Meet Our 2018 Presenters

Opening Keynote – Allen Langdon, Recycle BC

Allen has been Recycle BC’s managing director since its inception in 2014 and has led the creation of a province-wide recycling program that efficiently manages residential packaging and printed paper recycling in BC. As the Managing Director for Recycle BC, Allen oversees the first 100% Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program in North America where industry has assumed full financial and managerial responsibility for the residential recycling system. Recycle BC services over 98% of British Columbia through curbside, multi-family or depot collection, ensuring that over 185,000 tonnes of packaging and printed paper are collected from households and depots and recycled.

Allen has extensive experience in sustainability and extended producer responsibility, and previously served as the VP of Sustainability for the Retail Council of Canada and the VP of Environment for the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors. Allen is also the Managing Director for the Multi-Material Stewardship Western (MMSW) Program in Saskatchewan.

Closing Keynote – Kelsey R. Ternes and Wendy Dubrow, Climate Reality Project

Kelsey R. Ternes was born and raised in the greater Seattle Area. She served in the U.S. Navy for eleven years. She was a helicopter pilot on the MH-53E Sea Dragon & MH-60S Seahawk and also taught accredited military and leadership courses at Arizona State University for four years. Kelsey holds two undergraduate degrees in Economics & Spanish from Vanderbilt University and a Masters of Business Administration from ASU’s WP Carey School of Business. Kelsey has always been an advocate for the environment and is responsible for organizing and implementing recycling programs in both Arizona and Virginia. Kelsey is a trained leader in former-Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project combating climate change and gives cost-free presentations to help educate the public on the causes & impacts of and solutions to climate change.

Wendy Dubrow is a Seattle area native who has always appreciated the beautiful outdoors and been concerned about conservation. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a BA in Journalism. Wendy worked in the music industry before transitioning to the non-profit sector where she worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo; and later for American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, a university that excels as a world leader in sustainability and prides itself on making the Israeli desert bloom. Ultimately, Wendy could not ignore her love for children’s education so she pursued a dual Masters in Childhood Education and Special Education at New York University. Wendy was awarded a full merit-based scholarship for her master’s program. Wendy found her calling and loved teaching 4th grade! After 9 years in New York, Wendy and her family moved back to the Greater Seattle area to raise their 2 young girls. Wendy has published a children’s book about her beloved dog titled, Hudson’s Tales, The Adventures of Puppy Brother. Her passion for education combined with her concern over climate changes witnessed in her short life compel her to do more for the sake of her children, as well as all other human and living creatures on our fragile planet. Since participating in Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leaders Training this past June, along with her presenting partner, Kelsey Ternes, Wendy & Kelsey have seized every opportunity to help spread the word about climate change in effort to ignite meaningful change.

Tuesday Plenary –

Ron Vance, US EPA
Ron Vance is the Chief of the Resource Conservation Branch in the Office of Land and Emergency Management at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC. Mr. Vance oversees efforts related to materials measurement, sustainable packaging, and sustainability in sports. Mr. Vance has nearly 20 years of experience in developing, implementing, and evaluating materials management programs. Before joining EPA, Mr. Vance worked in consulting, non-profit, state government, and local government. Mr. Vance holds a M.S. in Environmental Science and Management from Duquesne University and a B.S. in Biology from Wake Forest University.

Martin Brown, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
Martin Brown is Goals & Measures Specialist for Oregon DEQ’s Materials Management program. He works to evaluate the state’s progress towards realizing a long-term vision for sustainability, the 2050 Vision for Materials Management. Martin comes to DEQ after 20 years as an independent researcher and analyst. His work on forest ecology, housing, and sustainability has been published in diverse venues, ranging from peer-reviewed research in Journal of Ecology, American Naturalist, and Appraisal Journal, to popular features in Alternet, MAKE, Sierra, and even Cat Fancy.

Breakout Session Presenters

Tim Asp – Repair.org, Repair Association
Tim Asp is the Director of Technology for Repair.org, also known as the Repair Association. The Repair Association is working to pass Fair Repair legislation at the state level, so that every consumer and every small business has access to the parts, tools, and service information they need. Our mission is to protect local repair jobs and advocate on behalf of consumers and professionals alike. In addition to his work with Repair.org, Tim holds a degree in computer science and works as a software engineer.

Kris Beatty – King County Solid Waste Division
Kris Beatty, Program Manager for King County Solid Waste Division, has 17 years of experience in recycling market development and infrastructure facilitation, public outreach, and advocacy. She manages the Division’s LinkUp program which works to expand recycling of target materials by facilitating an interactive community of businesses, public agencies and other organizations. Kris was responsible for developing and implementing King County’s new Commercial Food Waste Grant program, Threadcycle textile reuse and recycling campaign, and Shingles in Paving project to advance asphalt shingle recycling. She is currently exploring opportunities to support clothing waste prevention and sustainable consumption.

Wes Benson – Taco Time Northwest
Wes Benson is Franchise Affairs and Sustainability Manager for Taco Time Northwest, based in Renton, WA. For the past seven years, Taco Time Northwest has led the industry locally in developing a single-container, all-compost waste diversion program in TTNW’s seventy-eight dining rooms. Wes has been involved in this program from the beginning, working with the City of Seattle during the stakeholder process, developing systems, signage, and training, and encouraging constant improvement along the way. Since then, Wes has been involved in electricity conservation through changing behavior in the restaurants and testing new, more efficient equipment; maximizing back of the house waste diversion (focused both on composting and recycling); and developing Taco Time Northwest’s solar program for all new construction. He holds a BA in English from the University of Washington.

Eugenia Bogazzi – ECOSS
For the last three years at ECOSS Eugenia conducted and managed multicultural outreach and education projects. She designed and implemented solid waste reduction projects for minority-owned businesses, immigrant and refugees residents and diverse communities in King County. Eugenia has been working with consulting companies, solid waste haulers and government agencies. Because of her academic research background and analytical skills Eugenia brings to her organization the experience to use database systems, design surveys and analyze data. ECOSS is a non-profit organization located in South Seattle with the mission to educate and empower businesses and diverse communities to implement environmentally sustainable practices in the Puget Sound area.

Domenic Calabro – US EPA Region 10
Domenic Calabro is a waste prevention specialist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Pacific Northwest regional office and a member of the EPA’s Materials Management and Stewardship team. Domenic is the regional lead for EPA partnership programs, business sustainability, the greening of sports and event venues, and commercial food waste prevention. Domenic holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Maryland and is a past recipient of EPA’s Pollution Prevention Leadership Award.

Dave Claugus – Pioneer Recycling Services
Dave has worked in many aspects of the recycling industry including residential buyback, wastepaper collection & processing, document destruction, electronic waste collection and processing, composting, and commingled single-stream processing over the past 33 years. Prior to assuming his current position, Dave owned and managed E-Waste Recovery Systems, an e-waste collections and processing business and worked with Weyerhaeuser Recycling as their Western Regional Manager with responsibility for ten facilities. Additionally, Dave has prior experience as a business owner after successfully starting and selling two different recycling businesses. Dave has a B.A. in Economics from UC Santa Barbara and a M.B.A. from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business.

Greg Gachowsky – WA Dept. of Ecology
Greg Gachowsky has worked for local government in the Puget Sound region since 2004. Most of his work has focused on water quality, waste reduction, and recycling issues. With food being the largest item by weight going to landfills, Greg and many others in local and state government are transitioning their efforts to address this issue. While working for Thurston County Solid Waste, Greg helped coordinate an innovative project using Ecology grant dollars that built capacity in local food banks and meal programs to rescue more surplus edible food from businesses and institutions. Greg is now with the Department of Ecology as a Solid Waste Planner and Grants Officer in the Southwest Region. Greg graduated from Seattle University, with a major in Environmental Studies.

Joel Gamoran – Sur La Table
Joel grew up in Seattle, WA and has been cooking professionally for the past 14 years. In addition to studying cooking in Italy, Joel has earned a Restaurant Management Degree from the University of Connecticut as well as an ACAP Degree from the Culinary Institute of America. After his formal education, Joel worked in many restaurants up and down the West Coast of the United States. Joel’s goal has always been to make the home kitchen more approachable and inspirational for the everyday cook! So, at 24 years old Joel began teaching cooking classes at famed kitchen retailer Sur La Table! Joel continues to make consistent appearances on morning shows, including New York One, The Today Show, and Good Morning America. Joel is also a Tastemaker for the online cooking network Tastemade, and in the summer of 2017 Joel will Executive Produce and Host his first cooking show SCRAPS, on the FYI network! Today Joel is the National Chef for Sur La Table and lives in Brooklyn, New York with his awesome wife Angiolina!

Sara Gersten-Rothenberg – Triangle Associates
Sara Gersten-Rothenberg is Co-President and Senior Associate at Triangle Associates, a women-owned small business in Seattle. Sara is a dynamic, creative educator with over 25 years of experience in community outreach, environmental and arts education, and school program coordination. At Triangle since 2001, Sara develops innovative community outreach and school-based conservation programs for public and private clients. She manages comprehensive programs on topics of waste reduction and recycling, climate change, energy conservation, renewable energy, and water conservation. As a company leader, Sara is instrumental in facilitating staff development and workplace engagement. Outside of Triangle, Sara’s fun facts include being a former National and two-time World Champion Ultimate Frisbee player and now Middle School coach. Her favorite activity continues to be keeping up with her two growing girls.

Jennifer Goodhart – City of Bellevue
Jennifer Goodhart is the Conservation & Outreach Program Administrator for the City of Bellevue where she manages residential, commercial, multifamily, and school resource conservation and recycling education outreach programs; including developing from scratch the Carbon Yeti Program. Prior to her work with Bellevue, Jennifer managed water quality, restoration, and solid waste outreach programs for the City of Issaquah, coordinated Environmental Programs at Seattle University, and implemented recycling and household hazardous waste programs for Grays Harbor County. Her education background is in environmental science and she holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Western Washington University and a Masters of Environmental Science from The Evergreen State College. She completed Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership Program in June of 2017. Jennifer has two daughters, Amelia (12) and Kate (9) and is active in and loves her community, Everett, WA, where she has been growing roots with her family since 2014.

Zach Hensley – First & Goal Inc; First & Goal HospitalityZach Hensley joined the Seahawks family in 2015 and was promoted to Vice President of Venue Operations and Guest Experience in June of 2017. In his position, Hensley oversees and directs Hospitality Operations, Guest Services, Facility Operations, Field Operations, Conversion, and Event Operations for CenturyLink Field, CenturyLink Field Event Center, and WaMu Theater. Most recently, Hensley was instrumental in the creation of First & Goal Hospitality, including designing the organizational structure and project manager for the creation of this new entity for the Seattle Seahawks.

Zach has over 17 years of experience in stadium operations, hospitality, and customer service. Prior to joining the Seahawks organization, Hensley was heavily involved in project management, planning, concept design, food service design and managing multiple facilities throughout his career including Levi’s Stadium which opened in 2014, and the KFC Yum Center in 2010. Some of his most notable dealings are with the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders, San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, the University of Louisville, Superbowl XLIV, NHL All Star Games, NCAA Football Championships, WrestleMania, NHL Stadium Series and NCAA Final Four Championships.

He resides in Bellevue with his wife, Valerie, and two children, Emma and Chase.

Nicole Jackson – Boys and Girls Clubs of Bellevue
Nicole is the Senior Area Director for the Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue where she manages ten afterschool sites; including four site in elementary schools, two in Community Centers, three in public housing sites and a stand-alone facility. She has been with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bellevue for ten years and with Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland for 7 years as well. Prior to coming to Bellevue, Nicole was the Youth Services Director at the Native American Youth and Family Center in which she coordinated the Education, Cultural and Sports Programs for Youth. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Western Oregon University. Nicole is married and has a son Brandon (7) and stepson Exavier (13). Nicole is active in her new community, Newcastle, WA.

Dave Keeling – Steel Recycling Institute
David Keeling is the Director-Recycling for the Steel Recycling Institute (SRI). He is a LEED Accredited Professional in the United States Green Building Council. Mr. Keeling’s recycling related responsibilities include working on the state, county and municipal levels to maximize steel recycling, as well as enhance the steel recycling infrastructure and developing additional end markets for post-consumer steel.

Patricio Ku – Triangle Associates
Patricio Ku is an environmental educator at Triangle Associates and former teacher. He is passionate about promoting diversity, equity and inclusion throughout all facets of his work. He brings experience facilitating diversity trainings and sits on Triangle’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Topical areas of expertise include waste reduction and recycling, climate change, water conservation, and Spanish-language workshops. Patricio also provides technical assistance to school staff teams, helping them to improve conservation practices. When not at Triangle, Patricio enjoys foraging for mushrooms in beautiful Pacific Northwest forests and playing his trumpet.

Patrick Malloy – King County Housing Authority
Patrick Malloy is the Resource Conservation Specialist at the King County Housing Authority. Patrick’s has two primary foci at the Housing Authority—diverting material from our regional landfills and finding monetary savings through more effective materials management processes. He accomplishes these goals by educating 50,000 multifamily residents and 350 staff members on recycling and composting methods. He is currently collaborating with staff on a new green purchasing policy, a construction and demolition diversion policy, a BMP for self-hauling material, and a BMP on illegal dumping. Patrick also coordinates the green business outreach at the KCHA and has helped over 50 multi-family properties become recognized in the King County EnviroStars program. Prior to working at the Housing Authority, Patrick spent eight years with Cascadia Consulting Group where he barnstormed the country, studying garbage and recycling at landfills, transfer stations, businesses and even the Pentagon in Washington D.C. When not “talking trash,” Patrick likes to spend time with his wife and 6 year old daughter biking, jumping rope, eating junk food, and exploring the nooks and crannies of West Seattle.

Cody Marshall – The Recycling Partnership
Based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Cody Marshall is the VP of Technical Assistance for The Recycling Partnership and is currently working with local governments around the country to incorporate best management practices for increasing residential recycling and reducing contamination. Cody’s background includes working as a Senior Consultant for RRS and managing Orange County, North Carolina’s recycling programs where he oversaw daily operations such as curbside, multi-family, electronics, drop-off, commercial, and food waste collection.

Socorro Medina – Seattle Public Utilities
Socorro manages the multifamily recycling & composting education program for the City of Seattle. She is interested in using data to better target Seattle’s recycling outreach efforts and in figuring out effective ways to reach underserved populations. Socorro is a native of Mexico and often works with Spanish-speaking communities. She has a B.S. degree in Physics from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington.

Michelle Metzler – Waste Management Northwest
Michelle Metzler is the Recycling Education and Outreach Manager for Waste Management of the Pacific Northwest. In this role, Michelle leads a team of recycling coordinators in working with municipalities, businesses and communities to develop new programs and advance materials management practices. She has worked in the waste industry for nearly a decade and has extensive experience creating comprehensive education programs and finding creative ways to reduce waste. Prior to joining Waste Management, Michelle worked for the Multnomah County Sustainability Program where she helped government facilities reduce their waste and implement new recycling programs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental economics from Western Washington University.

McKenna Morrigan – Cascadia Consulting Group
McKenna provides clients with in-depth research, analysis, program design, and project management services. Passionate about helping communities use data to improve recycling and composting programs and achieve their zero waste goals, McKenna has led Cascadia’s work designing and conducting innovative household recycling/composting behavior studies on behalf of clients around the country.

McKenna brings expertise in community-based social marketing, program design and evaluation, and policy analysis, and has worked on a wide range of environmental issues, including recycling and waste prevention, product stewardship, clean energy development, and energy conservation. Prior to joining Cascadia, McKenna conducted focus groups and qualitative research around the country as a public opinion researcher at Public Agenda, a nonpartisan organization based in New York City, and served as an environmental management fellow for the U.S. EPA Region 10 in Seattle.

McKenna was recently named a Waste360 40 Under 40 award recipient. – Check out her profile HERE.

Ken Nsimbi – King County Housing Authority
Ken is the Youth Programs Coordinator at King County Housing Authority. He has over 15 years of experience working with young people. Born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. Ken’s experience as a man of color and first generation immigrant is his driving force to serving populations whose voices have been muted by society. His education background is in fine arts and human services and holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from University of Phoenix. Ken has had many roles in the community as a youth advocate, including serving on the Seattle Human Rights Commission. He currently sits on the New Horizon and World Relief Board. He is adept at forming partnerships with other community leaders to support youth and young adults. He has worked as a youth leader in his home country, lead counselor at the Ballard Boys and Girls Club and most recently Drop-In and Outreach Manager at New Horizon youth and young adult homeless shelter. In his spare time you could find him choreographing dances, teaching drum lessons, travelling and playing with his band all over Washington and most importantly on a cruise to some romantic destination with his beautiful wife.

Babe O’Sullivan – Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Babe O’Sullivan is a Sustainable Consumption Specialist with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Materials Management Program—a highly progressive program, which is addressing production and consumption as part of a comprehensive effort to reduce the life cycle impacts of materials. Babe is a leader in the sustainable consumption movement, having worked as a consultant for the Urban Sustainability Directors’ Network (USDN), leading the Sustainable Consumption in Cities project, a multi-year initiative exploring the role of cities in advancing sustainable consumption. She helped to design and launch the USDN Sustainable Consumption Toolkit providing guidance and resources to cities. Previously, Babe was the Sustainability Liaison for the City of Eugene, Oregon and before that a solid waste and recycling program coordinator for the City of Portland, Oregon. She is a member of the leadership team for the EPA West Coast Forum on Climate and Materials Management and serves on the board of the Eugene Toolbox Project, a local tool lending library in her home community. Babe holds an MBA from University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Policy from the University of California, Davis.

Don Diego Padilla III – FleetMind Solutions, Inc
A waste industry fleet management veteran, Mr. Padilla is Vice-President at FleetMind Solutions, Inc., where he spearheads business and customer development activities. Previously, Mr. Padilla was a Regional Sales Director for Allied Waste, now a part of Republic Services – the leading provider of solid waste collection, transfer, recycling and disposal services in the US. Mr. Padilla is a frequent contributor to FleetSMARTS, an industry newsletter targeted at fleet organization executives. His recent white paper on fleet safety garnered a Network Products Guide Award in the “Best White Paper” category. Mr. Padilla has been published in numerous industry magazines such and is a frequent speaker at industry forums such as Waste Expo, Fleet Management Expo and regional municipal waste management events.

Nikyta Palmisani – Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District (LSWDD)
Nikyta Palmisani is an Educator and has presented at local, national, and international conferences. She is particularly concerned with innovating solutions to create a more just and sustainable world. She is currently the Training, Education and Outreach Coordinator at Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District on Lopez Island, Washington.

Mark Peterson – Sustainable Connections
Mark Peterson is the Sustainable Business Manager for the Whatcom County Based non-profit Sustainable Connections. Mark is a graduate of Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Visual Communications, is a LEED AP and is a certified Project Management Professional. With a varied work history across multiple sectors, he is sensitive to the pressures business owners face, from limited time to limited resources. He has helped many local businesses create and measure a variety of sustainability projects from Towards Zero Waste to assisting with B-Corp certification. He believes in giving back to the community, you are rooted in, and has served as Co-Chair – Bellingham Public School Citizen Advisory Committee, the Bellingham Public School Facility Task Force, and is former Chair of the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Currently, Mark is the chair of the Whatcom County Solid Waste Advisory Committee. Mark is grateful to be pursuing a purpose-driven career and for the opportunity to work with a wide array of incredible local businesses!

Hannah Scholes – Waste Management Northwest
Hannah is an Education and Outreach coordinator for Waste Management of Washington. As an education coordinator, she works with municipal and commercial clients to help increase recycling and organics diversion rates in the Puget Sound region. She is passionate about creating effective engagement campaigns that help change behavior and reduce waste.

Hannah is a Washington native with a B.S. in Environmental Systems from the University of California San Diego. She is devoted to increasing sustainability through both domestic and international environmental education programs. Prior to Waste Management, she worked with families and youth as an Outdoor Science Educator for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Her background also includes two years of environmental innovation and rich cultural exchange as an Environmental Conservation Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay. In her spare time, Hannah enjoys backpacking, cooking, and gardening.

Cindy Spiry – Snoqualmie Casino
Cindy Spiry has worked for the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe since 2007 and has managed the Environmental and Natural Resources (ENR) Department for the past 8 years. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in Ecology and Conservation along with a certificate in Restoration Ecology. In her capacity as ENR Director, Cindy is involved with several boards and committees locally and regionally. She works to represent the Snoqualmie Tribe on King County’s Fish, Farm Flood Committee, she is the current Chair of the Snoqualmie Watershed Forum and has served on the board of the Tribal Solid Waste Advisory Network for 7 years.

Emily Tipaldo – American Chemistry Council
Emily Tipaldo is Director of Packaging & Consumer Products, at the American Chemistry Council’s Plastics Division. Emily leads the Plastics Division’s Packaging Team, representing major U.S. resin suppliers. She directs advocacy and develops strategies for policies and initiatives that recognize plastic packaging and plastic products as valuable resources. Emily leads the Packaging Team in the quest for sustainable solutions for creating and recovering plastics, keeping molecules in play, and, preventing marine debris. She also manages the Materials Recovery for the Future flexible plastic packaging recycling research – representing the flex pack value chain and Fortune 100 companies. She was recently featured as part of the Edison Awards Women Behind Innovation series (September 2017), and was named a Plastics News Rising Star in 2015. Prior to joining the Plastics Division, Emily was Director of Regulatory and Technical Affairs at ACC. Emily received a B.A. (cum laude) in American Studies from Mary Washington College, and a M.A. in International Relations (With Distinction) from the University of Westminster, London

Terry Webber – American Forest & Paper Association

Sam Wilder – Wilder Environmental Consulting
Ms. Wilder has been in the sustainability and resource conservation field for twenty years. She is a graduate in Environmental Resource Management from Penn State University, with a minor in Education. She has worked for Student Conservation Association, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Hawk Watch International, Bureau of Land Management and Pacific Science Center in a range of positions from wetlands education, hawk banding to a van waste prevention school visiting program. In 2002, she formed her own company, Wilder Environmental Consulting. Through City, County and State programs in Washington, she has worked with residents, businesses, property managers and schools on a variety of waste reduction and sustainability topics. She has given over 1,000 presentations to school classes, school assemblies, neighborhood associations, residents and businesses. She has assisted over 1,200 businesses with eco improvements. She has been published in a variety of publications and books, and has presented at local and national conferences. She has completed both the introductory and advanced community based social marketing training sessions from Doug McKenzie-Mohr. She is certified as a Building Analyst Professional by the Building Performance Institute. She has achieved Level 1 and Level 2 Building Operator Certification through the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council and has completed training in commercial energy auditing. In June, 2017 she completed Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leadership program. Sam enjoys being outdoors, traveling with her partner and playing bass and theremin in her free time.

Matt Zwicker, Strategic Materials
Matthew Zwicker is the Western Regional Supply Manager for Strategic Materials. He has worked in the recycling industry for the last eighteen years in various capacities. Matthew has worked for a variety of organizations including, Recology of San Francisco, and The East Bay Conservation Corps.

WSRA presents annual Recycler of the Year (ROY) awards to spotlight individuals, businesses, government agencies and community organizations that are making outstanding contributions to strengthening and expanding recycling and waste prevention practices across the state. View our 2019 Recipients HERE and our archived award winners HERE.

Nominations for our 2020 Recycler of the Year Awards &
Hall of Fame are being accepted! Nominations are due by 5:00pm on January 10, 2020.

Please email your nomination form to recycle@wsra.net

WSRA welcomes nominations of individuals and organizations that have demonstrated noteworthy dedication, innovation and success in recycling initiatives across the state. A committee of recycling professionals and community members reviews nominations and selects Recyclers of the Year award recipients, whose accomplishments are featured during the awards banquet at the 2020 WSRA annual conference in May.

Recycler of the Year Categories

Recycling Hall of Fame: An individual who has made outstanding long-term (15-20 year) contributions to recycling in Washington.

Individual: An individual whose actions have significantly furthered recycling and waste prevention beyond the normal scope of their responsibilities.

Business Generator: A company whose primary business is not recycling that demonstrates outstanding accomplishments in recycling and waste prevention.

Higher Education Institution: An institution of higher education (college, university, secondary school or school district) that demonstrates outstanding accomplishments in recycling.

Innovation: Exceptional creativity in promoting waste prevention and recycling.

Institution: An institution that demonstrates significant accomplishments in recycling and waste prevention

Non-profit: A non-profit agency that demonstrates significant accomplishments in recycling and waste prevention.

Nucor Steel Recycling Business: A recycling company or organization whose work and/or innovation have furthered and improved recycling in Washington.

Public Agency: A public agency that creates programs that effectively increase recycling and waste prevention.

Public Education: Outstanding accomplishments in educating the general public about recycling and waste prevention.

Youth Education: Outstanding success in promoting youth involvement in recycling and waste prevention.

Other: A category not listed above that best suits the nominee’s accomplishments in promoting waste prevention and recycling.