PHOTOS PRESENTATIONS

Thank you for helping us make the 37th Annual SWANA Pacific Northwest Regional Symposium a huge success!

We hope that you enjoyed the Symposium last week and found it informative and actionable. We believe that our diverse and dynamic group of speakers provided in-depth insight and practical helpful tools you can immediately implement.

Your presence helped to make this event a great success and the infectious enthusiasm and positive spirit helped make our time together both productive and fun. Thanks again to everyone who attended. We can’t wait to meet again!

On behalf of our Pacific Chapter, I wanted to extend a huge thank you to our generous event sponsors and tradeshow exhibitors. A very special thank you to the City of Richmond for their amazing administrative support and printing of our marketing materials.

A block of rooms has been set aside at the Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport for delegates starting at $169/night CDN plus applicable taxes for either 2 queen beds or 1 king bed, standard rooms (based on availability). Executive suites are an additional $40/room CDN based on availability. Rooms must be booked by Wednesday, March 18, 2022 to guarantee the rates.

Reservations can be made by calling the hotel’s reservation department at 1-800-333-3333, the hotel directly at 604-279-8384, online at www.radisson.com/vancouverca or email to [email protected]. Please ensure to mention SWANA as the PROMO code to access the group block when booking. The Radisson Hotel is pleased to extend the rate 1 day pre and post symposium from the block dates based on availability.

All guestrooms include complimentary overnight parking. Confirmed rooms cancelled within 48 hours of arrival will be charged a cancellation fee of one night’s room and tax.

Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport
8181 Cambie Road
Richmond, BC  V6X 3X9

Session 1 – Chapter Updates

Karen Storry, SWANA Pacific Chapter

Karen is a Senior Engineer for Metro Vancouver Solid Waste services. After graduating from Civil Engineering at UBC, she worked on the construction of the Canada Line before transitioning to solid waste planning at Metro Vancouver. Karen has been a member of the region’s Zero Waste Implementation Team for over 10 years. In that role, Karen has worked on a variety of waste reduction and prevention programs and policies. Her focus is on circular economy and the 3Rs.

In her spare time, Karen is completing her MBA in the Circular Economy from Bradford University. She also volunteers as her local chapter’s International Advisory Board Member for the Solid Waste Association of North America.

Before joining SWANA, she ran a public solid waste agency with a landfill and transfer station; worked as a consultant and as a local government recycling coordinator. After 10 years on the Board of Directors, she served as SWANA’s International Board Representative at which time she helped organize the first steps in the Young Professionals Initiative.

Katie Saltanovitz, Washington Evergreen Chapter

Katie is a civil engineer and project manager with more than 15 years of experience in design, permitting, and construction support. Katie applies her deep knowledge of stormwater, wastewater and solid waste regulations to help public and private industry clients to plan and manage their environmental compliance. She has designed stormwater and wastewater treatment systems for a range of facilities under Washington State Department of Ecology’s stormwater and wastewater NPDES permit programs. Her solid waste projects have included design of soil and geosynthetic liner systems for landfill expansions and final cover systems, passive and active landfill gas management systems, and stormwater control systems.

Katie is an active member of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and currently serves on the SWANA Evergreen Chapter Board of Directors

Michelle Langdon – Oregon Beaver Chapter

Michelle Langdon is a professional civil engineer with over 17 years of experience. She has a bachelor’s degree from Portland State University and a master’s degree from Norwich University, both in Civil Engineering. Michelle is a Project Manager and Engineer for Great West specializing in all aspects of Waste Management. Michelle began her career working for a County landfill for almost a decade and she brings this unique perspective to her work. Michelle is a certified SWANA MOLO and Transfer Station Operations instructor. She is passionate about teaching, bridging the planning/operations gap and getting as much time outdoors as possible with her two goofy labs.

Session 2A – Disaster Management Planning

Cameron Baughen, Baughen Consulting

Cameron Baughen served as the Solid Waste Management Coordinator for the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) for over 16 years. At the RDOS he was highly active in the Emergency Operations Centre over successive fires, floods and landslides. In June 2021 he started his own company called Baughen Consulting providing local government assistance on solid waste and emergency management. Cameron has been active in the City of Merritt and the Thompson Nicola Regional District providing rapid damage assessment coordination and disaster debris clean up for fires and floods. He is also sitting on the Integrated Project Team for debris management for the Village of Lytton.

Chris Allan, Metro Vancouver

Chris Allan has over 20 years of solid waste experience and has been the Director, Solid Waste Operations at Metro Vancouver since 2017. In his current role he is responsible for all operational aspects of Metro Vancouver’s solid waste system. He has a degree in chemical engineering from UBC and when not working enjoys being outdoors and active with his family.

Heidi Gerlach, Dillon Consulting

Heidi Gerlach is a solid waste management specialist with experience in municipal and regional solid waste management planning and contract management in British Columbia. Her expertise includes stakeholder and community consultation, program evaluation and waste management policy analysis. She has 25 years’ solid waste program management experience, 15 of those as a staff member with BC local governments (City of Chilliwack and Fraser Valley Regional District).

Heidi leads Dillon Consulting’s Western Waste Team and oversees all projects for the Public Sector.

Session 2B – Improving Waste Management with Technology

Fabrizio Bertolo, Town of Cochrane

Fabrizio has over 20 years of progressive solid waste management and project communication development experience in the public and private sectors. He worked on integrated waste management programs for several municipalities in Italy and Alberta. Oversaw plants for domestic waste disposal, treatment and recovery in Italy and developed strategies for reducing residential waste generation and maximizing recycling for several municipalities in Alberta.

Cesar A Leon, Tetra Tech

Mr. Leon is a Solid Waste Planner with 21 years of experience in environmental and solid waste management projects. He has managed long-term strategic planning studies for public solid waste management agencies throughout California. Mr. Leon works closely with solid waste management system owners, operators, regulators and stakeholder groups during the development of transfer, recycling, and organic waste management strategies. Mr. Leon has assisted solid waste system owners in residential food waste reduction, recycling, and back-yard composting implementation programs, and has directed multi-disciplined teams in outreach and data collection utilizing geographic information systems (GIS)-based applications. Mr. Leon has been instrumental at developing and integrating technology solutions to enable map-centric data collection, analysis, visualization, and remote monitoring and control for various landfill systems and organic waste management programs.

Maria Lo, Metro Vancouver & Klaryssa Lawrie, Dillon Consulting

Klaryssa Lawrie is a Solid Waste Practioner with Dillon Consulting Limited. She has worked across Canada on solid waste management strategies and studies for over seven years. Her focus includes multi-residential, ICI and public spaces receptacles monitoring and performance reviews. Her waste management experience includes technical and management roles for waste composition studies, visual waste audits, emerging technology review, and the development of waste reduction and diversion strategies. Klaryssa has played a leading role in the development and rollout of various waste pilot programs for Canadian municipalities. These projects have included the design and execution of field programs, management of field teams, data management and analysis, and the preparation of technical documents and other work products.  Klaryssa was Dillon Consulting’s Project Manager for the Smart Bin Pilot.

Maria Lo graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering. She began her career at the City of Vancouver, where she discovered her love for solving waste and recycling problems. Maria then moved to Metro Vancouver’s Solid Waste Services department as a project engineer to work on region-wide waste priorities. She enjoys applying scientific principles, critical thinking, and business acumen to research, develop, and implement solid waste policies and programs aimed at encouraging residents and businesses to use resources more effectively. 

Session 3A – Educating and Engaging the Public

Shannon White, District of Squamish

Shannon has worked in the Solid Waste industry for over 10 years. After completing her Masters of Science in Germany, and working in Germany and Hungary, she returned to Canada. She has worked at non-profits as well, as well as in private industry, such as at LUSH Cosmetics, where she managed initiatives such as finding composting options for over 250 stores across North America, or EPR from a manufacturers perspective. Today, Shannon finds herself responsible for waste management at the District of Squamish, where she oversees a Landfill and curbside collection, and helps drive waste diversion, reduction and circular economy. Shannon continues to pursue moving the dial on waste reduction and welcomes collaboration on how we can do this together.

Sarah Evanetz, Metro Vancouver

Sarah Evanetz received a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations at the University of British Columbia and Master of Public Administration at New York University, and spent 15 years in public service before joining Metro Vancouver. Her 9 years with Metro Vancouver have been working on strategy, policy and engagement on recycling and waste reduction projects and most recently the solid waste management plan update.  Fun Fact: Sarah raced in the 100 metre butterfly for Canada at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Preston Peck & Maria Teresa Gamez, City of Tacoma

Preston Peck is the Recycle Reset Project Lead at City of Tacoma’s Solid Waste Management Division and was responsible for conducting citywide community engagement to determine the future of the residential curbside recycling program in the wake of China’s National Sword Policy. Preston also leads the division’s policy efforts by identifying local, state, and federal policies’ impacts on municipal haulers and through representing the City of Tacoma on the Northwest Product Stewardship Council’s Steering Committee and in the U.S. Plastics Pact. 

Maria Teresa is an expert in community engagement and partnership development for equitable program planning and implementation. She specializes in multilingual and multicultural communication strategies to provide LEP (Limited English Proficient) individuals with meaningful access to services and programs. Maria has designed and managed multilingual programs for vulnerable communities in North, Central, and South America. She is a professional communicator and filmmaker and produces short films, social media content, and feature documentaries, focused on local and regional features and issues. 

Session 3B – Landfill Leachate and Gas Solutions

John Weigold, Heartland Technology

John Weigold leads business development for Heartland Water Technology.  In this role, Mr. Weigold has responsibilities for selling Heartland’s reliable, cost-effective wastewater solutions into the oil & gas, solid waste landfill leachate, coal-fired power generation, and other industrial wastewater markets.

Prior to joining Heartland, Mr. Weigold held senior positions in the environmental services, institutional banking, and private equity worlds.

John received an MBA from Northeastern University and a BS in Management from the State University of New York.

David Jevons & Shawn Boudreau, EcoMister Evaporator

David Jevons graduated from Manchester University with a BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology. In his past, he has worked in finance, been a Detective Constable in the Metropolitan Police in London and worked in the film industry in Vancouver. He currently works in business development for Slimline Manufacturing.

Shawn Boudreau has over 15 years’ experience in sales and business development. He worked in the renewable energy and construction industries before coming to Slimline Manufacturing to lead the EcoMister Evaporator Division.

Mircea Cvaci, Sperling Hansen Associates

Mircea L. Cvaci, P.Eng., MBA, is the Vice President and Civil Engineer with Sperling Hansen Associates. He is a dedicated professional responsible for technical, administrative, business management and business development.

Since 2009 Mircea worked as the lead engineer on various projects including landfill design, operations and closure plan, transfer station design and operations plan, leachate collection and treatment systems design.

Mircea’s vision for Sperling Hansen Associates (SHA) is to leverage SHA’s competitive advantage and develop a sustainable business strategy that will create new business opportunities.

Session 4A – Zero Waste & Circular Economy Panel (Circular Economy & 3Rs Initiatives – International, Regional and Community)

Meg O’Shea, Vancouver Economic Commission

Meg is the Senior Manager of Economic Transformation at the Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC). VEC’s mission is to build a prosperous local economy that is inclusive, resilient, and low carbon. Alongside a top notch team, Meg works to facilitate collaboration to grow the circular economy, build local economic resilience, and advance business as a force for good in the world. Meg earned a PhD from UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability studying sustainability at the community scale as a collective embodied practice. She has supported systems change in many arenas including higher education, the commercial sector, textiles and design, the performing arts, and a range of community-based initiatives.

Mani Massah, Metro Vancouver

Mani Massah works on programs to reduce, reuse and recycle waste in the Metro Vancouver region. He graduated from Chemical Engineering at UBC in 2017. After graduating, he conducted experimental work on carbon dioxide capture and sequestration, gained operational experience for e-waste recycling and worked as a process design engineer for industrial facilities. He is passionate about sustainable development, and green engineering principles and their applications to industry.

Faisal Mirza, City of Vancouver

Faisal is a Senior Project Manager in the Solid Waste Strategic Services branch for the City of Vancouver, Canada. His projects include Construction & Demolition (C&D) Material Recovery, IT, Clean Technology, Public Art, and Infrastructure building for the City’s landfill. As co-chair of the National Zero Waste Council C&D Working Group, he is responsible for leading discussions with its cross-country membership developing projects that accelerate the recycling and upcycling of wood waste, construction plastics,, aggregates, and asphalt. (http://www.nzwc.ca/focus/construction-renovation-demolition/working-group/Pages/default.aspx). He is also a member of the US-based Construction & Demolition Recycling (CDRA) Associations’ End Markets Committee, which provides guidance to industry participants across North America with its research partner, the University of Florida to develop end markets for C&D wood, C&D fines and concrete (https://cdrecycling.org/news/cdra-member-spotlight-faisal-mirza/)

Bobby MacDonald, Union Gospel Mission

Bobby MacDonald is Manager of Social Enterprise & Community Engagement at Union Gospel Mission (UGM), in Vancouver, BC located on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. 

In his role, he oversees various social enterprises, which include a highly successful thrift store and a textile recovery program called Repair to Wear in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, and Found Boutique, a fashion collective featuring carefully curated artisan collection primarily from equity seeking communities. 

Bobby’s passion for social enterprise begins with his desire to see communities transformed one life at a time. By providing community-informed spaces for low-barrier work and meaningful relationship building, he has witnessed the impact employment with a social purpose has had on the of individuals and groups often excluded from traditional forms of meaningful work. Currently, he is overseeing the expansion of UGM’s low-barrier employment opportunities for the DTES community.

Session 4B – Future Considerations for Solid Waste Systems Panel (Composition, Contracting, Collection and Processing)

Lori Andrews, Dillon Consulting

Lori is an Environmental Engineering graduate of Dalhousie University in Halifax. She joined Dillon Consulting Ltd. in Toronto in 2017 as a Solid Waste Management Senior Engineer.  She has over 20 years of experience focused on solid waste diversion, resource planning, sustainable strategies development and long term waste management master planning for both public and private sector clients across Canada. She has recently pivoted to Circular Economy and EPR as her current interests.

Terry Fulton, Metro Vancouver

Terry is a senior project engineer with Metro Vancouver’s zero waste implementation team. He manages the waste composition program and has recently been working on other new initiatives such as exploring opportunities for diverting small load waste. Terry’s kids think that his job is to travel around the region to try and stop people from putting things in the wrong bin, but according to his 6 year old daughter, “it’s really easy to know what goes where, so you don’t really need to work anymore.”

Wes Muir, Veolia and Ben van Vree, Bird Construction

Wes Muir is a Business Development Manager with Veolia North America, a global environmental services provider in the waste, water and energy sectors. For the past 20 year, he has held senior positions with leading private waste services companies throughout North America with extensive experience in the collection, transfer, recycling, disposal and marketing of waste services including organics.  Growing up in Kitimat, Wes became an avid fisherman who enjoys fresh and saltwater fishing.  

Ben is Business Development Director for BIRD Construction and part of BIRD’s Centre of Excellence for Environmental Services. He is involved in developing environmental infrastructure including water, waste water and organic waste processing facilities. He is also part of the Future Energy Knowledge Hub at BIRD and focussing on new initiatives on low carbon – and the hydrogen economy.

Ben has been working with GHD and Maple Reinders in the environmental and waste space before and has extensive experience in project delivery, technology transfer and building strategic partnerships among municipal and industrial clients. Developed environmental infrastructure for industrial sectors like in the Food and Beverage and Pulp and Paper sector. In addition, developed water and waste management infrastructure among Indigenous communities across Canada. Previously, he has been managing IFI funded projects focusing on technical assistance for water- and waste water projects, quality infrastructure and institutional capacity building.

Passionate about water, organic waste and environmental sustainability as well as the current society’s energy transition. Ben is an active member of various industry associations and committees.

Ken North, Pacific Coast Heavy Truck Group

Engaged with British Columbia’s MACK / Volvo dealership and bringing over 40 years experience in North America’s commercial vehicle industry, Ken has diverse experience in both OEM and dealership environments, and also a unique perspective on how technology and innovation solutions must resolve to customer benefit.  As a long-term resident of the Pacific Northwest Ken is not only aware of the beauty and delicate nature of our environment, but also aware of the leadership role each of us will play in preserving it. We shall all have an important part in a sustainable future.

Session 5A – Diverting Construction and Demolition Waste

Jacob Forrest, UBC

Jacob Forrest is a PhD Candidate in Geography at the University of British Columbia. He researches topics related to the co-evolution of technological innovation and urban management, including the history of national building regulations in Canada and the development of digital traffic signal control systems in the US. What unites his research is the issue of change: how technologies designed to manage urban issues are repurposed over time to suit different priorities. He enjoys ambient and minimalist music, and recently discovered how good it sounds on vinyl recordings.

Claire Lewis, GRT Environmental Services

Before joining GRT in 2021, Claire worked as an environmental consultant for over 20 years. During that time, she delivered hundreds of environmental and waste management projects, was the qualified environmental professional for millions of dollars of marine and upland development projects, and completed well over a thousand timesheets. Claire grew increasingly frustrated with the standard approach of digging up excess and contaminated materials and just landfilling them. What a waste! So when GRT opened their Vancouver Island plant, she was eager to join. In her free time, Claire is fixing up her 1970s disco party house and diverting every bit of renovation material from landfill (which results in truly some of the weirdest, yet successful, “Used Victoria Free” giveaways).

Christine Woodhouse, City of Victoria

Christine Woodhouse is the Senior Sustainability Specialist with the City of Victoria’s zero waste team. Her work focuses on waste reduction within the built environment, helping to transition the City to a future where building materials are recirculated in the community rather than disposed. Christine has over fifteen years of experience in pollution prevention policy and regulation, including twelve years with the BC Ministry of Environment. Christine holds a Master of Applied Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of British Columbia and is registered as a Professional Engineer in BC.

Session 5B – Landfill Gas Trends and Improvements

Ali Abedini, Sperling Hansen Associates

Dr. Abedini is an industry-recognized Landfill Gas expert and a faculty member of SWANA BC, and a technical member of IWWG (international waste working group). Ali has been working with Sperling Hansen Associates since 2008. He completed his bachelor and masters’ programs in Civil Engineering in Iran and holds a Ph.D. degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering from University of British Columbia (UBC). He has over 20 years of experience in the field of solid waste management and is currently a World Bank senior technical advisor for solid waste management projects in Bosnia, Ukraine, Belarus, India, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Philippines. 

Ali’s main forte is Landfill Gas engineering including gas generation modeling, methane emission quantification, landfill gas management systems design, operation and trouble shoot. He is developer of the highly accurate UBC Landfill Gas Generation Model (UBCiModel©), and inventor of a patented methodology for quantification of fugitive methane emissions from landfills.

Kezi Nwaoha, City of Vancouver

=Chikezie (Kezi) Nwaoha, Ph.D., P.Eng. works for the City of Vancouver and has been involved in the design, operation, optimization, preventative maintenance, regulatory reporting, applying for grants, and project management of landfill gas collection, destruction, and utilization systems. He has experience reviewing previous and state-of-the-art solid waste management technologies. He is SWANA certified on Manager of Transfer Station Systems and Manager of Landfill Operations. His hobbies include cooking, dancing, playing soccer and sightseeing.

Robin Hunter, Jacobs

Robin has spent the last 10 years supporting landfill gas operations, landfill gas system upgrades and landfill gas maintenance in western Canada. Additionally, he develops capital maintenance plans for landfill gas facilities which allows owners to forecast capital expenditures for future years. 

Session 6A – Organics Processing Considerations

Debra Darby, Tetra Tech

Ms. Debra Darby is a client manager with 15 years of organics experience within the solid waste industry. She has garnered a reputation as a leader in her field through her extensive background working with organics and compostable materials and assisting clients through the design and implementation of organics diversion programs and management technologies, including composting and anaerobic digestion systems. In addition to her technical expertise, Ms. Darby is a U.S. Composting Council Certified Composting Professional (CCP) and has 20 years of experience in environmental marketing and has served as a strategic advisor in the public and private sectors.

As a Tetra Tech organics leader, Ms. Darby is involved with consulting, compliance, permitting, and developing the operations of organic materials management systems. She also works in solid waste planning, assisting clients to reach their sustainability and zero waste goals through the design and implementation of organics recycling programs and public outreach. Ms. Darby has provided PFAS awareness consultation and education as part of her work in finding cleaner production opportunities through toxics use reduction.

Alida Kusch, Dillon Consulting

Alida Kusch is an Associate with Dillon Consulting Limited and has 17 years of waste management experience.  She currently resides in Southern Ontario with her husband and two toddlers; however, she spent over 10 years of her career here in Vancouver. She has worked on diverse projects all across Canada and has experience in solid waste management planning, long-term strategies, options evaluations, contract development, approvals and environmental monitoring. Alida currently serves as the Treasurer/Secretary of SWANA’s Ontario Chapter.

Adriana Velazquez, Metro Vancouver

Adriana is a Senior Project Engineer at Metro Vancouver on the Solid Waste Services Zero Waste Implementation Team. As part of her role, Adriana works collaboratively with member jurisdictions and industry stakeholders on programs and policies to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. 

Before joining Metro Vancouver in 2016, Adriana worked in the private sector for 8 years, in renewable energy consulting and the manufacturing industry.

She enjoys dancing, learning new sports and exploring the outdoors with her son.

Session 6B – Advancement in MSW Facilities

Jim Miller, JR Miller & Associates

Mr. Miller has been a trusted advisor and industry leader for over 45 years in the design and implementation of process-driven facilities. His primary focus is organic waste processing facilities and has been a Project Principal on more than 100 solid waste projects. Jim has made significant contributions to a wide range of facilities that align economy and sustainability with operational functionality and efficiency to minimize life-cycle costs and achieve long-term success. Jim is a registered Professional Engineer in 17 states and holds memberships in many professional organizations.

Jim has toured 34 anaerobic digestion and organics processing plants in Europe and Asia and many more in North America. These were all working tours which included significant time spent with operations and maintenance personnel. Jim has served as principal technical advisor and design consultant on more than 20 food waste/organics processing facilities currently in operation or in planning or design phases.

Marcel Pitre, Metro Vancouver

Marcel is a senior manager, professional engineer, sustainability expert with over 20 years of experience in the solid waste and recycling industry in a regional government role. An ENVISION Sustainability Professional, he is experience in a variety solid waste and recycling program implementation, infrastructure development and financial sustainability initiatives. A husband, father of two and community activator, Marcel enjoys spending his spare time catching up on sleep.

Robert Swan, Heavy Duty Concrete Floors

Bob has over 35 years of concrete industry repair and restoration experience. He has an extensive background in concrete mix design and formulation of materials used in extreme high wear environments. His current responsibilities include national support for heavy duty and industrial flooring and technical support for concrete infrastructure repair. He is a long-time member of the American Concrete Institute and has served on several national committees for the International Concrete Repair Institute, including the Materials and Methods Committee. Bob is a current member of SWANA and focuses on improving the durability of concrete floors used in the Solid Waste Industry. Bob has a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Eastern Michigan University and received an MBA (marketing focus) from Baldwin Wallace (Ohio).

Session 7 – Extended Producer Responsibility Panel

Mark Kurschner, Product Care Recycling

Mark is the president of Product Care Association with its head office in Vancouver, BC, a paint recycling plant in Delta BC, and offices in Toronto and Montreal.  Product Care is a non-profit industry association that operates extended producer responsibility programs across Canada.

Product Care manages programs on behalf of its members and also provides program management services to other stewardship organizations.  Products and programs managed by Product Care include paint, lighting products, flammable liquids, pesticides, smoke alarms, as well as small appliances and outdoor power equipment.

Product Care also participates in recycling programs in the USA.  PCA operates the Washington State Mercury Containing Lamps “LightRecycle” program.  PCA also works with the Mattress Recycling Council which operates programs in California, Connecticut and Rhode Island and is now also working with the California Thermostat program.

Mark became the president of Product Care Association in 2002 and is a qualified lawyer.

Will Burrows – BC Used Oil Management Association

Will Burrows is Director Consumer Collection & Sustainability with the BC Used Oil Management Association (BCUOMA). BCUOMA is a not-for-profit group dedicated to the collection and recycling of lubricating oil, oil filters, oil containers, antifreeze and antifreeze containers across British Columbia, Canada.

Will brings 27 years of experience in the waste and recycling industry and has served on a number of provincial advisory committees to help with the development of strategies to better manage the waste and recyclables that we all produce.

Will’s experience includes serving as Executive Director of the Coast Waste Management Association, a not-for-profit organization focussed on increasing awareness and understanding of issues, problems and opportunities related to waste and recycling in coastal BC. Prior to this role will was a Manager for the largest recycler of metal and wood products on Vancouver Island.

Will emigrated from England in 1988 and he and his wife settled in the Cowichan Valley in 1995 to raise their family.

John Nixon, Return-It

John Nixon is currently the Interim President & CEO of Encorp Pacific (Canada), a non-profit corporation which operates the Return-It Program as the stewardship Agency responsible for collecting and recycling all beverage containers in British Columbia, except for refillable glass bottles and beverage alcohol packaged in aluminum cans. John is leading the organization while Encorp searches for a new CEO to replace Allen Langdon.

John was one of the founders of Encorp in 1993 when it was created by the soft drink industry and retail grocery chains to deal with the collection and recycling of soft drink bottles and cans. Since then, the deposit system and the Recycling Regulation have grown to include all ready-to-drink beverage containers and Encorp has grown and changed to involve the different parts of the beverage industry in the governance and management of this stewardship agency.

John served on the Board of Directors of Encorp Pacific from 1994 to 2001 and then again since 2007 to the present. He was born and raised in Vancouver and is a graduate of the University of British Columbia.

Sam Baker, Recycle BC

Sam Baker (Western Canada Director, Post-Collection and Material Regeneration): Sam has been with Recycle BC for over 5 years where he oversees the reverse supply chain team responsible for receiving, reporting, and responsibly recycling all material within the Recycle BC extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for packaging and paper products. In this role, Sam is responsible for identifying new and innovative approaches to responsible recycling and ensuring chain of custody of obligated materials through standards, audits, and due diligence. Sam excels at navigating complex problems and conducts his work with precision. Sam holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University and an MBA in International Business from Marquette University, prior to working at Recycle BC, Sam worked in the mining industry managing technical service teams and maintenance and repair contracts for large mining equipment.

Session 8 – The Regulatory Road Ahead

Jacqueline Morrison, WorkSafeBC

Jacqueline Morrison has worked as an Occupational Health & Safety Consultant in WorkSafeBC’s OHS Consultation & Education Services for the past 4 years. Prior to that she worked in the transportation, warehousing and light manufacturing industry. Jacqueline’s only hobby is her love of candy – both purchasing and consuming it.

Erin Scraba, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy

Erin Scraba is the Director of Clean Technologies at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, where she champions collaborative modernization of regulations and operational policy under the Environmental Management Act.

Erin previously led strategic, operational and legislative policy development at Emergency Management BC and the Environmental Assessment Office, and has also enjoyed past roles in tourism policy and intergovernmental relations with the Province of British Columbia.

Erin is privileged to live on beautiful W̱SÁNEĆ territory. Outside of work she can be found learning about plants and enjoying a new found love of jigsaw puzzles