Upcoming events
Virtual Connection with Closed Loop Partners
Circular Arizona and the Closed Loop Partners present this virtual connection! This free webinar will explore the Composting Consortium's Municipal Blueprint. Co-authored with the nonprofit Eco-Cycle, the Blueprint is an essential guide for municipalities, counties, and cities seeking to develop food scrap collection programs and work with composters to meet zero waste and climate goals.
You'll also learn about the Consortium's new, free-to-access platforms, which were launched alongside the release of the Blueprint. Municipalities and composters of all sizes and stages of development are invited to connect with the Consortium to explore ways the network can help them achieve their goals of diverting food waste from landfills.
Municipal Partnership Platform: This platform is for city officials focused on sustainability, zero waste and waste management. It connects officials with leaders nationwide to share and discuss best practices for starting and expanding organics collection and infrastructure programs.
Composter Innovator Program: This Program brings full-scale composters together to play an active role in shaping the industry's future on topics like contamination, policy, financing, and scaling food waste composting infrastructure.
Composters and municipalities will find the content most relevant, though all stakeholders across the composting, compostable packaging, and circularity industries are welcome to attend.
Meet Caroline
Caroline Barry is the Program Manager of the Composting Consortium, an initiative of Closed Loop Partners' Center for the Circular Economy. The Composting Consortium brings together leading voices across the composting and compostable packaging ecosystem–from the world's leading brands to best-in-class composters running the operations on the ground. Through in-market tests, deep research and industry-wide collaboration, they are laying the groundwork for a more robust, resilient composting system to keep organics and compostable packaging in circulation.
Prior to joining Closed Loop Partners, Caroline was a consultant for an international consumer goods company, where she oversaw sustainable packaging and circularity strategy, implementation, and execution. During that time, her work was recognized by B Lab as one of two key best practices during the company’s B Corp recertification. She is also the co-creator of the Packaging Innovation Portal; the first website of its kind that supports consumer goods companies, manufacturers, and retailers in the transition away from petroleum-based packaging materials to compostable, renewable, and circular packaging solutions.
Caroline received her B.A. in Communications from Loyola University Maryland and her Master’s in Environmental Sustainability with a specialization in sustainable food systems from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Circular Arizona Annual Meeting
Registration is now open for Circular Arizona’s Annual Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Metro Tech High School in Phoenix! Join us to celebrate Circular Arizona’s accomplishments over the past year, complete with a catered lunch, grant and scholarship recognitions, award announcements, and our board election.
Plus, don’t miss our keynote speaker, Stephen Ritz, an internationally acclaimed, award-winning educator, author of the best-selling book The Power Of A Plant, and Founder of Green Bronx Machine (find his bio below).
Registration closes Thursday, Feb. 13 — free for members and $35 for nonmember guests. Select your membership status below to register today!
Meet Stephen
Stephen Ritz is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning educator, author of the best-selling book, The Power Of A Plant and Founder of Green Bronx Machine. Known as America’s favorite teacher and 2015 Top Ten Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize, Stephen is responsible for creating the first edible classroom in the world. He and his students have grown more than 165,000 pounds of vegetables in the South Bronx, were celebrated at the Obama White House three times, have been featured on the cover of TIME for KIDS, and are the subject of a new, full-feature documentary, Generation Growth. A replica of his classroom was installed in the US Botanic Gardens in Washington, DC, and his curriculum is being used in hundreds of schools across the United States and internationally, from Colombia to Dubai, from Canada to Cairo, to Doha, and beyond. To date, Stephen’s work has been featured by Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, TNT, Disney, Discovery TV, NPR, Teach Middle East, The Gulf National, and countless others.
Stephen’s TED talk boasts more than 1 million views, ranks in the Top 10 Food/Education TED Talks of all time, and is used for teacher training/workforce development globally. Stephen was featured in the film adaptation of Michael Pollan’s best-selling book, In Defense of Food and appeared on ABC’s The Chew, The Rockefeller Foundation’s Food for Thought, NPR’s 50 Great Teachers, All Things Considered, and American Graduate. The State University of New York uses his curriculum to train teachers in all content areas. His recent appearance on PBS’ Growing A Greener World (Episode 808) won an Emmy Award, the first ever in the ten-year history of the show. Stephen serves as a Senior Fellow in Social Innovation at Babson College and as a Board Member for the NYC Nutrition Education Network. Stephen is now appearing in the new PBS educational series Let’s Learn with Mister Ritz, was named the 2020 Change-Maker Award by NYC Food Policy Center for his response to COVID, named a 2021 Food Hero by TMZ Live, testified for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ending Hunger in America, and was awarded the 2021 Artemis CEA Disruptor Award for his work, advocacy, and impact in public schools across NYC and America. Stephen was just named to the Food Transition Team for NYC Mayor, Eric Adams.
Read Stephen’s FULL BIO.
Circular Economy Symposium and Vendor Showcase
Save the date for Circular Arizona’s 2025 Circular Economy Symposium and Vendor Showcase! More information coming in early 2025.
Virtual Connection with Too Good to Go
Join Zach Shaben, Public Affairs Manager at Too Good to Go, the world's largest app dedicated to fighting food waste, for this free webinar! Zach will showcase how their app connects businesses with surplus food to consumers looking for affordable, high-quality meals, ultimately preventing delicious food from ending up in landfills.
With Too Good to Go, businesses can reduce waste disposal costs, gain additional revenue, and reach new customers drawn to sustainability efforts. Communities benefit from increased access to affordable food options, and the environmental impact is significant. Each meal saved contributes to lower carbon emissions and resource conservation, aligning with global climate goals. Through these collective efforts, Too Good to Go can be a critical solution in combating food waste and fostering sustainable communities.
Meet Zach
Zach Shaben is the Public Affairs Manager at Too Good To Go for the U.S. and Canada, where he leverages his expertise in public policy and passion for sustainability to advance the mission of combating food waste. Previously, he worked for Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, gaining valuable experience in legislative strategy and policy development. With four years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives and three years at The Raben Group, Zach has developed strong research, analysis, and advocacy skills.
Zach's extensive background includes political consulting and third-party engagement, allowing him to navigate complex policy landscapes easily. His proficiency in agriculture, climate change, renewable energy, and strategic planning enables him to engage and collaborate with diverse stakeholders. Zach is dedicated to driving positive environmental and societal change through impactful policy initiatives and advocacy efforts.
Southern Connection
Join us for an award-winning vegetarian-vegan Latin American lunch from Tumerico, engaging local circular economy speakers, and the opportunity to connect with sustainability leaders and professionals in Southern Arizona!
Registration is free for Circular Arizona members and $30 for nonmember guests. Select your membership status below to get registered. General registration closed Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. A limited number of tickets remain and will be available until sold out.
Meet the speakers
Lisa Rotello has worked for the City of Tucson's City of Tucson Environmental & General Services Department for over 28 years and has served in many capacities. She manages environmental projects and oversees the department's environmental contracts.
Lisa began the City's FoodCycle at Home Pilot and is currently the project's lead. She serves on the board for Circular Arizona and is the liaison to many community organizations, including the University of Arizona Office of Sustainability and Compost Cats. Lisa is a native of Tucson and has dedicated her career to the public sector.
Jose Garcia is an environmental services inspector for the City of Tucson Environmental & General Services Department. Based at the Los Reales Sustainability campus, he aids in landfill operations and regulatory compliance and manages the landfill's hazardous waste exclusion program.
During his undergraduate years at the University of Arizona, Jose worked with Compost Cats. This student organization promotes compost education and provides food waste collection and composting services to students and the local Tucson community. Now, Jose manages the Los Reales Composting Facility and has an integral role in Tucson's commercial and residential food waste collection programs.
Ryan Dillard has been with Bookmans for 11 years, during which time he has held various key roles, including community outreach and management. He currently serves as Director of Communication.
Ryan's passion for sustainability and repurposing goods aligns perfectly with Bookmans' mission as the leading trade hub for goods in Tucson and across Arizona. Whether at work or home, Ryan is committed to reducing the environmental impact of everyday items and promoting a more sustainable lifestyle.
Ryan will discuss the partnership between Bookman's Entertainment Exchange and the Friends of the Pima Library. Each year, approximately 320 million books end up in landfills.
In Tucson, Bookmans Entertainment Exchange has been working to reduce that number by buying back books and reselling them since 1976. Only some books can be resold or even donated. In 2023, Bookmans began coordinating with the Friends of the Pima Library, which provides additional outlets for resold, donated, or recycled books.
Cristina Polsgrove has been the Public Information Officer for Environmental Services since 2004. She has worked in communications and public outreach for over 25 years. Cristina is responsible for contracts, media relations, digital and print materials, education and outreach regarding all department programs and services.
A few of Cristina's career highlights include transitioning the department from a general fund to an enterprise fund and transitioning the team from a 6 to a 5-day work week. Previously, she worked in community relations and educational outreach at the University of Arizona. She is a native Tucsonan and a proud Wildcat!
Cristina currently serves as Vice Chair of Circular Arizona. She has previously been involved in SWANA as director of the national Communications, Education, and Marketing technical committee and director of SWANA's Arizona Chapter. With her wealth of knowledge and experience, Cristina is thrilled to speak on Tucson's zero waste events.
Virtual Connection with the U.S. Plastics Pact
Circular Arizona and the U.S. Plastics Pact present this virtual connection to discuss Circular Arizona as an Activator of the Pact. The Pact will also discuss its work, goals, and Roadmap to 2025, as well as explain how your municipality, business, or organization can get involved as an Activator.
Learn more about the U.S. Plastics Pact at https://usplasticspact.org/.
Virtual Connection with The Recycling Partnership
Circular Arizona and The Recycling Partnership present this Arizona-exclusive virtual connection about the Recycling Solutions Hub and Recycle Check! Learn how these innovative tools can help Arizona communities, waste providers, residents, and beyond.
This virtual event is free for Circular Arizona members and nonmember guests.
Northern Connection
Circular Arizona and the Town of Pinetop-Lakeside present this year’s Northern Connection! Enjoy lunch at the beautiful Woodland Lake Park, hear from our keynote speaker, and join us for a tour of Pinetop-Lakeside’s Collection Center (958 S. Woodland Road, Lakeside, AZ 85929).
This event is free for Circular Arizona members and $25 for nonmember guests.
Keynote speaker
Learn about this year’s ADEQ recycling grant winners, the selection process, and potential future opportunities during our Northern Connection keynote presentation with J.B. Shaw!
J.B. has worked as the Recycling Coordinator for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality for 11 years. He has been a Circular Arizona (formerly the Arizona Recycling Coalition) member since 2015, a Circular Arizona board member from 2016 to 2020, and a SWANA member since 2016.
J.B. has his SWANA certifications in Managing Recycling Systems and Managing Composting Programs. In his previous life, J.B. taught youth about recycling for 13 years as an employee for both the Boys and Girls Club and the City of Glendale.
Register today
2024 Annual Meeting
Join us for Circular Arizona’s 2024 Annual Meeting! Formerly the Arizona Recycling Coalition, members meet once a year to review the year’s accomplishments and progress, announce grants, scholarships, and award winners, and elect incoming board members.
The annual meeting includes lunch and a keynote presentaiton.
Keynote speakers
Join us for an exciting keynote presentation with Tyler Eglen from Arizona State University’s (ASU) Rob and Melani Walton Solutions Service (RMWSSS) and Beth Forsberg from Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona (GCNA) as they discuss the world’s first circular plastics microfactory for repurposing waste plastics!
RMWSSS has been prototyping circular solutions for local plastic on ASU’s campus and has since partnered with GCNA to scale this project for the greater Arizona community. This circular plastics microfactory promises to revolutionize the plastics industry and contribute significantly to equitable economic development in the Valley through circular manufacturing practices. The project is funded by the City of Phoenix, led by ASU, and in partnership with GCNA and Hustle PHX.
Registration is free for members and $25 for nonmember guests. Select your membership and register below.
WEBINAR: Incorporating Motivational Messaging for Recycling Education and Outreach
FROM THE RECYCLING PARTNERSHIP
Attendees will get a dive into our research on the power of the right messaging, targeted to the right audience, in driving positive recycling behaviors, and how you can incorporate the learnings into your program’s education and outreach. You’ll learn:
Real-life recycling experiences of single-family households in the U.S., including barriers, what drives participation, and how segments differ
Channels where households expect to receive recycling information, and what they want from those communications
Impact of messaging on real-world recycling outcomes (and you might be amazed at how the same recycling information presented with different motivational messaging had such significant variation in outcomes!)
Hosted by Louise Bruce, Managing Director of The Recycling Partnership's Center for Sustainable Behavior & Impact, with panelists:
Elizabeth Schussler, Senior Director of Social Change, Behavior, and Impact, The Recycling Partnership
Michelle Metzler, Director of Community Programs, The Recycling Partnership
Joseph Sherlock, Principal Behavioral Scientist, Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University
Lisa Ruggero, Assistant Director of Programs, Syracuse University Center for Sustainability Community Solutions
Lindsay Eberhart, Outreach Program Coordinator, Syracuse University Center for Sustainability Community Solutions
Let's ignite the power of motivational messaging in driving positive recycling behaviors!
Livestream: How Bottle Bills are Accelerating Reuse in the US
Register today and join us next Wednesday, Sept. 20th at 10 a.m. for Upstream’s next installment of Indisposable Live.
What is the importance of reuse in Deposit Return Systems (DRS, e.g. Bottle Bills), and how can DRS policies incorporate the latest thinking on reuse solutions, funding, and incentives?
We’ll learn more and examine the distinct ways that California, Maine, and Oregon have begun to incorporate reuse/refill into their bottle bills. Special guest panelists include Susan Collins, President of the Container Recycling Institute; Sarah Nichols, Sustainable Maine Director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine; and Peter Spendelow, Natural Resource Specialist at Oregon Dept of Environmental Quality.
WEBINAR Achieving Zero Food Waste: State Policy Toolkit and EPA's Climate Pollution Reduction Grants
Join us for this one hour webinar to learn about the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants, a new resource - Achieving Zero Food Waste: A State Policy Toolkit, and how you can include food waste reduction in climate action plans.
The EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants funded by the Inflation Reduction Act provide support for states and metro-areas to reduce climate pollution, of which methane from wasted food is a major contributor.
The State Policy Toolkit (https://zerofoodwastecoalition.org/state-toolkit/) contains a range of tried and tested policy opportunities that states can use to prevent food waste and keep food waste out of landfills and incinerators.
By including food waste in your climate action plan utilizing some of the suggestions in the toolkit you can potentially leverage grant funding.
The webinar is hosted by EPA, West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum, and Zero Food Waste Coalition.
Historic Preservation and the Deconstruction Movement
The Valley of the Sun Deconstruction/Reuse Work Group (VOSWG) is pleased to invite you to our upcoming meeting: Historic Preservation and the Deconstruction Movement! Register at https://tinyurl.com/VOSWG-RETHOS.
Hear from Rethos, a Minnesota-based historic preservation non-profit working nationally. Learn about the intersection of deconstruction, adaptive reuse, and built environment preservation through real estate, policy, and education programming.
Executive Director Dr. Heidi Swank will examine the evolution of Rethos as a 40-year-old preservation non-profit that has adapted to champion sustainability in the field.
Education Manager Emily Noyes will discuss the future of Rethos' strategic programming in deconstruction certification and material reuse.
Presenters:
Heidi Swank - Heidi moved to Minnesota in 2021 to take the reins at Rethos. She came from Las Vegas, where she had started Nevada's first statewide historic preservation nonprofit and served in the Nevada Assembly for four terms. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Northwestern University.
Emily Noyes - Emily joined Rethos in 2023 after working in college access programming and administration. She holds a M.S. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in History from Macalester College.
VOSWG welcomes participants regardless of geographic location and meets regularly to learn about Deconstruction/Reuse progress, plans & goals as models for local consideration & implementation. Participants may include municipalities, non-profits, or for-profit businesses.
URL: https://tinyurl.com/VOSWG-LinkedIn-Group
Group meetings are hosted by Stardust, providing deconstruction services and quality reclaimed materials for reuse for over 25 years.
Resource Recycling Conference
Economic uncertainty. The ongoing focus on plastics. A shifting policy landscape. As a recycling professional, those are just some of the factors creating complexity around your decision-making.
The 2023 Resource Recycling Conference is designed to give you the expert insight and industry connections you need to navigate today's municipal recycling ecosystem – and be inspired to thrive in the years ahead. Register today!
Foodservice Packaging Institute Free Webinar
Join a free webinar featuring research findings from several Foodservice Packaging Institute-supported studies including recovery of PET thermoforms, PP cups, paper cups, as well as the impact of food residue on take-out packaging recycling.
Tribes Training Tribes: National Tribal Waste Management Peer Matching Program
To strengthen tribal capacity building and develop sustainable waste management programs, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) facilitates the National Tribal Waste Management Peer Matching Program. This webinar is an opportunity to learn more about the program from EPA and hear directly from tribes who have recently participated in the program.
AzRC Tucson Member Meeting
Register now for our membership meeting and lunch seminar on reducing food waste and increasing food security with Barbara Eiswerth, Executive Director of the Iskashitaa Refugee Network.
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Iskashitaa Refugee Network was established 19 years ago to support refugees in acclimating to a new community. Iskashitaa is an intergenerational network of volunteers and UN refugees who locate, harvest, and re-distribute local produce which would otherwise go to waste.
The program empowers newly arrived refugees by connecting them with meaningful resources and great opportunities to interact with other members of the Southern Arizona community.
FREE WEBINAR: Community Partnerships Increasing Foodservice Packaging Recovery
Learn about FPI’s Community Partnership program that has enabled over 5.4 million more households to recycle their cups and containers at this free webinar!
Advanced Building Material Reuse — The Power of Data
The Valley of the Sun Deconstruction/Reuse Work Group (VOSWG) is pleased to invite you to join our upcoming meeting:
ADVANCING BUILDING MATERIAL REUSE – THE POWER OF DATA
Monday, April 10, 2023, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. MST
Register for free: https://tinyurl.com/VOSWG-SAN-ANTONIO-DATA
In 2020, the San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation commissioned a study to analyze the potential impact of a proposed deconstruction ordinance by measuring the economic and environmental cost of demolition. Using 10 years of demolition data, the study calculated the volume and value of materials that could have been diverted from landfills and the retail impact of increased material supply.
This session will review policies, tools, and recommendations from the study that contributed to San Antonio’s 2022 adoption of a deconstruction ordinance and will discuss the types of localized data that can help further your community’s reuse goals.
Panelists:
Stephanie Phillips, Deconstruction & Circular Economy Program Manager at City of San Antonio Office of Historic Preservation
Katlyn Cotton, Director of Marketing and Design at PlaceEconomics
Alyssa Frystak, Director of Research and Data Analytics, at PlaceEconomics
Stephanie Phillips, AICP, is an urban planner and policymaker working at the intersection of heritage conservation and the circular economy. PlaceEconomics is a private sector firm with over thirty years of experience in the thorough and robust analysis of the economic impacts of historic preservation.