CRRA2021

Regulatory Affairs Director

Veronica Pardo serves as the Regulatory Affairs Director for the Resource Recovery Coalition of California. Thanks to the growing complexity of the waste and recycling industry since the passage of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, Veronica has the pleasure of working on a diversity of issues ranging from waste diversion policies, air and water emissions, organics management, and renewable energy production. 

On-the-Ground Impacts of COVID-19

This presentation will explore the direct impacts of COVID-19 on the waste and recycling industry and lessons learned. Attendees will hear how the industry adjusted to the pandemic in order to continue to provide essential services and sustain local diversion efforts, where possible. Attendees will learn how Stay-at-Home orders impacted local waste generation, and the financial impacts of the shift in disposal from commercial to residential generators. The presentation will also address reliable access to personal protective equipment (PPE), new COVID-19 safety protocols, and vaccination progress for the industry.  

Owner

COVID-19 Path to Recovery in a Circular Economy

This presentation will explore the impacts of COVID-19 on California's ambitious and critical waste diversion goals. As we look to build a circular economy and recover from the pandemic, attendees will learn what policies can help support California's organic waste recycling development (SB 1383) and address the continuing impacts of China's National Sword policy on reliable markets for recyclable material. In addition to providing an industry perspective, this presentation will draw on the recommendations of California's Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling.    

Mayor

John F. Dunbar has been Mayor of the Town of Yountville since 2010. He was reelected to a third four-year term in November of 2018. Mayor Dunbar was appointed to the Town Council in 2004 and was elected to his first full term on the Town Council in 2006.

Mayor Dunbar has been active in the League of California Cities since 2005. He is serving in 2020-21 as Immediate Past President after a term as President of the statewide local government advocacy organization in 2019-20. During the public health crisis and economic recovery related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Dunbar has represented the League, County of Napa and Yountville in strategic recovery operations at the national, state and local levels.

Mayor Dunbar also represents Yountville as a member of the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

A native of Oakland, CA, Mayor Dunbar has been a Yountville resident since 1998. He received a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of California, Davis. He retired in 2013 from the University of California, Berkeley, where he worked in the Athletics Department.

COVID-19 at the Community Level

This presentation will address the impacts of COVID-19 at the community level, where you will hear directly from Mayor John Dunbar of the Town of Yountville and their waste service provider, Christy Pestoni of Upper Valley Disposal & Recycling. As a tourist destination, the Town of Yountville and the Napa Valley have been uniquely impacted by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, both economically and for their waste and recycling efforts. Additionally, continued fire threats in the Napa Valley underscore the need to address the harmful impacts of climate change on local communities, pandemic or otherwise. In this presentation you will learn how community leaders see the path to recovery at the local level. 

Chief Operating Officer

Christy Pestoni is Chief Operating Officer for Upper Valley Disposal & Recycling, the Clover Flat Resource Recovery Park, South Lake Refuse & Recycling, and Quackenbush Compost.

Upper Valley Disposal & Recycling, along with its affiliated companies, has evolved over the past 60 years to include collection, disposal and processing of waste, recycling, composting and more recently, renewable energy. Today, they are working closely with Napa County to implement SB 1383.

Christy is a former member of the St Helena Sustainability Committee, a current member of the Emeritus Board of the St Helena and Calistoga Boys and Girls Club, and past president and active executive board member of the Resource Recovery Coalition of California, a statewide industry association. She also served for 7 years on the board of Sustainable Napa County.

Christy has made a life career in the field of waste diversion and resource recovery in the Upper Valley community focusing on sustainability and environmentally sound living and business practices.

COVID-19 at the Community Level

This presentation will address the impacts of COVID-19 at the community level, where you will hear directly from Mayor John Dunbar of the Town of Yountville and their waste service provider, Christy Pestoni of Upper Valley Disposal & Recycling. As a tourist destination, the Town of Yountville and the Napa Valley have been uniquely impacted by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, both economically and for their waste and recycling efforts. Additionally, continued fire threats in the Napa Valley underscore the need to address the harmful impacts of climate change on local communities, pandemic or otherwise. In this presentation you will learn how community leaders see the path to recovery at the local level.