2022 Webinar Series

April 20       May 18        June 15         July 13          Sept 14         OCT 5

The 2022 Webinar Series, hosted by SERDC will target the National Recycling Strategy’s five strategic objectives and showcase best practices and evolving initiatives.

All webinars are on Wednesday and begin at 11 am ET for approximately one hour.  Members and guests will have the opportunity to ask questions of the presenters for the benefit of discussion. The webinar offering is free of charge to all attendees and the recording will be posted here.

  • April 20 The State of Recycling in the US and US EPA's Recycling Goal of 50 by 30
  • May 18  Reducing Contamination in the Recycled Materials Stream
  • June 15  Enhancing Policies to Support Recycling
  • July 13    Increasing Collection and Improving Materials Management Infrastructure
  • Sept 14  Improving Markets for Recycling Commodities 
  • October 5   Standardizing Measurement and Increasing Data Collection 

October 5, 2022

Standardizing Measurement and Increasing Data Collection

Unfortunately, this webinar has been cancelled.  We do apologize for the inconvenience.

September 14, 2022

Improving Markets for Recycling Commodities


We need to improve markets for recyclable materials and recyclable products and better integrate recycled materials into product and packaging designs. The national strategy has identified these targets:

  1. Promote market development,
  2. Produce an analysis of different types of end markets that considers resilience, environmental benefits and other relevant factors for decision makers,
  3. Increase manufacturing use of recycled material feedstocks in domestic manufacturing,
  4. Increase demand for recycled materials through policies, programs, initiatives and incentives,
  5. Continue to support research and development of technologies and products that will expand market opportunities,
  6. Explore possible ratification of the Basel Convention and encourage environmentally sound management of scrap and recyclables traded with other countries.

Speakers:


Nick Carlson, Business Development Director, Goodwill Industries of West Michigan

Nick has been instrumental in helping shape Goodwill’s environmental sustainability strategy for the West Michigan region as well as the collective efforts for Goodwill across the State of Michigan. He works closely with Goodwill Internationally to share and learn best practices concerning effective materials management, energy efficiency and general environmental sustainability opportunities.




Kyla Fisher, Program Director, AMERIPEN

As Program Director for AMERIPEN, a material neutral trade association for the packaging industry, Kyla is responsible for the association’s research and programming around the intersection of packaging, policy and the environment. She has led the organization’s efforts to understand the value of packaging in preventing food waste; supported the association’s efforts to help define a potential financing strategy to increase packaging recovery and worked with state market development centers to better align packaging and recovery efforts.

A former instructor of strategy for ASU’s Masters of Sustainability program, Kyla passionately believes that sustainability is not an “add-on” for businesses rather, it should be seen as a strategic offering that offers resiliency in uncertain times.



Anna DeLage, Recycling Market Development Manager, SC Department of Commerce

Anna DeLage serves as the Recycling Market Development Manager at South Carolina Department of Commerce. She sparks economic growth, by connecting SC businesses to more than 300 recycling companies in the state. With over a decade of sustainable materials management experience she tracks capital investment and job creation for the SC recycling industry. She responds to sourcing requests for companies interested in expanding recycling operations, achieving zero waste, and identifying new market opportunities.

Anna provides a trusted long term return on investment, for clients to reduce disposal costs and identify potential revenues from the sale of recycled materials. She loves a good challenge of linking hard to recycle items with end markets. In her free time, she loves the great outdoors, especially replenishing beach days and trips to the Appalachian mountains.

july 13, 2022

Increase Collection and Improve Materials Management Infrastructure

Recycling infrastructure – the equipment associated with the collection, conveyance, sorting, processing and reintroduction of recyclables feedstock into the manufacturing process – in the United States has not kept pace with the rapidly changing recyclables stream, and products are not designed with current infrastructure in mind. Access to recycling opportunities also varies, so access to the benefits of recycling subsequently varies among communities. Investment and innovation are necessary to increase collection opportunities, improve sorting materials, increase the efficiency of materials processing infrastructure, increase the collection of materials and create a more resilient recycling system.

The Recycling Partnership will address their efforts to improve communication and increase participation, and, AMP Robotics will discuss the growth of new infrastructure, particularly secondary sortation with AI enhancements and industry’s ongoing adoption of robotic sorting systems.

Speakers:


Scott Mouw, Senior Director of Strategy and Research, The Recycling Partnership

Scott joined The Recycling Partnership, a national non-profit organization “solving for circularity” in 2017, following a career of leading recycling efforts for the State of North Carolina. Scott’s work has been dedicated to analyzing and building system change through strategic use of data, technical assistance, grant programs, and policy. He supports many of The Recycling Partnership’s material-specific and policy initiatives and was the lead author of the recent Paying It Forward report,  which documents the investments needed to achieve equitable recycling in the U.S.



Chris Wirth,  Vice President of Marketing and Government Relations, AMP Robotics

Chris Wirth is a vice president of AMP Robotics with responsibility for marketing and government affairs. Wirth brings more than 25 years of business-to-business experience at companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies in the technology, sustainability, government, finance, and industrial sectors. Prior to AMP, he held roles in marketing at Flex Ltd (NASDAQ: FLEX) incubating an internal international energy start-up and was vice president of marketing for Spruce Finance (formerly Clean Power Finance), a solar energy financier backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Google Ventures.

 

june 15, 2022 at 11 am et

Enhancing Policies to Support Recycling

Recycling is a key component to the circular economy. Specific policy actions are needed to engage economic drivers of production. These policies can support businesses in overcoming hurdles by stimulating innovative projects and long-term investments in circularity, while facilitating collaboration and partnerships. Speakers will discuss how producers and brands feel about needed policy and programs to meet national goals.


Speakers:


Susan Bush, Principal, Circular Matters

Susan Bush has been a consultant and policy analyst working to assess and optimize recycling programs and bring about the circular economy for over 20 years. She has worked with local and state governments, the US EPA, and many private businesses and industry associations. She helped Tennessee develop their most recent sustainable materials plan, was part of the team that developed the Texas Recycling Market Development Plan. She has developed numerous tools and best practices for state and local governments.



Dan Felton, Executive Director, AMERIPEN

A well-known leader in the state government affairs arena for more than 20 years, Dan has worked within the bottled water, credit card, healthcare and information management industries. He is particularly passionate about environmental, sustainability and packaging issues and has lobbied extensively in those areas at the state and federal levels. He leads the efforts of AMERIPEN – the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment – to develop and advocate positions for the U.S. packaging industry on issues related to packaging and the environment, using sound science and a philosophy of material neutrality. 

May 18, 2022 at 11 am et

Reducing Contamination in the Recycled Materials Stream

The U.S. MSW recycling system currently faces a number of challenges, including confusion about what materials can be recycled.  The National Recycling Strategy identifies actions to address these challenges that build on the collaborative efforts by stakeholders from across the recycling system that began under the 2019 National Framework for Advancing the U.S. Recycling System.

Reducing contamination in the recycling stream will enable more material to be recycled and can result in less material being discarded and higher quality recycled materials produced for manufacturing feedstock.  This webinar will gain perspective on how we can meet this goal from three different sectors:  communities that are collecting the material, NGOs that are exploring ways to reduce confusion and manufacturers that design machinery to keep contamination out of final feedstock.

Speakers:


Megan Byers, Program Director, Association of Plastic Recyclers

Megan Byers plays a multifaceted role at the APR, utilizing her love of data and design to bring a strategic, accessible approach to the organization's programs. Megan also provides coordination and research support to the U.S. Plastics Pact, where she facilitates workstreams on Design for Recyclability, Problematic and Unnecessary Materials, and Composting. Previously, she led communications, policy, and stewardship initiatives at the Product Stewardship Institute, where she specialized in plastic pollution prevention.



Rusty Angel, Eastern Region Sales Manager, Machinex

Rusty joined the Machinex Technologies team in 2011 as the Sales Manager for the Southeast Region USA. In August 2017, his role was expanded and now he is responsible for the entire Eastern Region of the United States. Rusty has been involved in industrial equipment sales since 1993 and in the recycling industry since 2002.  Machinex designs, manufactures and installs complete sorting systems for single-stream, mixed waste, C & D and Waste-to-Energy facilities.



Jennifer Harrman,  Zero Waste Program Manager, Metro Nashville Waste Services

Jenn Harrman serves as the Zero Waste Program Manager for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and has over 10 years of professional experience in community education and digital communications. She has worked for several non-profits including the National Trust for Historic Preservation before joining Metro Government and much of her work has centered on building effective communications and educational programs that teach the public about the importance of our valuable resources. In her current role, she focuses on improving Nashville’s recycling program, expanding and promoting the city’s other waste diversion programs including composting, and advancing efforts to reduce waste in construction and demolition projects citywide. She also serves as a staff expert to Nashville’s Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Committee and sits on the Nashville Food Waste Initiative Steering Committee and the Nashville Environmental Justice Initiative Steering Committee.

April 20, 2022 

The State of Recycling in the US and US EPA's Recycling Goal of 50 by 30

Recently, Ball Corporation recently commissioned a research report presenting the first state-by-state comparison of recycling rates for common container and packaging materials (CCPM) in the US. The report is the first of its kind and is intended to set baseline data for each state that can be leveraged to inform policy, design programs and assess infrastructure proposals and improvements. Hear from Ball on that report focused on the SE US.

The US EPA will follow with an overview of the Congressional and Policy Drivers impacting the agency’s Sustainable Materials Management division and the first part of the National Recycling Strategy, including the ask for leaders and supporters of the strategy’s objectives.

The webinar is moderated by SERDC Program Committee Member Natalie Betts, of Balcones Resources.

Speakers:


Megan Lane: Recycling Manager of Beverage Packaging North and Central America, Ball Corporation

Megan has over ten years of experience in the sustainable materials management and environmental industry.  Megan joined Ball in 2021. In her role Megan supports the development of policies, strategic projects, and investments in infrastructure that increase the recycling rates of aluminum and help foster circular economies across North and Central America.

Prior to coming to Ball, Megan worked at the City and County of Denver for five years where she managed projects, developed frameworks and policies, and lead strategic initiatives. Megan also has experience in solid waste management consulting and managing zero waste/sustainability programs for venues and arenas.



Barbara Alfano: PCB & Sustainability Section Chief of Land, Chemicals and Redevelopment Division,
United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 4

Barbara Alfano manages the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 4 PCB & Sustainability Section. She joined the EPA in 1988, after working as a national wetland specialist for six years in St. Petersburg, Florida. Most of her EPA experience includes Superfund and Brownfields assessment and cleanup. For five years, she served as the regional EPA Brownfields Coordinator. Her background includes growing up in Pennsylvania and graduating from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Barbara feels privileged to collaborate with diverse communities in the southeast to protect human health and the environment.


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