CRRA2021

President

Susan Collins is President of the Container Recycling Institute and has worked on recycling and sustainability issues for more than 25 years. She leads CRI’s research and works with environmental organizations, activists and governments around the world to educate on the benefits of packaging recycling. Ms. Collins has testified before the legislatures of 11 U.S. states and territories. She is a board member of the National Recycling Coalition and a former board member of the California Resource Recovery Association.

Best Practices and Key Principles for Container Deposit Systems

CRI will share the results of our multi-year research and collaboration project on the Best Practices in Container Deposit laws (CDLs). There has been a sea change in attitudes from brand owners, trade associations and environmental nonprofit groups in the US and worldwide in the last few years, resulting in much more enthusiasm for CDLs. We have also seen a doubling of CDLs around the world in the last few years. Ms. Collins will cover the highlights of CRI’s Best Practices in Container Deposit Laws project and Beverage Market Data Analysis: Tipping Point report, the major trade associations’ new policies on CDLs, and legislative updates on CDL expansion bills and new recycled content laws.

Vice President, Government Relations

Mike Smaha is the Vice President of Government Relations for the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), the trade association representing U.S. metal can makers and their suppliers. Based in Washington, DC, Smaha lobbies for the can industry at the federal and state levels, promoting the metal can as the premier sustainable and safe package for food, beverage and household products.

Prior to joining CMI, Smaha spent more than nine years as the U.S. Government Affairs Director for O-I Glass, Inc., a glass container manufacturer, where he worked on recycling policies including extended producer responsibility and container deposits.

Aluminum Beverage Can Industry’s Approach to Deposit Systems

Mike will summarize CMI’s principles for designing an effective container deposit program. He will show how CMI’s outreach to beverage companies and their respective trade associations has led to consensus

as to how national and state deposit programs could be designed to optimize consumer convenience, program efficiency and increased recycling of metal cans. Mike will also discuss learnings from a U.K. based aluminum packaging trade group on the importance of variable rate deposits versus rate that are levied equally without regard to package size.

President

Scott became President of GPI in August 2019, and now also serves as the President of the Glass Recycling Foundation and the leadership committee of the Glass Recycling Coalition

Scott has divided his 30+ year career in Washington between trade associations and Capitol Hill, with a focus on energy, environment, economic and financial policy for several Members of Congress, including House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD), and Energy and Commerce Committee members Bart Gordon (TN) and Karen McCarthy (MO). Scott has a background in state affairs as well, working for Texas Governor Ann Richards, the Southern Governors Association, and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Redemption Systems’ Role in Meeting National Glass Recycling Goals

Container Deposit programs are critical sources of quality material to manufacturers who are eager to increase their recycled content rates to meet the sustainability objectives of the public, the regulatory requirements from public officials and circularity demands of CPGCs. The Glass Packaging Institute members spent the past year studying their supply chain and the availability of glass for recycling to meet industry goals of a national 50% recycling rate as well as higher average recycled content, and improved output from container deposit systems is necessary to meet those national goals. Scott will summarize the glass industry goals and speak to the importance of convenience and material quality as the industry supports revisions to the California program to make it more productive and sustainable going forward.

Susan Collins is President of the Container Recycling Institute and has worked on recycling and sustainability issues for more than 25 years. She leads CRI’s research and works with environmental organizations, activists and governments around the world to educate on the benefits of packaging recycling. Ms. Collins has testified before the legislatures of 11 U.S. states and territories. She is a board member of the National Recycling Coalition and a former board member of the California Resource Recovery Association.