Preliminary Agenda

We collect less than 30% of the glass in the Colorado market and we have a closed-loop system for recycling glass. Aluminum remains valuable and yet our statewide recycling rate is below the national average. PET bottles are recyclable yet over half of the bottles produced worldwide are not recycled. How can we work together to increase our capture rates of these materials without legislation?

Subject-Matter Experts:
Mark Diggins, Rocky Mountain Bottle Co.
Jenifer Jessep, Swire Coca-Cola
John Lair, Momentum Recycling
Kerrin O’Brien, Michigan Recycling Coalition
Eliza Schultz, Schultz Public Affairs

Special Presentation: How the Colorado Legislative Session Works and How Recycle Colorado is Involved in Shaping Policy for Recycling

Welcome Remarks
Speaker: Nicholas Gradisar, Mayor of Pueblo

Opening Keynote
Sustainability Initiatives and Partnerships to Tackle the Global Plastics Challenges

Speaker: Swire Coca-Cola, USA

Concurrent Break-outs

• Recycling 101
  An industry training and overview of single-stream recycling for those new to recycling and sustainability or those who want to understand more than just one sector of the industry.

  Speaker:
  Alicia Archibald, A2 Solutions

• Local Policy Round Table: Making Change Happen
  What recycling project is next on the horizon for your community? Are there opportunities to develop end-market hubs or new local policies to address waste issues such as plastic pollution? Learn how to tap into new resources available from the state and nationally and discuss how communities can collaborate to have a bigger impact across the state.

• What's Happening with C&D in Colorado?
  Construction and demolition materials make up 20 to 80 percent of the waste going to Colorado landfills, although more local markets can exist for those materials than for single-stream recycling. Explore market solutions for drywall, painted and treated wood and solar panels and learn about new projects and programs in Colorado addressing construction and demolition materials.

  Speakers:
  Doug Gannett, 5280 Waste Solutions
  Michael Gross, Zanker
  Cathy Hall, Pitkin County
  Stella Hodgkins, GE Johnson Construction Company
  Steve Meima, Gypsum Association
  JP Straight, Aspen Deconstruction

• How Big Brands Can Work at the Local Level to Improve Package Recycling
  This session explores ways to create synergy between local product manufacturers, the packaging industry and recyclers such as promoting the use of recycled content, switching to recycling-friendly materials with value in Colorado’s market and increasing commitment to collection.

  Speakers:
  Ron Basak-Smith, Sana Packaging
  Mark Diggins, Rocky Mountain Bottle Co.
  Wendy Fauth, Alpine Waste & Recycling | GFL Environmental Inc.
  Alyssa Harding, Justin’s Nut Butter
  Jenifer Jessep, Swire Coca-Cola

Luncheon Plenary: Material End Markets
What are Colorado and other states doing to address the current state of recycling and the need for domestic end markets for materials? An expert panel discuss what is happening in Colorado, Michigan and South Carolina to address this issue.
Speakers:
Chantal Fryer, South Carolina Department of Commerce
Jamie Gormley, Centennial Recycling
Kerrin O’Brien, Michigan Recycling Coalition

Concurrent Break-outs

• Recycling Solutions for Multi-Family Buildings
  This session provides an overview of the challenges to recycling in multi-family buildings by looking at two Recycle Colorado pilot programs. Learn about possible solutions from multi-family industry experts.
  Speakers:
  Nancy Burke, Apartment Association of Metro Denver
  Jenifer Jessep, Swire Coca-Cola
  Representative, City and County of Denver

• Grants and Funding Available for Recycling Projects in Colorado + Mini Grant-Writing Workshop
  The first half of this session provides an overview of the grant and funding opportunities available for organizations and businesses involved in recycling infrastructure and end-market manufacturing in Colorado. In the second half learn how to write grants in a mini workshop.

  Speakers:
  Kendra Appleman-Easvtedt, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
  Amanda Hong, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  Joey Jenkins, Colorado Small Business Development Center
  Anne Peters, Gracestone, Inc.

• Solutions for Plastics in Colorado
  Get an overview of supply streams, market demand, potential end-market solutions, current and future pricing and outlook for these recovered plastics: HDPE, LDPE, PPE, PET, and pre-consumer polystyrene.

  Speakers:
  Priyanka Bakaya, Renewlogy
  Tim Dailey, Waste-Not Recycling
  Jenifer Jessep, Swire Coca-Cola

• What is the Public's Perception of Recycling?
  This session will address both the confusion and misperceptions the public has about recycling and what we can do about it. How can we influence behaviors to increase recycling rates, minimize contamination and communicate the importance of the recycling/compost industry in Colorado?

Tours

• Pueblo RecycleWorks & Roots Recycling - SOLD OUT - ($15)
• Southern Colorado Services and Recycling & Rock Worx ($15)
• EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel ($15) - SOLD OUT - To add your name to a waitlist, contact Amy Randell
• Vestas Wind Towers Plant - SOLD OUT - ($15)
• Yoga & Walking Tour ($10)

Concurrent Break-outs

• Empowering Regulatory Leaders with the Knowledge of What Organics Recycling Entails
  Learn what the industry does, how it does it, the benefits and challenges associated with organics recycling and how it works within a community. This knowledge is vital to successfully creating and maintaining the infrastructure needed to meet the rapidly expanding demand for organics recycling in Colorado. The intended audience for this session includes Colorado’s legislators, city council members, county commissioners and planners as well as staff and inspectors that create policy, implement regulations, issue permits and oversee operations of organics recycling infrastructure in Colorado.

• NextCycle Pitch Session: Colorado’s Next Big End-Market Ideas
  In 2018 the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment launched Colorado NextCycle, an innovative program to jumpstart end-market development in the state. Hear directly from the selected NextCycle teams as they share their business ideas with recycling professionals and investors. Each team has five minutes to ‘pitch’ their business plan, and the audience will have time to ask questions immediately following the pitch. The session doesn’t end there! At the end of the presentation period, the teams and the audience will engage in one-one-one discussions about partnerships, collaboration and investment opportunities.

  Moderator: Juri Freeman, RRS
  Teams: 9Fiber, Direct Polymers, Ekomats, Natural Buildings Innovation, Renewlogy, Resolar, San Juan Organics, Spring Back Colorado, Vartega

• State Policy Round Table: Building On the Momentum We Have Created
  Recycle Colorado has made some huge strides this past year working with Governor Polis and the new legislature, yet our work is hardly complete. Attendees to this round table will discuss Recycle Colorado’s state policy accomplishments and strategically plan to support them so they are fully implemented and result in success. The round table will also identify items in the Policy Committee’s strategic plan that still need development and prioritize action items to accomplish in the next year.

Concurrent Round Tables
Round tables are the first step in exploring the establishment of working groups that take on tangible, actionable and measurable projects over the course of a 12-month period. Each round table is led by a facilitator and the discussion centers around identifying two to three major obstacles in advancing infrastructure, end markets or policy to promote a circular economy and then choosing one task that can be accomplished in 12 months that will make a measureable impact.

• Western Slope
  Facilitator: Laurie Johnson, Recycle Colorado
• Mountains
  Facilitator: Sarah Jones, Yampa Valley Sustainability Council
• Rural
  Facilitator: Beth Lenz, Upper Arkansas Recycling