Moderator:
Coby Skye, Engineer, LA County Department of Public Works
Panel:
Hector De La Torre, Commissioner, CARB
Alex Helou, Assistant Director, City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
Paul Relis, Senior Vice President, CR&R Waste Services
Jim Lucas, Market Development Manager, SoCalGas
Nurit Katz, Chief Sustainability Officer, UCLA
David McConnell, Vice President, Business Development, North America, Enerkem Inc.
Recent developments in waste management have brought many jurisdictions closer to realizing a truly sustainable waste management system – one that maximizes recovery of materials currently sent to landfills in order to create new products, generate renewable energy, and even produce negative carbon fuel. New laws are further driving this shift in the waste management paradigm, creating both mandates and incentives to divert materials from the waste stream and place them back into the economic stream. With proper planning and the right structures, there are significant benefits to a more sustainable approach, including conservation of resources, reducing pollution, curbing greenhouse gas emissions, spurring economic development, and managing long-term costs. What do local solutions from around the world teach us about the challenges and promises of a sustainable waste management future? This new vision for the future is at the nexus of sustainability, climate change, renewable energy and waste management.