CRRA2019

Veronica Pardo has served the California Refuse Recycling Council's (CRRC) governmental affairs program since 2013, advocating for the waste and recycling industry to promote viable solid waste policy solutions in California. Ms. Pardo has engaged in a number of significant rulemakings, ranging from organics management regulations to health and safety standards. The diversity of daily issues impacting the industry means that she is always learning and inspired to address the numerous environmental and socioeconomic challenges we face. Ms. Pardo holds a master's degree in Community Development from UC Davis, and a bachelor's degree in French and English from UCLA.

California's ambitious Proposed Organics Waste Reduction Regulations (SB 1383) mark a new era for the waste and recycling industry as we look to divert over 20 million additional tons of organic waste from our landfills annually by 2025. To meet this goal we need to virtually triple our current infrastructure and guarantee robust local markets to procure organics management commodities. How will we realize this effort and ultimately achieve our greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals? 

This presentation will attempt to answer this question from the viewpoint of the Northern California independent refuse industry experience.

Overall, the presentation will address:

• The history of municipal solid waste (MSW) organics management in Northern California
• The region’s current MSW organics management infrastructure, including collection and processing capacity
• Opportunities and barriers to infrastructure growth
• Markets and procurement of organics management commodities
• Feedstock challenges and future issues of concern

Attendees will get a practical overview of Northern California’s current organics management system, with a detailed breakdown of the regulatory obstacles we face in achieving the goals of SB 1383 and potential solutions to overcoming those obstacles. The general goal of the presentation is to encourage local, collaborative approaches to effectively divert organics and create sustainable markets to make use of organics management commodities, ultimately reducing GHG emissions and addressing our climate change goals. 

Regulatory Affairs Director