CRRA2021

Founder & Independent Engineer

Ms. Dell is a Registered Professional Chemial Engineer, National Geographic Explorer and Member of California Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets & Curbside Recycling.

During a 30 year career, Ms. Dell worked with companies in diverse industries to implement sustainable business and climate resiliency practices in more than 45 countries. Named by the Obama White House of Science and Technology Policy, Ms. Dell was the Vice Chair of the U.S. Federal Sustained National Climate Assessment Committee.

Ms. Dell founded The Last Beach Cleanup which focuses on bringing the facts to the forefront to promote proven and practical solutions to plastic pollution.

The Problems with California's Plastic Waste Exports

California is the leading state exporter of plastic waste in the U.S., shipping 9 million kg of plastic waste to Non-OECD countries in October 2020 alone. 

Plastic waste has been exported and counted as “recycled” by industrialized countries for decades. Without documented traceability of the final fate of the plastic waste, bales of waste plastic collected from municipal and commercial recycling systems were shipped to buyers in foreign countries, many of which had no worker age and wage protections, no health and safety standards, few environmental regulations and no guarantee that the plastic waste would actually be recycled.

Recoginizing the environmental and social harms caused by plastic waste exports, 187 countries ratified the Basel Plastic Waste Amendments.  Starting on January 1, 2021, the international treaty set restrictions on the import of plastic waste in many of the countries that California has exported plastic waste to. 

The audience will be briefed on the amounts, types and destinations of California's plastic waste exports to other countries. The latest data from the US Trade database will be employed. Evidence of social, environmental and economic harms caused in receiving countries will be presented. Commitments to end plastic waste exports made by some waste/recycling companies will discussed.

Executive Director

Jim Puckett is founder and Director of the Basel Action Network, a civil society watchdog organization on the subject of waste trade. Jim has been instrumental in advocating for environmental justice and a responsible circular economy for wastes at the Basel Convention, EU level, Bamako Convention and with national governments across the globe. His work pioneered developments in international law, including the Basel Ban Amendment, as well as the more recent new listings of the Basel Convention eliminating exports mixed and dirty plastic wastes.  BAN also has done groundbreaking work tracking wastes using GPS trackers. 

What the Basel Convention's Plastics Amendments Mean for California's Recycling

This year the Basel Convention's new amendments controlling the trade in mixed and dirty plastic wastes has come into force.  While the US is not a Party to the Basel Convention that does not mean that California has no responsiblity or liability to prevent illegal trafficking in plastic waste on the global stage.   California currently leads the nation in exports of plastic waste.  Much of that is now illegal and will likely be subject to search and seizures.  Jim will discuss recent recommendations made to the California legislature by the Recycling Commission and other ideas to bring California recyclers into better global compliance with the new rules of the road. 

GM

Involved in California recycling programs for over 25 years, from operating small CRV redemption centers, curbside collection programs, to the design and operation of large scale Material Recovery Facilities and Transfer Station. Currently, GM with Mings Resource in Hayward. Jeff is focused on opening CRV redemption centers in underserved areas by fixing the Bottle Bill. He is an industry representative on the California Statewide Recycling Commission trying to simplify programs to only collect what can be recycled and raise awareness to the harm and contamination caused by collecting unrecyclable material like all plastics other than #1 and #2 bottles.

Recycling Markets for Non-Bottle Plastics

Promoting that recycling programs should be simple by including only material that can actually be recycled. Encouraging program operators and municiple staff to verify where the material is actually going and what happens to the material and the residual from the process. Making sure that California recycling programs are seen as Recycling and Not Diversion Programs. We do not want material collected and diverted from California to harm communities and ecosystems outside of California.

Executive Director

Since 2000, Martin Bourque has led the Ecology Center to become a high impact engine for change by combining local grassroots grit, effective program implementation, and innovative policy advocacy. The Ecology Center operates the Nation's first and longest-running curbside recycling program. Martin and the Ecology Center lead the industry by ensuring high-quality materials through a dual-stream collection program, creating transparency in plastic exports through GPS tracking, and reducing plastic pollution by passing local policies like the nation’s first foodware reduction ordinance. Martin is a founding member of the Alliance of Mission Based Recyclers (AMBR).

Removing Non-Bottle Plastics From California's Recycling Programs: A Case Study

As California cities confront their role in the damage caused by exported plastic scrap, and as processors face the new market realities restricting plastic exports, eliminating non-recyclable plastics from curbside recycling programs is necessary. Like many other cities, Berkeley began collecting non-bottle plastics in its curbside program under pressure from consumers and municipal leaders who were convinced they were indeed recyclable and sought to reach ever-increasing diversion and Zero Waste goals. 

Today these plastics have no markets, and when exported, cause significant harm. The Ecology Center in Berkeley has gone to extreme lengths to track plastic exports and ensure no harm is caused by collecting these plastics. Still, the cost, misrepresentation to customers, lack of environmental benefit, and operational challenges all lead to an obvious conclusion- they must be removed from recycling programs. The Ecology Center, along with many other curbside operators across the state and nation, is actively seeking to eliminate these problematic plastics from its program but faces numerous structural barriers. This presentation will promote removing non-recyclable plastics from California's recycling programs and share practical tools addressing policy, economic, public education, and operational barriers. Finally, this presentation will call for state action to support cities in keeping recycling real.

Executive Director

Since 2000, Martin Bourque has led the Ecology Center to become a high impact engine for change by combining local grassroots grit, effective program implementation, and innovative policy advocacy. The Ecology Center operates the Nation's first and longest-running curbside recycling program. Martin and the Ecology Center lead the industry by ensuring high-quality materials through a dual-stream collection program, creating transparency in plastic exports through GPS tracking, and reducing plastic pollution by passing local policies like the nation’s first foodware reduction ordinance. Martin is a founding member of the Alliance of Mission Based Recyclers (AMBR).