CRRA2021

Senior Management Analyst

Michele Young has worked in agriculture and solid waste industries for over 30 years, and currently works for the County of Santa Clara.   She has applied her BS in Agricultural Business, and a Master’s in Environmental Science to diverse programs including large scale organics collection and composting; home composting and sustainable landscaping; energy from organics; recycled water; and storm water management.   Michele recently returned to solid waste management to be part of the SB 1383 transition and is now living the adage: be careful what you wish for!

Preferred Practices for Procurement Policy

Michele Young has worked extensively on developing compost and mulch specifications, as well as marketing strategies with public and private agencies.  In this session, attendees will learn about the procurement strategies being employed by the 15 independent cities in Santa Clara County, as well as the procurement policy samples that were reviewed to inform local decisions.  This multi-layer case study will provide examples and strategies for developing procurement specifications, policies, and ordinances that meet 1383 procurement requirements.

Program Manager

Kelly is a Program Manager at StopWaste working on compost and mulch market development, carbon farming, management of the agency's rangeland property, and SB 1383 implementation, specifically procurement. Her interest in organics started as a child with a back yard compost pile that was frequently visited by a pair of ducks. She is a licensed landscape architect, with a degree in ecology, and is a proud graduate of the USCC's Compost Operations Training Course.  Her favorite mulch is screened overs, pit bulls are her favorite dogs, and her least favorite thing is inert contamination.

Innovative strategies to meet your procurement target

How are we going to pay for it every year, and where are we going to put it every year? With finite green space and budgets, cities are struggling with how they will meet SB 1383's ambitious procurement targets. Large cities have the highest targets and the least green space, and while small to mid-sized cities might have an abundance of areas suitable for annual compost application, they may not have the budget or staff to apply it. This session will cover the nitty gritty about meeting procurement requirements, and discuss different strategies to leverage partnerships with direct service providers to make city budgets go further and provide more opportunities for compost application.  Tracking systems, agreement templates and other tools will also be presented.  Note: At the time of this writing, it is not known which strategies will be acceptable to CalRecycle--so this presentation is likely to be as much about what you can't do as what you can't.

Director of Partnerships

Anthony Myint is Co-Founder of Zero Foodprint, a 501c.3 leading public-private collaborations in California and Colorado to scale agricultural climate solutions. ZFP is the winner of the 2020 James Beard Humanitarian of the Year Award, as well as the 2019 Basque Culinary World Prize. Anthony is also the Co-Founder of the award-winning restaurants Mission Chinese Food (NY Times Restaurant of the Year - 2012, Bon Appetit Most Important Restaurants in America) and The Perennial ("The Country's Most Sustainable Restaurant" - Bon Appetit). 

How cities can support carbon farming and meet procurement requirements

Anthony Myint of Zero Foodprint (ZFP) will present Restore California, a public-private collaboration with CARB, CDFA, and the CA RCD’s, which offers solutions for jurisdictions who are interested in meeting SB1383 procurement targets while implementing beneficial regenerative farming (carbon farming) practices.  In conjunction with the Restore CA program, ZFP can help governments operationalize their Climate Action Plans, as well as fulfilling their SB1383 requirements, by facilitating and crowdfunding the transportation and spreading of compost onto farms and ranches with the highest sequestration potential.  Anthony, will provide examples of how regional governments can work with ZFP to mobilize private sector funding for carbon farming projects, including the purchase of compost from regional governments.

Central/Northern California Business Development Manager

Kimberly’s manages Agromin’s business in Central and Northern California. She fosters sustainable partnerships with, and provides solutions to, strategic partners throughout the region. She manages the company’s composting facilities in the North, markets the finished products, and inspires others to compost and cool the planet. From humble beginnings as a 4-H student teaching composting to her community, she went on to serve 6 years as a Naval Officer, before coming full-circle to rejoin the industry of organics recycling. Kimberly is an active member of CRRA, serves on the SWANA board, and is very involved in the agricultural community.