CRRA2019

Senior Civil Engineer

Suk Chong, Senior Civil Engineer Los Angeles County Public Works. Suk oversees the County’s Non-Exclusive Commercial Trash Collection Franchise System, which includes the administration of 36 franchise waste hauling contracts. In 2016, he developed and implemented the County’s Pilot Commercial Food Waste Collection Program. In 2018, he developed the County’s Food Donation and Recovery Outreach Program (Food DROP) to assist food service establishments in the County in connecting with food recovery agencies.

Food is the largest single source of organic waste in Los Angeles County. Over 40 percent of food produced is never consumed and goes to waste. In Los Angeles County, 1 in 7 people are food insecure, and the County Unincorporated communities toss 128,000 tons of food (equivalent to 213 million meals) into the trash each year. CalRecycle’s draft SB 1383 (Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Law) regulations require that no less than 20 percent of edible food that is currently disposed of is recovered by human consumption by year 2025. Los Angeles County Public Works has been working with other County departments to partner with local charities to provide businesses a food donation option through the Food Donation and Recovery Outreach Program (Food DROP). In early 2018, LACPW launched the Food DROP webpage (www.FoodDROPLA.com) to provide potential food donating businesses with informational resources on food donation. Through Food DROP, LACPW identified county unincorporated area businesses that generate surplus edible food, and site visits were conducted to recruit businesses to donating surplus food to non-profits. LACPW is planning a major food recovery campaign “A Day Without Hunger” in early March 2019 to raise awareness of food insecurity in Los Angeles County, promote Food DROP, recruit food service establishments, and bolster the Department’s organic waste management efforts. LACPW is also developing a grant program to support non-profits and the food recovery infrastructure in response to the increase of participation in food donation through Food DROP.

Owner's Representative

Judi Gregory is the owner of Go2Zero Strategies LLC. She has worked in the recycling and solid waste management industry for over 25 years. Judi focuses her efforts working with communities and private businesses to optimize waste and recycling services that emphasize Zero Waste strategies. Judi’s experience includes expertise in Zero Waste and Resource Management curriculum development, business technical assistance, education and outreach, waste characterization studies, and compliance documentation. She is the past Executive Director and Past President of the California Resource Recovery Association.

In 2016, LACPW launched a Food Pilot Recycling Program. The program provides a rebate to approved haulers that collect food waste from businesses located in the County Unincorporated areas. As a result of the program, NASA Services and TAWA Industries partnered to identify three locations that generated high volumes of food waste which would benefit from the pilot program. NASA Services is a local waste hauling and recycling firm that provides services throughout the County of Los Angeles. TAWA Industries owns multiple grocery chains, including 99 Ranch and 168 Market. As a result of operational practices, 99 Ranch and 168 Market locations produce large volumes of meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and produce remnants that generate large volumes of disposal and associated disposal costs. Utilizing the County Food Pilot rebate as an incentive, NASA was able to offer a reduced rate for the collection of organics that saved TAWA Industries money on their solid waste bill while implementing a recycling program. In this session, NASA and TAWA Industries will share what steps the companies took to earn the support of management, train employees, reduce overall costs, and ultimately divert 2.2 million pounds of food waste during the first 28 months of the program

Isaac Chu oversees regulatory compliance auditing and safety for Tawa Supermarket Inc, dba "99 Ranch Market" and "168 Market." He is tasked with implementing and managing the organic waste recycling program for Tawa's Southern California and Texas stores, as well as facilitating with food donation at select stores.

Concurrent with the implementation of food waste reduction initiatives, the company has implemented trimming and dumping tracking at all stores. Together these programs have helped the company better track shrinkage and manage inventory.  For its early and proactive adoption of food waste reduction efforts,Tawa has been recognized by the US EPA and in Progressive Grocer Magazine.

Vice President

Michelle Leonard, Vice President, SCS Engineers, Project Manager, LA County Smart Business Program. Michelle is a recognized leader in the field of resource management and recycling. She has assisted numerous public and private sector clients in the preparation of solid waste management plans, conducted waste characterization studies for municipalities and businesses, designed and implemented waste reduction, recycling and reuse programs, and evaluated existing programs to identify opportunities to economically and efficiently use resources. Michelle is active in local, regional and state-wide recycling efforts. She is a Past President of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), is a Past Director of the Sustainable Materials Management Technical Division, and on the Board of the SWANA Southern California Chapter. Ms. Leonard directs SCS’s Sustainable Materials Management practice, and lives and works in Pasadena, CA.