Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) & Zero Waste at Sustainable Tucson meeting
August 18 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm MST
by Carolyn Classen, blogger
| Extended Producer Responsibility & Zero Waste |
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| Monday, August 18, 6:00-7:15 pm (Note change from regular schedule to accommodate our speaker.) Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89978974640?pwd=Wlj7abVS62VLG0CVZqHG7pbNjivaQ5.1 “If you’re smart enough to make it, you’re smart enough to take it back.” This is the philosophy of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), an “environmental policy approach that holds producers responsible for product management through the product’s lifecycle” (CalRecycle). “EPR is one of the most important strategies that can bring us closer to the goal of zero waste and reduced pollution. It can also be good for the local economy. At our August Sustainability Spotlight, learn how we can use existing structures of our economic system to move this strategy forward here in Tucson and in Arizona. |
 PresenterHeidi Sanborn is the founding Director of the California Product Stewardship Council and the National Stewardship Action Council. With 35 years’ experience in the solid waste industry, Heidi is the nation’s foremost expert on producer responsibility and product stewardship. She has helped California local governments comply with waste management laws. As a regulator at CalRecycle, Heidi led the charge to get product stewardship into the strategic plan for zero waste. |
| Through her efforts, the Californlature has passed more Extended Producer Responsibility legislation than any other state, with paint, mercury thermostats, pharmaceuticals, sharps, and packaging all included in a bill that was signed in 2022. Heidi is not only expert in policy, but also in program implementation, and is much sought-after for keynotes at national and international conferences on zero waste. |
 ModeratorStephen Menke received his Ph.D. in Molecular biology at the University of Wyoming, and recently retired from his position as Associate Professor of Enology at Colorado State, after a long career in higher education. His expertise includes Event Management and Molecular Biology. With Rocky Baier, he co-chairs Sustainable Tucson’s Zero Waste committee. Stephen and Rocky co-founded Tucson’s Repair Café (https://www.tucsonrepaircafe.com/), where citizens, with the help of volunteer crafts persons, have repaired household items for free, saving thousands of pounds of material from going to waste.” |