CRRA 2023 Conference and Trade Show

Recycling Coordinator

President, K-12 environmental school consultant

Jessica Jane Robinson is the CEO and Founder of Resilience Birthright Inc, a partnering NGO of the United Nations. She is the creator of the Earth Warrior Carbon Calculator, a community-based zero-waste 101 tool that helps address climate change and guides people toward the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. Jessica has been a zero-waste practitioner and active and impactful environmental leader in the Bay Area for over a decade. She has developed innovative zero-waste programs in Alameda County schools, RecycleSmart Schools, and programs throughout the Bay Area. She is currently the President of the Northern California Recycling Association.

Students Become Zero-Waste Superheroes K-12 Programming

Resilience Birthright’s founder, Jessica Jane Robinson, has been working in schools teaching about climate change and zero-waste, providing technical assistance regarding waste diversion & sustainable program planning and implementation for over a decade. Her work has covered over 80 schools in the Bay Area, California, and has inspired action in schools throughout the United States. Ms. Robinson has helped principals, teachers, green teams, and district administrations plan, implement, and promote their environmental program successes.

She will share her K-12 Earth Warrior School Program, where students learn how powerful practicing the 5 R's, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot/compost, can be when done daily with intention. The Earth Warrior School Program has environmental education, lesson plans, and songs. The Earth Warrior Program lesson plans cover Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core Math, and English Language Arts Content Standards, which can be a tool for teaching in the classroom, online, and home-schooling.

Jessica will share best practices that have helped schools move from 20% diversion to composting and recycling 80% of their waste.

This presentation covers California's school mandates, AB 827 and SB 1383.

Project & Operations Manager

As Project & Operations Manager of the Go Green Initiative, Mallory McGoff guides schools and school districts across the San Francisco Bay Area through compliance with waste reduction and diversion. Prior to joining the Go Green Initiative, she launched her career in public education, nonprofit youth programs, and community-based change. She transitioned into climate work as a field researcher for an environmental foundation in the Philippines. 

Mallory holds an M.Sc. in Anthropology and Development Sociology from Leiden University, where she wrote her thesis on social policy at the intersection of public education and the environment.

Measuring and Optimizing SB 1383 Outcomes in Schools

SB 1383 compliance in K-12 schools is not a single destination, but an ongoing project that requires consistent systems as students and staff matriculate year to year. In this session, the speaker will discuss how school site Green Teams can work in partnership with their district administration and their campus communities to set up systems that ensure year-over-year success, including ongoing training, feedback loops, campus culture, and quantifying results. 

Audience members will learn how school site Green Teams can measure the climate impacts of their waste reduction and diversion efforts by establishing baselines and tracking regular waste output of all streams. The speaker will demonstrate how districts and schools can make use of this data to evaluate progress, ensure needs are met, and save money by right-sizing waste hauling service. 

The speaker will also discuss how Green Teams can achieve optimized results by having organized forums to share best practices as well as needs and opportunities. This session will provide resources that schools and districts can use to facilitate intra-organizational feedback loops, measure outcomes, and sustain their programs.

Program Coordinator

Rahul Maharaj is a Program Coordinator with the Go Green Initiative, supporting SB 1383 compliance in Bay Area schools. He works daily with school administrators, teachers, custodians, and students as they prevent and reduce waste at school. 

Rahul previously worked in education and politics, most recently working as a Constituent Service Representative for the District Office of Congressman Eric Swalwell. Rahul was formerly a student in a school district he now serves with the Go Green Initiative and strives to make a difference in the communities he grew up in.

Forming School Green Teams and Training for Success

K-12 schools can achieve success with SB 1383 compliance when they have the right people in the room. In this session, audience members will learn more about the roles of administrators, teachers, custodians, and students in the success of the school’s compliance work. Audience members will receive access to the Go Green Initiative's training templates for school site Green Teams and understand its components, which ensure all team members are up-to-date on the requirements of the law, their steps toward preventing waste and contamination, and systems for measuring results.

The speaker will discuss how third party organizations can support the development and success of these teams in partnership with the school district’s leadership by driving communications, organizing training, and advising the district on school site needs, best practices, and insights. Resources and templates will be provided.

Waste Recovery Manager

I have been a "nature kid" all my life. I spent much of my childhood outdoors on hikes, camping trips, and summer camps, but it wasn't until my Junior year of college that I decided I wanted to go into the environmental field. I took a course called "Environmental Studies 101," and was shocked that I hadn't yet heard of the things I was learning, and by the fact that it wasn't a required course for all students. My path was decided then- my passion lies in making sustainability a practical and economically viable way of life for everyone.

Building a Comprehensive School Recycling Program

A comprehensive and effective school recycling program requires the involvement and cooperation of stakeholders at all levels (superintendents, directors, principals, students, custodians, teachers, waste haulers, and more). I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) has created a structured and repeatable program that assists schools of all sizes, demographics, and age levels to improve their waste diversion rates through traditional and organics recycling. Since the beginning of the program, ILACSD has worked with over 60 schools across San Diego County, helping them divert up to 92% of landfilled waste. During this presentation, we will discuss our process in creating the recycling program and successes, lessons learned, and challenges yet to overcome. This presentation will also include a discussion, where attendees are encouraged to collaborate on questions such as, "How do we get middle school students on board?" and "How can we maintain interest and momentum?" We hope to see you there!