall sustainability mindset that will assist the District in reaching their Climate Action Plan goals. To this end, she develops and implements programs to expand recycling and composting opportunities within the district, conducts environmental education and outreach, and assists in the coordination of the district’s edible food reduction, recovery and rescue program at over 180 schools and district facilities.   She has worked for the district in this capacity for over ten years and previously worked at the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department coordinating residential and commercial recycling programs.

Breakfast in the Classroom

Studies have shown that one in six children in public schools on average may not get enough to eat. Studies have also shown that with good nutrition students are better learners. To combat child hunger and food insecurity schools across the country offer Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC). How breakfast gets to the classroom varies, sometimes students grab it on their way into school, sometimes it is delivered. However the one constant is the amount of food and packaging waste generated in the classroom.

At San Diego USD a really awesome custodian considered this problem and established a system to collect the waste and recyclables from the BIC program. Working with the District’s Recycling Specialist to fine tune his idea, the District purchased equipment that is inexpensive and readily available. In short after breakfast designated students from each classroom wheel the trash and recyclables generated at breakfast to a central location where the custodian can consolidate and move the material to either the recycling bin or trash. This innovative recycling program includes student participation and is not dependent on teachers or custodial staff. This program can easily be adapted for all classroom dining once in-person instruction is allowed. With appropriate social distancing when returning the bins to the central location students can still participate in recycling activities and the school does not have to abandon their commitment to sustainable practices.

Though schools in San Diego USD will open August 31 because San Diego County remains on the Governor’s monitoring list instruction will be distance learning only. However when students do return to campus for in-person instruction

Lead Custodian

Duane Beebe is the current Lead Custodian at Harmony Elementary School in Vancouver, Washington’s Evergreen School District.  An employee of American Building Maintenance, Duane’s responsibilities are to maintain the Safety and Health of the school.  Overseeing aspects of daily sanitization and smooth operation are key factors in the success of the school. He is a former employee of the high tech profession and has applied such knowledge to the school’s meal programs.  Serving with a focus on early habit forming skills at the kindergarten level to 5^th grade has been a process that has yielded great results.  With the team effort learned from previous jobs he has enabled kids to have a win-win mentality in ownership of the school and their practices. 

Meals in the Classroom at Harmony Elementary

Harmony Elementary School is one of 37 schools in the Evergreen School District located in Vancouver, Washington with an enrollment of approximately 700 students in grades K-5. As like most schools in the U.S they are opening school this year with distance learning only. However when they can return to in-person instruction they will be uniquely prepared to continue their terrific recycling program.

Prior to COVID many of their students ate lunch in their classrooms due to having a very small cafeteria. Despite eating in the classrooms these students recycled their lunch waste just like their classmates who ate in the cafeteria by using sort stations located outside the classrooms.

One of the many models discussed for how to ensure social distancing between students when in-person instruction begins is requiring classroom dining. Both breakfast and lunch will be served in the classroom. How will meals get to those classrooms and how will the recyclable materials that are generated be collected? The lessons learned from the program at Harmony Elementary will help answer those questions.

Food & Nutrition Services Director

Erin Primer is the Director of Food & Nutrition Services at San Luis Coastal Unified. She brings over 15 years of experience in the food service industry, ranging from high quality catering to healthcare, universities and school food service. With two young children of her own, she is passionate about providing students with quality food options and ensuring a healthy school environment. She constantly tests new recipes that fit dietary needs while managing to establish food contracts with local farmers and vendors. Erin believes in teaching youth about our food system and engaging them in delicious and healthy meal options! 

Will COVID Derail School & Cafeteria Program Processes?

Last March school nutrition directors throughout the US did a very quick pivot and within days went from serving breakfast and lunch onsite to their students and instead served meals through mobile curbside pick-up. The importance of this action cannot be understated. According to a 2019 report from California Food Policy Advocates two million California children live in low-income households affected by food insecurity. For many students school breakfast and lunch may be their only consistent food source. School nutrition directors knew the importance of keeping their students fed.

Prior to COVID the school nutrition industry, particularly in California, was making progress on moving away from pre-packaged processed food and incorporating high-quality, healthy, freshly prepared school food into student meals. Many school nutrition directors were partnering with local fruit and vegetable growers to supply their kitchens and many were also implementing programs to reduce food waste, packaging waste and recycle cafeteria waste. Unfortunately COVID threatens to derail this progress by requiring packaged meals in order to maintain safety. School nutrition directors are rising to this new challenge and finding ways to still serve healthy, sustainable meals while minimizing packaging and meeting the grueling standards of federal and state regulations no matter if they are sending meals home to students or planning for the day when in-person instruction resumes and students may be eating in classrooms.

Executive Director of Nutrition Services & Warehousing

Vince is the Executive Director of Nutrition Services & Warehousing for Natomas USD.  With over 20 years of experience in the food service industry including 8 years as Department Chair of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles, Vince has merged his background in culinary arts, nutrition, education and business operations to bring delicious meals to the students of Natomas USD.  As the Executive Director since 2012 Vince embraced many sustainablity programs including California Thursday, a collaboration between the Center for Ecoliteracy and public school districts to serve healthy, freshly prepared school meals made from California-grown food.

Will COVID Derail School & Cafeteria Program Processes?

Last March school nutrition directors throughout the US did a very quick pivot and within days went from serving breakfast and lunch onsite to their students and instead served meals through mobile curbside pick-up. The importance of this action cannot be understated. According to a 2019 report from California Food Policy Advocates two million California children live in low-income households affected by food insecurity. For many students school breakfast and lunch may be their only consistent food source. School nutrition directors knew the importance of keeping their students fed.

Prior to COVID the school nutrition industry, particularly in California, was making progress on moving away from pre-packaged processed food and incorporating high-quality, healthy, freshly prepared school food into student meals. Many school nutrition directors were partnering with local fruit and vegetable growers to supply their kitchens and many were also implementing programs to reduce food waste, packaging waste and recycle cafeteria waste. Unfortunately COVID threatens to derail this progress by requiring packaged meals in order to maintain safety. School nutrition directors are rising to this new challenge and finding ways to still serve healthy, sustainable meals while minimizing packaging and meeting the grueling standards of federal and state regulations no matter if they are sending meals home to students or planning for the day when in-person instruction resumes and students may be eating in classrooms.

Recycling Coordinator

Executive Director

Mark is the organization's lead advocate and oversees the operation of both Californians Against Waste and Californians Against Waste Foundation. Mark joined the organization in 1987 and was appointed the Executive Director in 1994. Mark is recognized as one of the environmental community's leading experts on waste prevention and recycling policies. Over the past 20 years, Mark has helped draft many of California's solid waste and recycling laws. Mark has served on numerous local, state and national environmental advisory boards and commissions.

Legislative

Mark is going to speak on the legislative side of the recycling crisis and will explain the process of what it takes to pass bills. He will also provide his insight on how we can work with the governor's office, the state assembly and the senate.

President

Ms. Collins has been the President of the Container Recycling Institute since 2009. She leads the Institute’s research projects and works with environmental organizations, businesses, and governments around the world to educate on the benefits of packaging recycling. Prior to CRI, Ms. Collins was a consultant.  She. has served on the Boards of the CRRA and NRC, and has degrees in Manufacturing Engineering and an MBA.

Ms. Collins has testified before eleven state legislatures and has been heard on National Public Radio, BBC radio, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Resource Recycling, and others.

CRV Redemption Centers

Susan will speak to the redemption center crisis a year after the RePlanet closure.  She will review legislation that has passed and legislation that has failed to pass within that year and what needs to be done to ensure that the Bottle Bill does not fail in California.

Director of Government Affairs for the State of California

Alex Oseguera is Waste Management’s Director of Government Affairs for the State of California.. Alex brings over twenty-seven (27) years of progressive solid waste and recycling experience with Waste Management including national and international assignments. He joined the company in 1991, serving in several capacities that include the management of day-to-day operations for 17 hauling business units, 10 transfer stations, 3 landfills and 5 material recovery facilities.  Alex’s experience includes the management of 60 municipal contracts in Northern California and Nevada and he currently leads WM’s efforts pertaining to legislative and regulatory affairs in the State of California.

Industry

Alex Oseguera has strong insights into what is affecting  the recycling and solid waste industry from a hands-on and in the field viewpoint. He will share his perspective of what Waste Management has faced during the crisis in recycling markets.

General Manager

Jeff Donlevy is the General Manager of Ming’s Recycling Corporation, a family operated business since 1989. Ming's Recycling is a state certified recycler, state certified processor, and brokers of material throughout North America.  He is very concerned with the fate of California’s CRV program with the large number of centers that have closed due to lower material values and local regulations, adding to the problem of too many CRV containers ending up in curbside bins, resulting in decreased capture of CRV material and quality issues for MRF’s.  

Markets / CRV

Jeff will be speaking on the issues he is facing as a collector and broker and will provide his insight on what he thinks are the solutions.

President/CEO

Executive Director

Trathen Heckman is the founder and Director of Daily Acts Organization. He serves on the Board of Transition U.S. and the California Water Efficiency Partnership and is an Advisory Board member of the Norcal Community Resilience Network. Trathen helps people and groups reclaim the power of their actions to regenerate self, nature and community. Trathen lives in the Petaluma River Watershed where he grows food, medicine and wonder while working to compost apathy. https://dailyacts.org/sonoma-climate-challenge/ 

Grassroots efforts to implement urban carbon gardening affecting climate change

Daily Acts works as an effective grassroots organization to transform our communities through inspired action and education, which builds leadership and local self-reliance. Many individual programs have been implemented over the years, such as lawn conversions and regenerative garden designs, that contribute to carbon gardening.  Currently they are working to bring all those pieces together to launch a comprehensive carbon gardening program that can be adopted by any community. From the ground up we can turn dispair and hopelessness about climate change, which leads to apathy, into hope and action.

President and Lead Carbon Analyst for urban, suburban, and municipal landscape systems

Rick has spent 25 years weaving ecological literacy into the landscape profession through practical cutting-edge solutions. This led to the development of the Landscape Carbon Calculator at Landscape Analytic Solutions. He has taught and at countless industry events as well as created curriculum and held a lead instructor positions at Sonoma State University's Sustainable Landscape Professional Certificate Program and the Ecological Landscape Immersion Program at the Permaculture Skills Center. In this role he helped train future professionals in how to merge ecology, design, professionalism, and economics to build a career rooted in regenerative, socially just livelihood. .https://www.landscapeanalyticsolutions.com/

Landscape Carbon Calculator: tools for granular landscape carbon sequestration assessment

The Carbon Calculator can be used to predict carbon impacts at the landscape design phase and to stimulate rethinking of urban garden design and management or during post-construction to monitor the carbon footprint. Rick will walk you through some of the parameters included in the Calculator both on carbon costs (concrete, irrigation supplies, patios, etc.) as well as the carbon gardening benefits from trees, shrubs and the inter-related benefit of creating healthy soils through the use of compost and mulches. The future of the gardeners, landscape industry, parks and recreation and schools is beyond aesthetics. We are keepers of many solutions that the world needs to address climate change.  Rick will explore with attendees, options to utilize the Carbon Calculator to provide financial incentives to urban carbon sequestration by tying compost and mulch use to rebates or discounts and or other benefits. As such it can be a tool in procurement of organics.

Program Services Specialist

Trevor Probert is a Program Services Specialist at StopWaste in Alameda County. He facilitates StopWaste’s public workshops on composting and carbon farming, partners with urban farms to support on-site composting, and coordinates soil testing to gather data on carbon farming practices. He has worked as an elementary school garden teacher, classroom teacher, and landscape contractor, and has bachelor degrees in Geography and Environmental Science and a master’s degree in Education.

How local government can support carbon gardening: education and partnerships

StopWaste is a public agency in Alameda County that provides outreach to residents on the benefits of compost and mulch. Trevor will share the agency’s experience educating the public on carbon farming through an array of partnerships with community groups, urban farms, cities, and other public agencies. Efforts range from working with urban farms to provide soil testing and on-site composting technical assistance, hosting public workshops at urban farm sites to educate home gardeners on soil health, encouraging new working relationships with non-profits through grants and events, and engaging citizen groups already invested in sustainable gardening and composting with city efforts codified in Climate Action Plans. StopWaste’s partnership with the Alameda County Resource Conservation District (RCD) provides an additional layer of support for urban farms as well as the creation of the agency’s own Carbon Farming Plan, and the StopWaste Environmental Educator Training (SWEET) expands the agency’s capacity for outreach by creating an active group of volunteers to educate residents.

Composter/Soil Scientist

Environmental Education Manager

Emi joined the RethinkWaste team in October 2018. As the Environmental Education Manager, Emi oversees the Shoreway Environmental Center tours, as well as the In-School Recycling and Compost Program to improve waste reduction, recycling and organic performance at schools. This program incorporates student education, including classroom presentations, paired with on-site assistance and technical support in updating campus facilities and waste infrastructure. Before RethinkWaste, Emi coordinated the Green Business Program at the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability. Emi graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Analysis, with an emphasis in Public Policy and Environmental Justice from Pitzer College. 

Let’s Roll Out - Waste Infrastructure

Emi Hashizume will touch on best practices surrounding the lunch waste system. We will discuss how to create an infrastructure set-up that visually reinforces the new sorting system and makes it easy to participate in, and how to pair it with student education. Presentations, assemblies, and interactive games engage students and Green Team members during the initial launch of the program and can be used as ongoing “refresher” education tools. Working with Green Teams in particular can empower students to share their knowledge and motivate their peers throughout the year and ultimately create a campus culture that is focused on reducing waste. Additional supplemental activities, such as field trips to local recycling facilities, will also be discussed.

Resource Conservation Specialist

Nicole is a voice for the ocean and its’ inhabitants. A former scuba diving instructor and marine biologist, she has worked as a naturalist with the Oceanic Society since 2004 leading whale watch trips. Before coming to the Office of Sustainability, she served as lead educator for the Pacifica Beach Coalition. As a sustainability consultant for the SMC Schools Program, Nicole works with administrators, students and teachers grades prek-12 in the 23 school districts around the county.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in marine biology from UC Santa Cruz and a Master’s degree in Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University.

4R's Programming for Systemic and Community Change

Nicole Larson will highlight the similarities and differences between the San Mateo and Marin programs, including how both programs are founded on strong partnerships and collaboration between agencies. These partnerships allow for the sharing of resources, referrals to other programs and resources, and coordination on education and training at various school sites. Nicole will highlight how this best practice of strong partnerships facilitates county-wide diversion efforts.

Schools & Community Recycling Coordinator

Casey Fritz is the Schools & Community Recycling Coordinator for Marin Sanitary Service, the private waste hauler servicing central Marin County. She focuses on the partnership with Zero Waste Marin Schools, achieving compliance with state laws such as AB 341 and AB 1826 at school and community sites, education and training, and running the recycling facility tour program. Prior to joining MSS, she worked at the local nonprofit SEI contracted for educational work on the Zero Waste Marin Schools Program as the project manager. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

It’s a Team Effort - Kicking Off Campus Zero Waste Plans

Casey Fritz will review one of the first phases of successful zero waste school programs, which includes an initial meeting with stakeholders. Normally, this meeting includes the principal, or Green Team teacher or other leader, the head custodian and possibly an interested member of the PTA. We consider this first step a best practice because it brings together all of the groups that will be working on zero waste, and allows for county and hauler staff to assess what the school site is already doing to gauge what recommendations would be most relevant. Once this assessment of readiness and waste audit of campus is complete, we can begin training all stakeholders to ensure everyone starts off on the same foot and is working towards the same goals.

Waste Management Specialist

Casey Poldino is a Waste Management Specialist with the County of Marin and Zero Waste Marin. Casey has been with the County since 2015 working on outreach, education, and Zero Waste Programs. She designed the Zero Waste Schools Program in 2016 to advance recycling and composting efforts in all K-12 schools. This ongoing program provides education, training, and infrastructure to enrolled schools. Prior to her work with the county, Casey managed the Community Recycling Program with Conservation Corps North Bay and worked with partners on sustainable materials management. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from Humboldt State University.

Celebrations and Beyond!

Casey Poldino will present how to bring the first year of a zero waste program to a close. Best practices in this phase include a follow-up waste audit to collect data about improvement in diversion, which can be presented to stakeholders along with recommendations for further improvement. We will also discuss recognition of the hard work of students, teachers, and custodians, and recommend ways to continue zero waste work over the summer or through distance learning to extend the culture of zero waste into the home and the community.

Resource Conservation Specialist III

Special Project Manager

Dr. Joanne Brasch holds a PhD in Textile Economics and Environmental Analysis from the UC Davis, where she also received a Master’s degree in Textile Science and a Bachelor’s degree in International Agricultural Development. With more than 12 years of academic work experience, Joanne has held lecturer and research appointments at UC Davis, CSU Sacramento, and Donghua University in Shanghai, China. She was the Sustainability Researcher for the UC Davis Health System, leading projects on waste mitigation and environmentally preferable purchasing on campus. She currently works as Special Project Manager at CPSC to lead projects that promote a circular economy.

Textile Waste Policies to Drive a Circular Economy

The clothing we choose to wear everyday has an enormous impact on the planet, while being manufactured, worn, or when discarded. American consumers need education on what to do with textiles other than putting in landfill and they need a convenient collection system, but the issue remains that collection and processing of textile waste is extremely costly. The California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) is a nonprofit with the mission to shift California’s product waste management system from one focused on government funded and ratepayer financed waste diversion to one that relies on producer responsibility in order to reduce public costs and drive improvements in product design that promote environmental sustainability.

CPSC will share information on how communities are addressing textile waste through local policies, campaigns, and voluntary product stewardship. Local jurisdictions in California are challenged to reduce their waste generation and many are looking at textiles, the sixth most prevalent material type in the overall waste stream according to a 2014 Characterization of Solid Waste Report by CalRecycle, as a priority to drive a circular economy.

Director of Communications & Affiliate Programming

Jess Daniels is the Director of Communications & Affiliate Programming for Fibershed, creating written and visual collateral connecting wearers to the ecological and social source of their clothing, and facilitates an international network building soil-to-soil fiber systems. She has a decade of experience working with local food and fiber systems and her work has been published in the journals Agriculture and Human Values and Making Futures. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Visual Art from Brown University, where she completed textiles coursework at Rhode Island School of Design and studied in India, Tanzania, New Zealand, and Mexico.

Developing Regional and Regenerative Fiber Systems

Our clothing can either continue to be a major part of the problem, or it can be part of the solution. A key to a circular textile economy is developing regional and regenerative fiber systems to create permanent and lasting systems of production with regionally grown fibers, natural dyes, and local talent. Fibershed works with communities and corporate partners at different scales to design systems that mitigate waste and will include case studies such as the first "community supported cloth" that's 100% compostable and Climate Beneficial™ and The North Face Cali Wool collection.  

Textiles Expert and Tribal Liaison

Tracey Harper’s career spans air pollution enforcement and policy in the 1980s to currently serving as CalRecycle’s textile subject matter expert and Tribal Liaison. She previously served as Advisor to the CIWMB Chairperson and liaison to local governments and Air Resources Board liaison to Southern California. Ms. Harper was also the Nevada County Recycling Coordinator, successfully bringing the county to a diversion rate above fifty percent in under five years. Ms. Harper is now tasked with the challenge of addressing the massive waste of textiles in the state. She has a B.A. in Political Science-Public Service from the UC Davis.

The Magnitude of Textile Waste

The clothing we choose to wear everyday has an enormous impact on the planet, while being manufactured, worn, or when discarded. According to a 2014 Characterization of Solid Waste Report by CalRecycle, more than 1.24 million tons of textiles were disposed in California landfills as the sixth most prevalent material type in the overall waste stream, comprising 4 percent of landfilled waste. Every year, Californians spend more than $70 million to dispose of used textiles in landfills. Ninety-five percent of this material is reusable or recyclable. California has set an ambitious goal of 75 percent recycling, composting, or source reduction of solid waste by 2020 by taking a statewide approach to decreasing California’s reliance on landfills. Managing our textile waste responsibly is essential to this effort. Ms. Harper will be providing updating statistics on the amount of textile waste and efforts CalRecycle is taking to address this issue.

Chair, Waste Prevention, Reuse & Repair Technical Council, CRRA

Environmental Specialist

Kelsey Hammond manages the Green Schools Program under the City of Ventura's Division of Environmental Sustainability.

The City of Ventura's Green Schools Program

The City of Ventura has partnered with Ventura Unified School District to provide environmentally-focused presentations in all K-5 classrooms through the Green Schools Program. The topics range from ocean pollution prevention to composting and recycling. As students move through elementary school, they are exposed to a variety of STEAM-based lessons and activities that help foster their love for Ventura and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards. 

Through our partnership with Ventura Unified School District and our local hauler, EJ Harrison, we have implemented a large-scale composting and recycling program in K-5 schools throughout the City of Ventura. The Green Schools Program incorporates both education and action components, which have led us to further successes, including eliminating plastic spork packets from the cafeteria, incorporating food sharetables, and expanding composting programs to local middle schools.

StopWaste Schools Program Manager

Angelina Vergara is the StopWaste Schools Program Manager in Alameda County. 

StopWaste

Angelina Vergara will be sharing StopWaste's best practices, and lessons learned on onboarding K-12 students and school champions to amplify thier public agency's sustainability initiatives, such as food waste reduction educational outreach, in thier action-based and citizen science approach.

S.C.R.A.P. Gallery Executive Director

Karen Riley is the Executive Director of the Student Creative Recycle Art Program (S.C.R.A.P.) Gallery.

Integrating Art & The Environment

The Student Creative Recycle Art Program (S.C.R.A.P. Gallery) takes a unique approach to help solve environmental problems by teaching children to be creative in their personal recycling habits while taking care of the planet. The S.C.R.A.P. Gallery works with youth from all over Southern California to promote conservation and reuse by teaching them to creatively practice the Four R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Responsibility.

The S.C.R.A.P. Gallery emphasizes that through creative reuse and recycling, students can have a profound and positive effect on the environment. By integrating art and the environment, students of all ages can share these real life experiences with their friends and families and make a difference in their local and global communities. Students 

Teacher

Helene Moore is a teacher at Joaquin Miller Elementary in Oakland Unified School District, and a winner of the 2019 CRRA Teacher Mini-Grant Award. Helene also facilitates my Joaquin Miller Elementary's Ocean Guardian grants.

Reducing Waste through the CRRA Mini-Grant

Our school has a very dedicated student Green Team and Food Share program. In addition, we try to introduce a new strategy for campus waste reduction every year. For example, we have had 3 hydration stations installed and have given out and/or sold reusable water bottles in order to eliminate single-use plastic bottles. This year's goal is to encourage families to include reusables in lunch boxes as well as during classroom parties.

We have put together reusable party kits for each of our classrooms in order to eliminate using paper and plastic for our school. In addition we are asking parents to donate cloth napkins that also can be reused. Fifth grade students are creating a video and writing a letter to parents explaining our school's latest attempt to eliminate waste with re-usable party kits.

The CRRA mini-grant covered the cost of plastic bins for storing the plates, cups and utensils that will be taken home to be washed after each use. Helene will discuss the outcome of the reusable party kits during the 2019-20 school year.

Environmental Specialist

Senior Environmental Scientist

Scott Beckner is a Senior Environmental Scientist with CalRecycle, where he manages the Renewable Energy and Climate Change section. His responsibilities include GHG quantification of solid waste activities, technical evaluation of innovative solid waste processing technologies, assisting in the implementation of SB1383 as well as CalRecycle’s Greenhouse Reduction Fund grant program, and tracking bioenergy issues in the State of California. Scott has also worked in solid waste permitting and inspections, and CEQA analysis, and extended producer responsibility, and has a degree in Physical Geography from California State University, Sacramento.

SB 1383 Procurement Requirements: An Overview

Scott will discuss the basics of SB 1383 procurement requirements.  He will describe the requirements and discuss eligible recycled organics products.  Also presented will be the tools that CalRecycle has developed to help cities implement the requirements.  Most importantly, he will be available to answer questions.

Program Manager

Kelly works on compost and mulch education to public agency staff and landscape professionals, monitors organics-related regulations, and manages StopWaste’s rangeland property. Kelly is also an ecologist turned landscape architect turned compost enthusiast, and uses her power for good by overseeing carbon farming on the property as well as a conservation easement.

Compost and Mulch Procurement Strategies

Kelly will discuss strategies to improve the use of compost and mulch across jurisdictions, and how to overcome some of the challenges that cities face. She will discuss the many applications of compost and mulch, and how cities can meet procurement requirements through direct procurement and use, as well as indirectly through partners and policy. She will also discuss how to ensure that your city is getting quality compost and mulch through development and enforcement of specifications.

President

Ron Alexander is the President of R. Alexander Associates, Inc, an environmental consulting company specializing in organics recycling. He is considered an expert in compost quality issues, market research and development, and end use. Ron is a horticulturist by training and possesses over 35 years of experience working with compost (and other organic recycled products) in landscaping, erosion control and storm water management. He has worked throughout the State of California on compost market research and development projects, and has trained hundreds of landscape architects, engineers, Cities (and Caltrans) on compost and mulch end use.

Municipal Usage of Compost & Mulch, Helping to Meet SB 1383 Requirements

Compost and mulch usage are commonplace in landscape construction and maintenance practices, on both public and private projects, but also have great applications in soil and water protection and conservation. As SB 1383 requires the usage of organic recycled products, municipal entities must consider how they will meet this important requirement. Understanding what applications are appropriate, how internal land management BMP’s and specifications can impact product usage, and product quality requirements, are essential to expanding product usage. Also, understanding which regulations and trends already exist which can impact compost and mulch usage can also assist a municipal entity in developing a path forward. 

Senior Management Analyst

Composter/Soil Scientist

Will Bakx, co-owner of Sonoma Compost Co., started in 1985 processing agricultural materials. In 1993 he started the Sonoma county-wide yard debris composting program having diverted over 1,800,000 tons of organics towards soil amendments. He is currently working as a consultant and is co-owner of Renewable Sonoma.

Will earned a BA in Environmental Studies from Sonoma State University and a MS in Soil Science from U.C. Berkeley. He is the co-founder and board member of the California Organic Recycling Council (CORC) and co-founder and ex-officio of the California Compost Coalition (CCC)

The Pitfalls of Compostable Plastics and PFAS products in Organics

In 2008, at the US Compost Council Conference, I circulated a document highlighting the problems with compostable plastics.  Twelve years later we have made remarkable little progress in addressing the issues.  Wheras in 2008 the compostable plastics industry told the organics recyclers that the train had left the station and that we better adjust to these products, today we see strong signals that the train may have failed to get to its destination, with good reason.

The products are still not identifiable, may not decompose in an appropriate time frame, are not allowed under the National Organics Program and do not add value to the compost. 

Will we get additional diversion if we allow food scraps to be collected in bags?  Can we maximize diversion and keep our feedstocks clean?  The challenge lays at our feet right now and we have fertile ground to explore the most suitable approaches. Let’s get to the root of it all. 

We'll explore future steps needed for a regenerative packaging future.

Director

Leslie Lukacs is the Executive Director of Zero Waste Sonoma formally known as the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency. Leslie has worked over 20 years in solid waste and resource management industry and, prior, was the Director of Zero Waste at SCS Engineers for 13 years. Leslie serves on the board of directors of NRC and the Zero Waste International Alliance and is an advisor to Zero Waste USA and CRRA. She is the founder of stakeholder groups including the (GIVE) Council, Compost Coalition of Sonoma County, Sonoma County Zero Waste Task Force, and the Zero Waste North Bay Symposium.

Compostable Products: The Benefits and Challenges to Organics Processing Systems

Before signing an organics processing contract, and before design and construction of the facility itself, Zero Waste Sonoma (ZWS) staff evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of accepting compostable products as feedstock. The process took over a year as we met and spoke with various stakeholders locally in California and elsewhere around the country, including business end users, composters, solid waste consultants, local government agencies, haulers, as well as a compostable products manufacturer and compostable resin manufacturer. All the information collected eventually helped to inform ZWS's board decision to hold off on accepting products containing any compostable plastics. Instead, the board directed us to continue negotiations with our organics processor, asking them to design flexibility into the facility so that compostable plastic products can be accepted in the future if need be. In the meantime, ZWS is pushing for better labeling legislation for compostable and petroleum-based plastics.  This presentation will share research on the topic and review the benefits and challenges of compostable products in organics processing systems.

Government Relations Manager

Christine Wolfe is Government Relations Manager for Recology. She oversees regulatory and legislative advocacy for the company, including ongoing efforts to divert organics from landfills, stop plastic pollution, and build domestic recycling infrastructure. Christine joined Recology in 2017 and previously worked in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance for a variety of public and private clients. Christine serves as a Director of CPSC and SWANA as well as the Young Professional Representative for SWANA’s California and Pacific Basin members. 

Market Pressures of Packaging Materials in Organics Collection Programs

I will focus presentation on  current market pressures the industry faces with regards to the acceptance of "compostable" plastic materials into local collection programs.  I can identify operational challenges with the processing of these materials, the risks both potential and real associated with the issue; and finally legislative/regulatory efforts that can mitigate some of the identified risks.

Consultant

Senior Recycling Specialist

Wanda Redic is a Senior Recycling Specialist in the Oakland Public Works Department. In 1994, Wanda began her career in solid waste & recycling in the City of Berkeley developing & implementing an ISO 14000 Env. Management System and commercial and residential food scraps collection service.  In 2007 Wanda became a Recycling Specialist in Oakland. She has over 24 years of service in government recycling and organics programs. Wanda currently manages outreach programs, assists with managing franchise agreements, develops and implements programs for compliance with regional and state mandatory recycling & organics laws.

Source Reduction in Grocery Chains - The Pacific Coast Collaborative

The goal is to reduce surplus food at grocery stores 50% by the year 2030 beginning with large retail brands.  Attendees will learn about an exciting collaboration of government and non-governmental organizations working together to reduce surplus food that is wasted at the grocery store level with impacts up the food supply chain. Attendees will learn about the goals of the work, participating agencies, participating store chains including brands such as Kroger, Albertsons and more.  Voluntary agreements to participate ensure the commitment of both governing bodies and store chains. Reducing surplus food coupled with food rescue reduces GHG emissions, prevents organics from being landfilled and reduces the load on composting facilities in a SB 1383 world.  Successful source reduction may have positive impacts in large store chains throughout California, the Pacific Coast and beyond.  I’ll share our measuring strategy and challenges of large collaborative efforts. I’ll also share the challenges of recruiting big chain retailers and developing outreach tools for a culturally and linguistically diverse population like Oakland. As we near the end of our first year of feet-on-the-ground, I’ll share our hopes and expectations for 2021 and beyond. The Pacific Coast Collaborative is a group of states and provinces including California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia; large cities including Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. Partner NGOs include World Wildlife Fund, ReFED, WRAP UK and Cascadia Law Group.

Project Manager

Cory Oskardmay is a waste reduction and sustainability consultant based out of Los Angeles, California with a focus on recycling and organics program implementation. Since joining Go2Zero in June 2017, Cory has provided zero waste education, outreach, and technical assistance for hundreds of businesses and multi-family complexes throughout Los Angeles.

Vallarta Supermarkets Recycling, Organics, and Food Donation Program

California’s new recycling, organics, and food donation policies have posed a considerable dilemma for high-volume waste generators like Vallarta Supermarkets, who needed to come into compliance or face fines and other penalties. The implementation of waste diversion programs was a daunting task for Vallarta due to a variety of foreseen issues. These included liability and sanitation concerns, employee training, adapting to differing city hauling programs, and significant increases in service costs. Go2Zero Strategies addressed these issues, implementing a program that smoothly and effectively brought all 34 Vallarta locations into compliance by diverting approximately 1,000 tons of material per month while reducing monthly hauling expenses by more than $25,000. Attendees of this session will learn how the team successfully implemented these programs, tracked program progress, and achieved substantial cost savings.

Senior Associate

Nancy Roberts has over 25 years of experience in marketing and public relations, communications and project management for mission-driven organizations. In her nearly 10 years with Gigantic, she focuses on strategic communications planning, metrics and integrating social media into traditional marketing campaigns for clients including StopWaste, Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE), Zero Waste Marin and the City of Livermore, among others. Nancy holds an M.B.A. in Sustainable Enterprise from Dominican University of California, and M.A. and B.A. degrees from George Washington University. She is a GRI Certified Sustainability Reporter.

Food Waste & Climate Change: Are These Connected for Californians?

What do Californians really know about the connection between climate change and food waste? Public understanding of, and interest in, climate change have increased dramatically in just the past few years. How can waste agencies responsibly help the public make the connection between the global climate emergency and the food in their kitchens and restaurants? This session will present the results of a survey of Californians, tailored specifically for the CRRA Conference, to examine understanding and attitudes around the connection of climate change and food waste. This presentation of California-focused data along with current campaign examples both local and global will show attendees how changes in public attitudes might fine-tune messaging in their next food waste campaign.

Recycling Consultant

Laura Anthony is a 2nd generation zero waste community organizer. Major: Women’s Studies Minor: Communications & Master’s in Library and Information Management. In 2007, helped establish a local nonprofit organization called Zero Waste San Diego. Zero Waste Consultant with Richard Anthony Associates. She has implemented several beverage container recycling programs in schools throughout Southern California. Helped put into action an school lunch recycling program throughout the County of San Diego diverting over half of each schools waste by volume per day.

Making the Case for School Lunch Recycling Programs

The County of San Diego recently set a goal of 75% diversion by 2025. Over the past few years, Richard Anthony Associates and Zero Waste San Diego have created and implemented school recycling throughout the unincorporated San Diego County and are not putting School Lunch Recycling Programs into practice. Laura will go into detail on how they approached the district, the schools, and staff to incorporate a sorting system at each lunch period in order to cut the volume of waste in half. Equipment, signage and incentive programs were created with the help of hauler permit fees and grants from the Carton Council.

Transition Program Teacher

Kiana is the Transition teacher at Mount Miguel High School.  In this role she has integrated students in the School's Special Education Transition Program into leadership rolls with the School's Rolling With Me program.  This partnership empowers young adults with learning challenges and helps them gain job training, leadership skills, access to resources and social skills.

High School Recycling? It is All About Partnerships

Dedicated to the promotion of understanding, acceptance, and appreciation of individual learning and physical ability directly from the perspective of individuals living with these challenges, Rolling With Me (RWM) programs empower participants to appreciate diversity and inclusion in our community while they also engage, educate, and empower participants of diverse ages and backgrounds. Kiana partnered RWM with Mount Miguel High School's Special Education Transition students.  One of their projects was to implement the school recycling program.  Establishing recycling programs in high schools is notoriously difficult but this partnership is a success.  The partnership provides participants with leadership and social skills, networking opportunities and job training, while also making sure the recycling program is a success.

Project Engineer/Composting Consultant

Tyla Montgomery Soylu provides planning, permitting, design and technical support for resource management projects. She is responsible for implementation of recycling, food recovery and organics programs at schools and businesses in Unincorporated areas under the County of San Diego’s As-Needed Recycling contracts as well as the City of Carlsbad.  She is a registered Civil Engineer in CA and NV and earned her BS in Environmental Engineering from SDSU. Tyla serves on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organization, Inika Small Earth.

Organics and Food Recovery at Schools

The County of San Diego recently set a goal of 75% diversion by 2025. Organic materials can reach up to 50% of a school’s waste stream, when little or no action to divert the material is put into action. Tyla will discuss the County of San Diego’s initiative, "Food, Too Good to Waste!" in instilling the highest and best use of recovered food as well as creating onsite composting at school campuses. She will also mention the importance of creating relationships with food recovery partners such as animal sanctuaries’ and community food banks. These provide schools various avenues in which help divert organics to feed the people first, animals and then the soil.

n/a

Director of Zero Waste

Louise Bruce is the San Jose Conservation Corps' Zero Waste Director. Louise previously oversaw the NYC Department of Sanitation’s (DSNY) organics programs, including municipal food and yard waste collection and the City’s community composting and food scrap drop-off operations. Louise earned a Master of Urban Planning degree from New York University and Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University. In 2016, she was awarded The University of California Global Food Initiative’s 30 Under 30 distinction.  

San Jose Conservation Corps' Unique Local Partnerships

Louise will present on the following portion of the discussion: 

Partnering to rescue edible food and divert organics: While SB 1383 establishes aggressive organic waste reduction and edible food recovery targets, LCCs are stepping up to meet the demand for new and expanded services. The San Jose Conservation Corps has partnered with the East Side Union High School District to source-separate food scraps in one of California’s largest high school districts. Additionally, the Corps is working with Second Harvest of Silicon Valley to rescue edible groceries that would otherwise be disposed of and operate a food distribution program.

CFO & COO

Brian is the Chief Financial and Operating Officer of Civicorps where he has been employed since 2008. He also currently serves as Treasurer on the board of directors at Horizon Services, Inc. and is a Finance Committee member at Vincent Academy. He holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Finance from University of California, Santa Barbara. Brian is a Certified Public Accountant with over 25 years of experience in auditing and accounting. He began his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers but has worked in private industry since 1998.

Partnering to train a new generation of recycling truck drivers

Brian will present on this portion of the session: 

Partnering to train a new generation of recycling truck drivers: Civicorps provides free Class C and B driver training in the East Bay Area in partnership with the Teamsters Local 70 Union, Waste Management, and the City of Oakland. Known as the Teamster Truck Driver Career Pathway, this innovative partnership provided training for 24 pre-apprentices in 2018-2019.

Recycling Manager

Andrew's passion for environmental advocacy has lead him to the recycling industry. Combined with his experience in Community Action Partnerships, he understands the necessity of improving communities for all. He currently implements and coordinates fee-for-service and grant-based recycling projects across Orange County while working with staff to support Orange County Conservation Corps' education and job training programs.

Partnering with Your Local Conservation Corps: Public-Private Partnerships to Support Beverage Container Recycling

Director of Operations

Josh has spent over 15 years in operations management directing the conservation and environmental programs.  Josh has helped restore California's environment through his efforts with the Corps.  Through his work and dedication to the organization, he was promoted from crew supervisor, manager, and to his current position as Director of Operations.

Partnering with Your Local Conservation Corps: Public-Private Partnerships to Support Beverage Container Recycling

Staff Services Manager I remove this moderator

Executive Director

Doug has been “talking trash” for nearly 28 years and is currently Executive Director for the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC).  Previously, he spent over 18 years with Sacramento County, 2+ years with Edgar & Associates, and 5+ years with Yolo County.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from California State University, Chico.

Doug is the Vice-Chair on the SWANA California Chapters Legislative Task Force.  Formerly, he was the Chair of CPSC, the Founding President of National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC), Chair of the Mattress Advisory Committee, and a member of the California Carpet Stewardship Program Advisory Committee.

Solar Panel Recycling. Where are we? Where are we heading?

Solar energy continues to be a primary means for green energy production in California and across the nation.  Like any product, solar panels have an expected lifespan.  When the end of that lifespan has been met, or electrical production has fallen below minimum economic efficiency, what are the options for reuse or recycling of those panels?  What should be the minimum lifespan of these panels being sold into California?  How will the California PUC requirement for solar on all new rooftops affect the product waste stream in the near future?  Are we heading for a crisis? 

This presentation will address these questions and explore existing and potential solutions to the looming influx of solar panels that will be coming off the rooftops and out of the solar farms over the next 5-10 years.

Senior Environmental Scientist

Paulina Kolic, PhD, supervises the Facilities and Targeted Materials Unit at CalRecycle. Prior to this she was a science policy fellow with the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana. She holds a doctorate in analytical chemistry from Louisiana State University and a bachelors of science in chemistry from California State University Channel Islands.

Addressing End-of-Life Management for Solar Panels and Electric Vehicle Batteries

The exponential increases in the adoption of solar power and electric vehicles in California have led to concerns regarding eventual end-of-life management. In May 2018, CalRecycle’s Director approved and adopted The Future of Electronic Waste Management in California report and the recommendations contained within, including the recommendation to prepare for the end-of-life management of solar panels and lithium ion batteries. This report led CalRecycle to sign a memorandum of understanding with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and co-lead an interagency workgroup, composed of five state agencies in California, to partner on developing consistent approaches to managing waste solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, and energy storage batteries. Through these efforts CalRecycle co-hosted a workshop with the CPUC to gather information on current policies and programs and identify challenges to proper disposal and recycling. In addition, CalRecycle is a member of the Lithium-ion Car Battery Recycling Advisory Group, established by Assembly Bill 2832 (Dahle, Statutes of 2018), and convened by the California Environmental Protection Agency. Currently, CalRecycle is in the process of publishing a joint white paper on the findings of these efforts, which will include policy recommendations for end-of-life management.

Environmental Specialist

Adrina Hernandez is an Environmental Specialist with the City of Oceanside’s Green Oceanside team and has played an active role in creating a positive impact in the community she grew up in. Through the implementation of environmental campaigns and programming, she is dedicated to promoting sustainability both in and out of the office. Adrina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Business Administration, a certificate in Zero Waste Principles and Practices from CRRA and SWANA, and is the president of her Environmental Alumni Association.

1 lb. Propane Cylinders: Creating a Successful Exchange Program

The City of Oceanside is home to boating enthusiasts, active hikers, and beach goers and receives hundreds of thousands of visitors year-round. Whether it be for barbequing, heating, or boating appliances, many of these residents and visitors utilize 1 lb. propane cylinders for their daily needs.

Single-use 1 lb. propane cylinders have been a serious problem across California, with many being improperly disposed of and creating a hazard for communities. After receiving a grant from CalRecycle and partnering with the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC), the City of Oceanside’s Green Oceanside team was able to target this growing issue and educate the Oceanside community on the impact single-use propane cylinders have on the environment, inform the community on how to properly dispose of single-use propane cylinders, and provide a refillable alternative with information on how to refill locally.

The Green Oceanside team created an innovative pledge card, which was used during exchange events at U-Haul, the City’s household hazardous waste facility, Oceanside City Hall, the Oceanside Harbor, and other locations. Along with the pledge card, the City of Oceanside was able to work alongside the City’s Harbor Office to host a collection receptacle for the proper disposal of single-use cylinders.

This presentation will provide a model for a successful exchange program through lessons learned and highlight how the City of Oceanside thought outside of the box to get refillable propane cylinders into the hands of the community.

President

Since 2002, Mr. Hilton, President of HF&H Consultants, has provided recycling and solid waste consulting services to public agencies covering strategic, operational, programmatic, contractual, and financial issues. Rob leads HF&H’s franchising team, supporting dozens communities annually in competitively procuring or negotiating collection, processing, or disposal contracts. Rob leads HF&H’s SB 1383 efforts, including direction of over 20 SB 1383 projects such as SB 1383 implementation plans, franchises, ordinances, and management of the CalRecycle Model SB 1383 Implementation Tools Project. He hosted several SB 1383 Local Government Summits and has spoken many times to jurisdictions on SB 1383 compliance.

SB 1383 Regulatory Highlights and Intro to CalRecycle Tools

While SB 1383 regulatory requirements are extensive, this presentation will briefly identify key SB 1383 milestones and requirements. In addition, it will include an introduction to four CalRecycle SB 1383 Implementation Tools and case study resources.

Senior Manager - P.E.

Tracy Swanborn is a Senior Manager with HF&H. She has 30 years of consulting experience assisting local governments.  Her expertise is in planning diversion programs; managing competitive procurements for collection, processing, and disposal; and developing contracts and ordinances. Tracy has been focused on SB 1383, actively tracking the rule making, presenting SB 1383 requirements to jurisdictions, and assisting jurisdictions with preparation of SB 1383 action plans and SB 1383-compliant franchises. She managed the development of the four CalRecycle SB 1383 Model Tools, including a Model Franchise, Model Ordinance, Model Organics Product Procurement Policy, and Model Food Recovery Agreement.

SB 1383 Model Tools – What are They and How they Can Help You

To comply with SB 1383 regulations, jurisdictions and other entities will be drafting new agreements, ordinances, and policies or amending existing ones.  This presentation will introduce you to four SB 1383 Implementation Tools that were produced for CalRecycle by HF&H Consultants, in conjunction with Diversion Strategies and Debra Kaufman Consulting.  The SB 1383 tools, which will be available for use by jurisdictions and other entities, include: a model franchise agreement; a model mandatory organics disposal reduction ordinance; a model organic waste product procurement policy; and, a model edible food recovery agreement. Each tool provides example provisions for use to develop new agreements, ordinances, and/or policies, or to amend existing ones. The presentation will highlight key provisions of each tool and describe how users can navigate each model tool. The audience will gain an understanding of how the models can help entities achieve compliance and the various customizable provisions within the models that users can use to fit their needs.

Associate Analyst

Monaliza Noor is an Associate Analyst at HF&H Consultants. She recently assisted with the development of CalRecycle’s SB 1383 implementation tools and case studies.  To help jurisdictions plan for SB 1383, Ms. Noor has also helped develop a number of SB 1383-specific tools that identify requirements; delineate which entity (City, hauler, or a third-party) will do what; and, allow for cost-benefit analysis. In addition to her SB 1383 focused work, Ms. Noor also assists in hauler performance reviews, solid waste and recycling contract analysis, and procurement evaluations. Before diving into the world of solid waste, Ms. Noor worked as a multimedia journalist for about a decade. Before joining HF&H Consultants in 2018, Ms. Noor worked for the City of Oakland’s environmental services division.  In 2016, she earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco.

SB 1383 Compliance Approaches – Eight Real World Case Studies

Jurisdictions and other regulated entities have many pathways for compliance with the SB 1383 regulations and are encouraged to look to others for real world examples of compliance approaches.  CalRecycle released eight case studies, prepared by HF&H Consultants, as resources for jurisdictions and entities to learn about various compliance approaches related to franchising, mandatory organics disposal reduction ordinances; organic waste product procurement; and, edible food recovery.  The presentation will provide an overview of each case study including key implementation steps and milestones and lessons learned. The audience will hear about strategies taken in Alameda County, Manteca, San Francisco, San Ramon, Stockton, San Luis Obispo County, Fresno, and the country of France.

SB 1383 Manager

Environmental Compliance & Zero Waste Specialist

Joanne Yee is the Environmental Compliance and Zero Waste Specialist at San Francisco International Airport’s Sustainability & Environmental Policy Division. She wears two hats, one of which is to manage the Airport’s environmental management system to monitor SFO’s environmental compliance portfolio. The other hat is implementation of materials management tasks, which include the solid waste hauling contract, Zero Waste Concessions Program, SFO Unites Against Hunger Program, and various elements of the Zero Waste Plan, in collaboration with the Airport’s Environmental Operations Division. 

Sustainability at SFO and COVID-19 Impacts

The SFO Airport has huge climate and sustainability goals, including their goal to attain zero: zero carbon, zero waste and zero net energy. SFO’s objective, as outlined in its 5-Year Strategic Plan, is to be the first Airport in the world to achieve triple zero. Despite being one of the fastest-growing airports in the United States, SFO successfully curtailed its emissions by 39% from a 1990 baseline, in addition to reducing per-passenger water use by 22.5% below 2013 levels and campus wide natural gas use by 10%. In Calendar Year 2019, SFO served a record 57.6 million passengers, which has reduced significantly due to COVID-19. This session will review some of the programs that make SFO a sustainable airport and the recent impacts of COVID-19. 

Director of Sustainability

Kirk Myers is the Director of Sustainability for Alaska Airlines and works to develop and implement sustainable business strategies that drive efficiency, innovation, and environmental benefit. His main focuses are sustainability strategy, climate change, green building, and core business practices such as energy use and zero-waste.

Making change in sustainability as an airline

To the people of Alaska Airlines, the Pacific Northwest is so much more than a destination--it’s where we live, where we grew up, and where we play. Because of this, we are motivated to keep it pristine, and have chosen to take on sustainability enhancements that are important to the environment, our communities, and the advancement of the airline industry. Some of the items that will be discussed during this session include:

• Alaska Airlines serves up 37,000 cups of coffee a day on its more than 900 daily flights, brewed using more than 250,000 pounds of Starbucks coffee each year. They focus on composting or recycling as much as they can.
• Encourages guests and employees to bring their own water bottles and become active partners in the airline’s goal to reduce single-use plastics.
• Powering all flights by all airlines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with sustainable aviation biofuel.
• Emissions from planes and equipment
• Waste from flights and other facilities
• Consumption of non-sustainable resources
• Energy use in our buildings

Environmentalist Specialist

Katie Altobello-Czescik works as an Environmental Specialist in the Planning & Environmental Affairs Department of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority and is a certified TRUE Advisor. At San Diego International Airport, Katie focuses on effective waste management and reduction, sustainable energy, water stewardship, community outreach, and tenant and employee engagement.

Katie graduated from Columbia University with her Masters of Pubic Administration in Environmental Science and Policy. She also successfully completed her B.A. in Political Science at Loyola Marymount University. She is a current member of Leaders 2020 and a recent graduate of the San Diego Leadership Alliance Institute. Her previous roles include Zero Waste Professional Assistant with the City of Oceanside, Climate Corps Fellow with Environmental Defense Fund and the City of Fresno, and Policy Intern for WE ACT for Environmental Justice. Katie is passionate about the environment, effective public policy, the San Diego region and its good food.

COVID-19 Impacts on Operations and Waste Management at San Diego International Airport

An effective waste management program for a large venue has its challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented effects on the transportation/aviation industry and the operations of airports. This presentation will highlight how San Diego International Airport (SAN) has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, how the organization has adapted, and how the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority’s robust waste management program has changed in response. Additionally, the presentation will dive into the Airport Authority Zero Waste Plan, our goals, and the initiatives in place to achieve them. The presentation will discuss the Airport’s diversion rate, employee engagement efforts like education and collection events, special employee/passenger programs, material streams, waste-related logistics, and related challenges.

Northern California Director Sustainable Materials Management

Senior Scientist

Peter has extensive experience with green stormwater infrastructure, litter reduction, zero waste policy, complete and green streets, sustainable landscaping, and urban forestry. He managed the environmental programs for the City of Emeryville from 2002 to 2013 including the City’s award-winning dense, urban and Bay-Friendly GI program. Since joining EOA in 2013, he has been providing GI, LID and litter-related technical assistance and program support to staff around the Bay Area. He is one of the co-authors of Berkeley's Single-use Foodware and Litter Reduction Ordinance. He is a Certified Professional in Stormwater Quality, QSP/QSD, LEED-AP and a ReScape Qualified Professional.

Zero Waste and Stormwater - How do they connect?

There are several areas where the worlds of stormwater and zero waste intersect, but many people do not see or know about the connections. Green Stormwater Infrastructure deals with landscaping, soil, mulch, compost and durable pavement materials that are also pervious - all of these topics have zero waste connections. Litter/trash in stormwater has an immediate link to zero waste policies and programs. The recent focus on foodware source reduction ordinances - moving away from recycling and composting for these materials and other food packaging is another area of connection. Municipalities in California are required to reduce litter/trash flowing into bays, rivers and the Ocean. The design of buildings to reduce waste and litter is an emerging area that I have focused on in the writing of a toolkit for multi-family building design and operation. Seeing the connections between these disciplines will help professionals integrate policies and practices for a more sustainable environment in California. This presentation will use these examples of how zero waste and stormwater connect and the linkages to important zero waste drivers such as AB 341, AB 1826 and SB1383 as well as regional and state-wide stormwater regulations.

Environmental Programs & Operations Manager

Kim  Braun is the Environmental Programs & Operations Manager for the City of Culver City. She is responsible for collection of all waste, recycling, organics city wide, a 500 TPD transfer facility, street sweeping, stormwater permits and projects and waste water operations.  Kim relocated to Santa Monica in 1997 as the Resource Recovery and Recycling Manager  until 2016.  There she was reposnible for citywide waste collections, a transfer station and street sweeping.  Prior to relocating Kim was the Director of Operations for Mercer County in Trenton New Jersey responsible for a 1200 TPD transfer station and county wide recycling programs.

How to Reduce Stormwater Exceedance Levels at Transfer Stations

The State of California requires industrial facilities to obtain an Industrial Generator Permit and complete a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan annually.  Transfer stations, MRF's, landfills are all required to  obtain these permits and complete reports.  The State requires that these facilities do not pollute the water ways and oceans with  waste materials, oils, lead, phosphates, e-coli and bacteria as well as a list of many other contaminants.  Culver City's Transfer Station is adjacent to Ballona Creek which flows directly to Santa Monica Bay.  Through required sampling, it was determined that our Transfer Station was at a Level 2 Exceedance for polluting the creek and risked the possiblity of huge fines or even a shut down.  Culver City constructed a large stormwater  Project and reduced the Level 2 Exceedance to Compliance.  This workshop is a case study to show participants what it takes to obtain stormwater compliance when waste is our major business.  

Annette Poliwka is a Zero Waste Commissioner for the City of Berkeley, which recently passed historic legislation on single use disposables. She also is a consultant working on a variety of issues related to zero waste. Her work at the City of San Francisco focused on waste reduction for the commercial sector and legislation research (plastic bag and styrofoam bans). While in New York City at the USEPA, she launched the Trash Free Waters Program. Annette holds an M.S. Environmental Management from USF, and certificates in International Business at Georgetown, and Sustainable Fashion at FIT in NYC.

Local Governments Take Lead on Source Reduction

The City of Berkeley passed its Single Use Disposable Foodware and Litter Reduction Ordinance in 2019. The legislation requires a $0.25 charge on single use cups in addition to requiring reusable food service ware. Annette, in her role as Zero Waste Commissioner, will speak about the importance of source reduction and how the City is implementing the new ordinance. Annette will also speak about her role in advocacy for National Cleanup day to help eliminate litter that ends up in the waterways. While picking up litter is not the solution, it brings awareness to participants about issues related to waste, consumption, and litter.

Principal

Laura McKaughan is a consultant with over 12 years experience in planning and implementing recycling and zero waste projects. She has extensive experience working on projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and her work includes providing outreach and education, conducting surveys, performing waste audits, and providing technical assistance to property managers in the commercial and multifamily sectors to assist with local and statewide compliance.

Laura founded Envirolutions in 2014. Envirolutions specializes in designing and implementing zero waste, recycling and sustainability projects, assisting restaurants, hotels, multi-tenant commercial complexes and multifamily dwellings in implementing effective waste diversion programs. 

Designing a Zero Waste Playbook for Large-scale Tech

Envirolutions was engaged in the fall of 2019 by one of the largest tech companies in San Francisco to design and implement Zero Waste at 3 of their largest buildings. The program included innovative approaches to disseminate information via internal screens and social media posts as well as conducting surveys, floor-level and loading dock waste audits, and evaluating waste signage among other deliverables. Many aspects of the project were put on hold due to the shelter-in-place orders but the team reconvened and the project moved forward in new and innovative ways. Hear about how the client will be using a 'playbook,' to ensure that recycling and Zero Waste stay front of mind for all their employees, both in San Francisco and beyond.

Manager, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility

Best Management Practices for Zero Waste from Property Management's Perspective

Kilroy Realty values sustainability as a foundational principal for their operations across their portfolio. Hear from their Manager of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility about how Kilroy has incorporated Zero Waste guidelines into their operations throughout California and especially in larger commercial complexes. Learn about successes and challenges, best management practices, key components for effective waste diversion programs, as well as hear from their perspective what leads to the best possible collaboration between government, private industry and waste haulers. 

Recycling and Waste Reduction Manager

Daniel Chau always had an interest in the environment. From hiking in the mountains, camping, and taking field trips to learn how eco-systems work, this was installed in him when he was younger. He graduated from UC Davis with his B.S. in Environmental Horticulture.

In 2011, Daniel joined UCSF in the Recycling & Waste Reduction Program. He helped create the Sorting Program to target high contamination at UCSF and various other programs that help increase the diversion rate. Along with increasing recycling & composting, the focus has always been on reducing waste or finding new avenues for reusing items.

Mastering Zero Waste at UCSF

UCSF has been steadily marching towards zero waste and is currently only 12% points away from achieving their zero waste goal. To accomplish this, they have implemented numerous programs from digitizing data collection to hyper-target communication, to instituting sorting operations to eliminate contamination in their waste streams.

The creation of the UCSF Sorting Program helped increase diversion rates and gain further insights on contamination issues by conducting waste characteristics campus-wide. Furthermore campus operations have been utilizing the Zabble platform to streamline operations, reducing staff costs and utilizing the data to investigate the root causes of the waste issues. Attendees will learn about how UCSF has utilized this technology and data to actualize significant reductions in contamination, increases in diversion, lower hauling fees and fines.

Founder and CEO

Commercial Zero Waste Senior Coordinator

Jack has 30+ years of experience developing and managing innovative zero waste programs and policies at the U.S. local & state level. He helped lead the development and implementation of the first large scale U.S. urban food composting program and zero waste policies for San Francisco, including zero waste goal and targets, mandatory composting and recycling separation, banning polystyrene foam foodware and later all EPS packaging, requiring compostable and recyclable products, banning single use plastic bags, requiring bag charges, reducing single-use plastics and toxics, and most recently working to require on-site reusables and charges for nonreusable cups and containers. 

Lesson learned San Francisco's New Generation of Foodware Ordinances

Hear the latest on San Francisco's lessons from passing and implementing their Single-Use Plastics, Toxics and Litter Reduction Ordinance that banned flourinated chemicals in foodware through BPI certification, restricted single use plastics and allowed foodware accessories only on request to their recent stakeholder and legislative efforts to mandate onsite reusables and charges for nonreusable cups and containers and help business join the growing reuse revolution.  

Program Specialist

Kerry has worked in the City of Alameda's Public Works Department for 17 years, and has been minding Alameda's various trash-related details for the last 13.  She received her BA in Sociology from UC Santa Cruz, where she was actually assigned a daily project of hugging a tree for one whole term.

Kerry was charged with designing, implementing, educating, and enforcing Alameda's restrictive foodware ordinance. Kerry has some helpful insights for those who wish to know more details about being on the other side of a ground-breaking foodware policy.  Hint: Foam Foodware bans are a breeze, in comparison.

Alameda's Foodware Ordinance: Compliance and Next Steps

Alameda's Disposable Food Service Ware Reduction Law has been in enforceable for two years, now.  What does foodware compliance look like for the Island City? Alameda has learned a few things about the difficulties in conveying understandable foodware rules to both the food vendors and and public, and has a few stories of foodware enforcement to tell.

ReThink Disposable Interim Director

Grace Lee joined Clean Water Fund's ReThink Disposable program team in 2018 and is now the Interim Director. Ms. Lee has worked throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles region to implement circular reuse systems anywhere there's food packaging including restaurants, froyo shops, schools, catering businesses, and even yacht clubs. Before working with Clean Water Fund, Ms. Lee was the Outreach Programs Director at The Bay Foundation, a National Estuary Program charged with restoring Santa Monica Bay. Ms. Lee has over 14 years of experience in resource conservation, public engagement, partnership building, and orchestrating projects centered around water quality improvement and behavioral change. Grace holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Ecology from the University of California, Irvine and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Southern California. In her free time, Grace is planning her permaculture paradise somewhere off grid and obsessively eliminating all plastic from her home.

So you passed an ordinance. Now what?

The circular reuse and packaging-free narrative is a journey with multiple milestones and hurdles. Passing a foodware reduction ordinance is the mid-point. Widespread knowledge of the ordinance, understanding how business owners process the news, and changing food operations come next. Using case studies from Alameda, Berkeley, San Anselmo, and learnings from San Francisco, hear what happens after an ordinance is passed and how to move zero-packaging from ordinance to reality. 

Project Analyst

Sustainability Planner

Alice Zanmiller is a Planner with Marin County’s Community Development Agency's Sustainability Team. She works on sustainability programs and initiatives that support the implementation of the County’s Climate Action Plan, adopted in 2015. This includes policy and implementation support for the County's Green Building Program, Energy Watch Partnership, and Regional Codes and Standards group. She works on other CAP measures that reduce emissions from transportation, agriculture, and the built environment in the county. She received her degree in City and Regional Planning from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and worked on CAPs prior to joining the County in 2016.

Low Embodied Carbon Concrete Building Codes

Concrete production is responsible for an estimated 6-10% of global climate emissions. Local governments have the authority to pass codes to reduce these emissions. In November 2019, the County of Marin passed a first-of-its-kind building code amendment that requires new construction in the unincorporated county to reduce the amount of embodied carbon in concrete used by the project. The code was developed through a Bay Area Air Quality Management District funded Climate Protection Grant and involved a year-long stakeholder process with representatives from across affected industries: concrete suppliers, developers, architects, local governments, academics, and nonprofits. The result was a code with compliance pathways that are simple and flexible, and targets a 10-30% reduction in emissions per cubic yard of concrete compared to national averages. County of Marin staff will describe the code and the process to develop and adopt it.

Sustainability Analyst

Shayna Hirshfield-Gold is Project Manager for Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan.  She has been with the City’s Sustainability Group for six years, responsible for overseeing progress, developing policy, and implementing programs for Oakland’s climate strategy, as well as acting as a liaison with the city’s environmental and climate justice community organizations.  Her key projects have included developing electric vehicle policies and infrastructure, building urban forestry capacity, and developing a more equitable approach to City-community engagement.  A Bay Area native and Oakland resident, Shayna holds Masters Degrees in Public Policy and Social Work from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

Lifecycle Emissions in Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan

City of Oakland has for several years tracked lifecycle emissions of materials and resources consumed in Oakland. Global or lifecycle emissions include both those that occur locally (for example, tailpipe exhaust from auto trips), and the material extraction, manufacturing, shipping, and other activities that occur outside Oakland – often overseas – to satisfy local demand for materials and activities. From cars and clothes to condiments and concerts, everything consumed has a lifecycle carbon impact. In Oakland, as in most cities, lifecycle emissions are about three times the amount of local emissions, which means that about two-thirds of the emissions for which Oakland is responsible occur outside the city. This deeper look at global emissions associated with Oakland’s actions indicates that, while buildings and transportation have the highest emissions locally, the largest share of global emissions come from the climate impacts of every-day purchasing decisions. In light of this, Oakland's 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan contains not only actions to divert waste from landfills but also strategies to transform key aspects of the economy. The ECAP's Materials Consumption and Waste section aims to eliminate disposal of compostable organic materials to landfill, reduce waste generation upstream of disposal, and support a circular economy. Specific strategies address edible food diversion from the waste or compost streams, single use plastics, embodied carbon in buildings, repair and reuse economies, and City procurement policies. City staff will describe the reasons for including lifecycle emissions and how this influences the mix of strategies included in the ECAP.

Sustainability Coordinator

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Carrade is the City of Albany's Sustainability Coordinator. Lizzie’s primary responsibilities are implementation of the City’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, management of the City’s waste and recycling program, and serving as the staff liaison to the Climate Action Committee. As a 2018-2019 CivicSpark Climate Fellow with the City of Albany, Lizzie led the community engagement efforts for the CAAP planning process. Lizzie grew up in Marin County, and graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a BA in Government.

Carbon-Free Economy in Albany’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan

The City of Albany’s new Climate Action and Adaptation Plan was adopted in December 2019. The CAAP looks at emissions directly tied to actions taken within the city limits as well upstream emissions and embodied emissions tied to the products consumed by the Albany community. Emissions from direct burning of fossil fuels make up a relatively minor fraction of a household’s overall impact, when compared to the emissions tied to consumption of goods and services, as well as embodied carbon. Albany’s traditional inventory of geographically-bound emissions is 1/6 of their consumption-based emissions in total tons of CO2e. While embodied emissions are not reflected in the City’s reduction targets or carbon neutrality goal, the CAAP includes strategies to address emissions from consumption with the understanding that their impact goes beyond Albany’s borders, and that meaningful climate action requires taking responsibility for these emissions. The City plans to lead by example by updating the municipal Sustainable Purchasing Policy to focus on purchasing items with a smaller carbon footprint, such as low-carbon concrete and post-consumer recycled materials. Ultimately, emissions from consumption must be reduced through consumer behavior change strategies that reduce waste and spur systemic changes toward a local, circular, low-carbon, re-use economy. The City can advance these outcomes through public education, economic development, and building codes. City staff will describe Albany’s perspective on its role within the integrated global economy, and its goal to facilitate a carbon-free economy.

Program Manager

Senior Program Manager

Meghan has been with StopWaste since 1993, serving in a variety of roles. Initially hired for the Home Composting Program, she has managed a wide variety of projects, including grants to non-profits administration, annual budget development, diversion reporting, waste characterization studies, strategic plans, and the franchise task force. Her longest standing assignment has been maintaining relationships with StopWaste member agencies, through the Technical Advisory Committee. Currently, her priority projects are updating the Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan, and developing a measurement and evaluation program for Agency programs.

StopWaste: Reducing Contamination in Commercial Organics Collections

Meghan will present the strategic reasons that StopWaste applied for the grant from the BAAQMD, and the nature of the partnership between the parties on the grant. She will also describe the sampling study used to monitor progress throughout the grant and present the results, and share key lessons for other agencies seeking to facilitate public/hauler partnerships.

President

Mr. Pellegrini has over 40 years experience in the solid waste and recycling industry. Louie is owner/manager of Alameda County Industries, Garden City Sanitation, Livermore Sanitation, Milpitas Sanitation, and Mission Trail Waste Systems. In addition to providing collection services, these companies provide post-collection services including transfer, recyclable and organic material recovery processing. Louie is an expert in collection and processing system design and implementation, data flow and capture, and landfill diversion strategies. Louie is an active member of the California Refuse and Recycling Council (CRRC) and holds multiple patents.

Livermore Sanitation: Reducing Contamination in Commercial Organics Collections

Livermore Sanitation, Inc. (LSI) is the hauler associated with the pilot project. Franchised solid waste haulers are increasingly relied upon to design, implement, and monitor diversion programs, which include the capture and reporting of valuable data to guarantee program quality and effectiveness. Customer outreach, education, technical assistance, and training are required to initiate programs and motivate customers to maintain/increase program participation over the program or contract term. Consistent outreach is also necessary to address employee turnover in food-generating business types. 

LSI reviews images generated through Compology’s cameras for potential contamination daily.  When contaminants are identified, the customer is contacted since feedback helps increase awareness of contaminants and improves the quality of the collected material.

LSI performs site visits so that feedback and technical assistance can be provided directly to the customer. LSI also warns customers that fines can be levied for repeat or unacceptably high levels of contamination. A work order is sometimes generated to instruct the organics driver not empty the bin when contaminants are still visible at the time of service. In less challenging instances of contamination, LSI contacts customers by phone or email to remind customers of program parameters and inquire as to what additional support they may need for compliance.

Compology technology combined with follow-up contact and training with customers has resulted in a decrease in overall tons but cleaner tons in the organics system so far.

Senior Customer Success Manager

Dylan Hyland is a seasoned sustainability and contamination expert bridging the gap between traditional waste management activities and new digital IoT and AI efficiency platforms. His extensive experience in data analysis and reporting enables him to effectively translate the needs of waste, recycling & organics service providers into real-word, practical technology applications. Dylan holds a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College.

Compology: Reducing Contamination in Commercial Organics Collections

Compology technology was implemented to deliver its remote monitoring capabilities for use in driving down contamination in organics bins via timely customer feedback and contamination fees.   Compology's field durability was demonstrated, and it was shown that remote monitoring is a viable solution to help make sure that generators follow program rules and provide an affordable means to track compliance with SB 1383 requirements.

Public Works Manager

Environmental Scientist

Kate Wilkins is an Environmental Scientist in the Policy Development and Analysis Office at CalRecycle. Her focus is international recycling markets and CalRecycle’s recycling characterization studies.

California Markets: Early Impacts of COVID-19 and International Policies

COVID-19 and international policies are significantly affecting California’s recycling markets. While international markets have always shifted, China’s National Sword and subsequent and pending policy changes are having a significant impact on markets for scrap plastic and paper. COVID-19 has also had a major effect on recyclable markets due to, among other factors, the reduction in commercial material generation, temporary regulatory measures and the drop in global oil prices. It is too early for comprehensive data about the effects of COVID-19 on recycling, but export data and industry reporting can shed light on trends we expect to see in the next year.

Environmental Scientist

Edward Chu is an Environmental Scientist in the Policy Development and Analysis Office at CalRecycle. He is heavily involved in data analysis of the Department’s waste characterization studies.

CalRecycle’s 2018 Statewide Disposal-Based Waste Characterization Data and What to Expect in 2020

CalRecycle released its 2018 Statewide Disposal-Based Waste Characterization Study in May 2020. This report represents 94 material types found in the 40 million tons of waste California disposed in 2018.  Additionally, the study sheds light on the  progress in reaching California’s diversion goals. How does the data compare to 2014? What are we changing for the 2020 study and what impact has COVID-19 had on the study plans?

Senior Environmental Scientist

Kamrun Zargar is Senior Environmental Scientist with CalRecycle’s Policy Development and Analysis Office since 2018. He was previously an environmental microbiologist, in academia and industry, focusing on discovery of novel biochemical pathways and microbes that produce biofuel-related molecules. He has a PhD in Microbiology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.  

CalRecycle’s 2018 & 2020 Commercial Generator-Based Edible Food Waste Characterization Studies and the Future of Edible Food Recovery

SB 1383’s edible food diversion targets require data to help establish baselines and develop a capacity planning tool for jurisdictions. This tool will also be useful for food generators in certain business groups. What sort of data will the 2018 and 2020 food generator study provide and how will it help certain business groups? How will COVID-19 impact the 2020 study plan and generated data?

Environmental Scientist

 bMartine Boswell is an Environmental Scientist in CalRecycle’s Statewide Technical and Analytical Resources Branch. She serves as CalRecycle’s technical advisor on food waste, and provides scientific analyses on California’s food system and climate change. Martine is also engaged in statewide efforts to increase safe surplus food donation in California, and is a member of the CalRecycle team tasked with developing the edible food recovery regulations for California’s short-lived climate pollutant law, Senate Bill 1383. She received her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of California Santa Cruz, and her master’s in environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania.

CalRecycle’s 2018 & 2020 Commercial Generator-Based Edible Food Waste Characterization Studies and the Future of Edible Food Recovery

SB 1383’s edible food diversion targets require data to help establish baselines and develop a capacity planning tool for jurisdictions. This tool will also be useful for food generators in certain business groups. What sort of data will the 2018 and 2020 food generator study provide and how will it help certain business groups? How will COVID-19 impact the 2020 study plan and generated data?

Environmental Scientist

Founder

Emily Coven is the founder of Recyclist, a software company dedicated to creating simple, elegant technology solutions to complex environmental challenges. After 15 years in the technology sector, Emily happened upon the waste industry and has never looked back. She is continually awed by the determination and dedication of the recycling coordinators and program managers that Recyclist works with, at cities, counties and haulers covering nearly 20% of the California population. Emily lives in Truckee, where she spends her free time skiing, biking and paddling with her family in the environment that the Recyclist team is devoted to protecting.

How Real-Time Data Tracking and Reporting Supports Successful Rollouts

A successful rollout of a new program — most often organics in today’s California — requires input and collaboration from many players, including managers and staff at cities, haulers and frequently outside consultants. With hundreds or even thousands of customers requiring new services and accompanying education within a short period of time, it’s easy for rollouts to become a complicated mess. In this session, you’ll learn how Recyclist customized their Program Tracker software to facilitate and streamline the process of coordinating the recent food scraps rollout in the City of Oceanside. Leveraging the power of cloud-based software, Recyclist synced cross-team efforts, minimized the back-and-forth confusion of email, and provided everyone involved with direct transparency into the collaborative process. You’ll also see how through the Program Tracker’s real-time reporting capabilities, the City was able to track day-to-day progress toward its ultimate goal, and was additionally able to get a head start on data tracking and reporting for new regulations such as SB 1383 and AB 827.

Environmental Officer

Colleen Foster’s established record of experience within the public and private sector for over the past 14 years is highlighted by multiple achievements as it relates to Zero Waste initiatives, environmental compliance, program development, legislative compliance and contract management. Ms. Foster is the President of the California Resources and Recovery Association and a Southern California board member of the California Product Stewardship Council. Ms. Foster holds a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in International Relations with a focus on Sustainable Development from the University of California at Davis and a Master’s in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont School of Law.

Oceanside's Organic Goals

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic recession, the completion of this mandatory commercial food scraps recycling rollout was postponed and redesigned in a different context than originally described below.

With a 5-0 vote, the City of Oceanside amended their franchise waste hauler agreement in 2019 to include a full commercial food scrap recycling program. The amendment included collection, transportation and processing for organics waste generated by the City’s approximately 2,000 commercial customers. To support participation in the program, commercial customers received technical assistance, training and “right-sizing” of service levels.  In addition, the City updated the municipal code to ensure compliance with AB1826 and SB1383. The mandatory roll-out of commercial organics service, including at least two site visits per generator, was set to occur over 6 months of implementation. Oceanside will be speaking to the goals, outreach efforts, stakeholder support, community involvement, and challenges that allowed a roll-out of this size to begin and partially occur with full City Council and public support.

Northern California Director

Tracie Bills has over 23 years of materials management experience, including working for a hauler, county government, and nonprofit; she also has over 13 years with materials management consulting firms. She has provided commercial sector materials flow assessments, organics processing research and analysis, waste characterization studies, and recycling, organics and waste management technical assistance to government agencies, schools, multi-family dwellings and businesses. Ms. Bills has an environmental science degree from San Jose State, is the President of the SWANA Gold Rush Chapter, and a member of the National Recycling Coalition, California Resource Recovery Association and the Northern California Recycling Association.

Outreach Efforts That Provide For a Successful City-Wide Project Rollout

SCS was hired to assist with the rollout of the City of Oceanside’s commercial food scraps program. As part of this project, SCS worked closely with Waste Management and the City to develop an outreach program to meet the needs of the rollout and capture data that could be used to understand the success of the outreach efforts. Within four months, the team (City, WM and SCS) designed an outreach program that incorporated five outreach staff, four city personnel and three team managers. Important components of this rollout included the design of outreach materials, protocols for activities and elevated customer concerns, training, and an effective database. This presentation will discuss how the project all came together, including best practices and lessons learned.

Outreach Program Manager

Lauren Hennessy oversees outreach and communications for Stanford's Sustainability and Business Services office, showcasing the work that the university undertakes to minimize its environmental impact with innovations in infrastructure, and working to foster sustainable behaviors on campus through conservation campaigns and programs.  She developed and launched a new online engagement platform to track and measure individual environmental conservation, with more than $100,000 in calculated savings, doubling program participation in the first year.

Making Behavior Change Meaningful, Accessible, and Appealing

Stanford University's My Cardinal Green platform has offered a single point of access for which a diverse campus community can engage with sustainability.  The speaker will discuss the implementation and impact of this on-line incentive program, discuss the strengths and opportunities with Traditional Engagement Programs versus User-Designed Programs and share how Stanford University's has increased participation in its overall sustainability programs and notably, their Zero Waste programs, through this platform.

Civil Engineer

Clark Ajwani, a licensed Professional Civil Engineer in California, has provided strategic planning and project management of environmental sustainability projects since 2008 with the County of Los Angeles.  Clark was a leader in developing the County’s Zero Waste Roadmap and now oversees various programs and policy efforts to achieve zero waste. Clark earned a B.S. from the University of Colorado-Boulder and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California and continues to develop innovative solutions for environmental issues in California.

Integrated Solutions for Organic Waste Recycling

To achieve the requirements of the Senate Bill 1383 (2016) regulations, Los Angeles County is hard at work developing solutions for organic waste recycling. This includes planning for mandatory organic waste collection services for over 1 million residents and 20,000 businesses and multi-family buildings. It also includes developing an infrastructure plan for the entire County and its 88 cities, which house over a quarter of the state’s population and are estimated to have a combined organic waste recycling capacity shortfall of over 3.5 million tons per year.

An SB 1383 compliance strategy for a large and complex jurisdiction such as Los Angeles County requires an integrated solution to maximize the recovery of organic waste. This strategy incorporates anaerobic digestion to create energy and fuels in addition to composting to process digestate. The County is also working to address issues surrounding compostable food-service ware, including working with researchers at UCLA to complete a study on alternatives to single-use plastics. In addition, the County is conducting an analysis to determine the best pathways to achieve the SB 1383 local jurisdiction procurement target for recovered organic waste products, including the use of renewable natural gas transportation fuel for waste hauling vehicles to create a sustainable closed-loop organic waste recycling system in the County.

Sr. Environmental Engineer

Rowena Romano joined the City of Los Angeles LA Sanitation & Environment in 2008, where she is currently a Senior Environmental Engineer. Rowena manages and leads a team of professional environmental engineers, and works to continuously develop and improve the City's solid resources programs, including those for organics, recyclables, and refuse, to meet the City's zero waste goals. Rowena obtained her B.S. and M.S. from the University of Hawaii, Manoa, and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. At UCD she studied and researched the anaerobic digestion of various types of food waste from industrial and commercial sectors.

Curb Your Food Waste LA: Single-Family Residential Food Scraps Recyling

A new single-family residential food waste prevention and food scraps recycling pilot was implemented to approximately 18,000 single-family households, located across all 15 City Council Districts, and within 25 collection routes. The intent of the pilot is to:
1. Promote food waste prevention
2. Encourage residents to recycle remaining food scraps in their existing Green Bin
3. Encourage continued use of home composting and promote access to the City’s free composting workshops and related resources
Currently the City has a Green Bin program that collects yard trimmings on a weekly basis from single family households and multifamily households up to four units. The Curb Your Food Waste LA (CYFWLA) program provided residents with kitchen pails, a how-to brochure and videos to encourage residents to Shop Smart, Waste Less and Recycle the Rest. The City also conducts monthly home composting and urban gardening workshops at three sites within the City. Residents can also purchase home composting bins at these workshops. LASAN has conducted previous pilots to test for food scrap separation in the household; first through a food scraps collection pilot in 2009, and in 2017-2018 through an in-sink disposal pilot to divert food scraps from the landfill. The CYFWLA pilot program was conducted from August, 2018 and will be completed in October, 2020. It included door-to-door outreach and surveys, community events, bin evaluations and waste characterizations to measure participation. Take-aways and lessons learned from the pilot will be incorporated into a full-scale program.

President, Solid Waste West

Christine Arbogast, PE, is the President of Tetra Tech’s Solid Waste Western US operations and has been in the solid waste industry for over 30 years. She has supported municipalities and the private sector in planning, permitting, design and implementation of solid waste management programs and facilities including development of system-wide strategic plans, organics management plans and facility master plans. She is currently managing a large residential curb-side organics recycling pilot program for the City of Los Angeles, Countywide organics and siting element planning for LA County and permitting and design of compost facilities for OC Waste & Recycling.

Curb Your Food Waste LA: Outreach/Education & Data Collection Tools

A new single-family residential food waste prevention and food scraps recycling pilot was implemented for approximately 18,000 single-family households in each of 15 Council Districts in the City of Los Angeles covering 25 collection routes. The two-year pilot program included door-to-door kitchen pail distribution and outreach, surveys, community events, bin evaluations and waste characterizations to measure participation. Tetra Tech was hired to assist the City in implementing the pilot program which included development of a Communications and Outreach Plan, development and distribution of compelling, engaging and informative collateral materials (logo, Introductory letter, “How-To” brochures, flyers, maps, banners, contamination tags, cart tags, door hangers, newsletters, and multi-lingual videos), distribution of kitchen pails and conducting door-to-door surveys with the assistance of non-profit organizations including Pacoima Beautiful and LA Conservation Corps.

Data collection utilized tablets with an electronic data collection application which allowed for real-time progress tracking and establishment of a user-friendly dashboard. To evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program, data on participation and diversion rates was collected and surveys conducted over four quarters with accompanying newsletters communicating progress. Data collection from curbside set-outs helped ground-truth self-reported data. Objectives of the data collection were to estimate participation rate, identify common contaminants found in green-bins, and characterize the composition of green-bin and black-bin materials to estimate average quantities of materials generated per household, diversion rates, and proportion of materials that were correctly or incorrectly sorted by residents. Take-aways and lessons learned from the pilot will be incorporated into a full-scale program.

Tamara Shulman is an environmental planner with 25 years of experience in waste reduction and diversion program planning, research, and policy development with a focus on organics management. She led community education programs at StopWaste.Org in Alameda County, managed food scraps collection program launches for several western Canadian jurisdictions and businesses, and served as project manager for the Commission for Environmental Cooperation’s Foundational Report on the Characterization and Management of Food Loss and Waste In North America. She developed and led the education and outreach program for the City of Los Angeles’ Curb Your Food Waste LA pilot program.

Curb Your Food Waste LA: Outreach/Education & Data Collection Tools

A new single-family residential food waste prevention and food scraps recycling pilot was implemented for approximately 18,000 single-family households in each of 15 Council Districts in the City of Los Angeles covering 25 collection routes. The two-year pilot program included door-to-door kitchen pail distribution and outreach, surveys, community events, bin evaluations and waste characterizations to measure participation. Tetra Tech was hired to assist the City in implementing the pilot program which included development of a Communications and Outreach Plan, development and distribution of compelling, engaging and informative collateral materials (logo, Introductory letter, “How-To” brochures, flyers, maps, banners, contamination tags, cart tags, door hangers, newsletters, and multi-lingual videos), distribution of kitchen pails and conducting door-to-door surveys with the assistance of non-profit organizations including Pacoima Beautiful and LA Conservation Corps.

Data collection utilized tablets with an electronic data collection application which allowed for real-time progress tracking and establishment of a user-friendly dashboard. To evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program, data on participation and diversion rates was collected and surveys conducted over four quarters with accompanying newsletters communicating progress. Data collection from curbside set-outs helped ground-truth self-reported data. Objectives of the data collection were to estimate participation rate, identify common contaminants found in green-bins, and characterize the composition of green-bin and black-bin materials to estimate average quantities of materials generated per household, diversion rates, and proportion of materials that were correctly or incorrectly sorted by residents. Take-aways and lessons learned from the pilot will be incorporated into a full-scale program.

Cesar Leon is a Senior Planner with 21 years of experience in environmental and waste management projects. He has contributed to the preparation of multiple solid waste strategic plans and organic waste management plans. Cesar provides regulatory compliance/planning services such as permitting, land use entitlements, siting, operations review and environmental analysis for solid waste facilities.  He has led an extensive field program for the City of LA’s 18,000 resident curbside organics collection pilot program and the County of LA’s generator-based residential waste characterization study.  He is also the assistant program manager for CalRecycle’s Generator Based Edible Food Waste Characterization study.

Curb Your Food Waste LA: Outreach/Education & Data Collection Tools

A new single-family residential food waste prevention and food scraps recycling pilot was implemented for approximately 18,000 single-family households in each of 15 Council Districts in the City of Los Angeles covering 25 collection routes. The two-year pilot program included door-to-door kitchen pail distribution and outreach, surveys, community events, bin evaluations and waste characterizations to measure participation. Tetra Tech was hired to assist the City in implementing the pilot program which included development of a Communications and Outreach Plan, development and distribution of compelling, engaging and informative collateral materials (logo, Introductory letter, “How-To” brochures, flyers, maps, banners, contamination tags, cart tags, door hangers, newsletters, and multi-lingual videos), distribution of kitchen pails and conducting door-to-door surveys with the assistance of non-profit organizations including Pacoima Beautiful and LA Conservation Corps.

Data collection utilized tablets with an electronic data collection application which allowed for real-time progress tracking and establishment of a user-friendly dashboard. To evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program, data on participation and diversion rates was collected and surveys conducted over four quarters with accompanying newsletters communicating progress. Data collection from curbside set-outs helped ground-truth self-reported data. Objectives of the data collection were to estimate participation rate, identify common contaminants found in green-bins, and characterize the composition of green-bin and black-bin materials to estimate average quantities of materials generated per household, diversion rates, and proportion of materials that were correctly or incorrectly sorted by residents. Take-aways and lessons learned from the pilot will be incorporated into a full-scale program.