RCA’s 2020 Webinar Series

The RCA held its 2020 webinar series, which brought you themes that were both topical and comprehensive.

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Bronze Sponsor:

Supporting Sponsors:

September 22 – Building Resiliency of Material Systems

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Rarely have the flaws of our global economy come together so prominently as under our collective experience of COVID-19. Inter-dependent global supply chains, material extraction occurring at a faster rate than regeneration and an economic model focused on delivering profits and infinite growth at the expense of stability and resilience have been the hallmark of the “take-make-waste” tradition. The pandemic only served to pull the curtains on these flaws.

(credit: Circle Economy)

Now, the Recycling Council of Alberta will bring together leading experts from across the globe to share their vision for building resiliency for a future circular economy.

Speaker Presentations:

Speaker Bios

Vanessa Corkal
Vanessa Corkal is an Ottawa-based policy analyst at the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Her work focuses on energy, climate change mitigation, just transition, and fossil fuel subsidies, with recent focus on a just and green recovery. She is particularly interested in capacity building for community, civil society and government partners to develop and implement effective climate change and livelihood strategies. She holds a Master of Climate Change from the University of Waterloo and in addition to her climate change work, has over nine years of documentary film, journalism and non-profit experience.

Shannon Miedema
Shannon Miedema is the Energy & Environment Program Manager with the Halifax Regional Municipality. Her team is the corporate lead for programs, policies and projects that promote environmental sustainability. Key areas of focus include renewable energy and energy efficiency, watershed management and water quality monitoring, climate change mitigation and adaptation, flood risk and preparation, green infrastructure, environmental planning and the management of contaminated sites. Shannon has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and Earth Systems Science from Queen’s University, a Master of Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University and a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Kings College. Shannon uses her passion, education and experience to lead Halifax towards increased resiliency and sustainability for the betterment of our community, economy and environment.

Natalia Papú Carrone
Natalia leads research and analysis work at Circle Economy in the fields of value chain management, design and manufacturing with a focus on circular business models and end-of-use in the textiles industry. Her experience includes qualitative and quantitative research and analysis in fields of the circular materials, production processes and strategies, as well as stakeholder engagement and coordination of working groups. Before joining Circle Economy, Natalia has worked in academia and non-profit organisations in the fields of textiles and apparel production as well as in the field of education.

October 22 – Advancing a Circular Economy – Policy Changes Across Canada

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Webinar sponsor

This webinar is an overview of regulatory changes in recycling and the advancement of a circular economy that will affect both business and local governments across Canada. Proposed and pending changes in B.C., Alberta, Ontario, and the maritime provinces will be discussed.

This webinar will be presented in partnership with the Recycling Council of BC. RCBC Members can register for the reduced member rate.

Download the webinar slide deck here. Speakers:

  • Bob McDonald (British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy) – On June 29, British Columbia (B.C.) became the first province to announce extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements for single-use items and packaging-like products. B.C.’s incoming regulation will take effect in 2023.
  • Peter Hargreave (Policy Integrity Inc.) – Ontario – The province is transitioning to full producer-led EPR in the coming months. We will hear the latest updates on this transition.
  • Marie Dussault (Quebec Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques) – Quebec on its latest advancements to its waste management regulations.
  • Ryan Parmenter (ECCC) – Federal update – the latest updates from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) on the actions to advance a circular economy at the Federal level.
  • Mark Miller (Department of Environment and Local Government NB) – New Brunswick.

Speaker Bios

Marie Dussault
Holding a masters’ degree in socio-economic geography, Marie Dussault has been with the Quebec Environment and Fight against Climate Change Department for over 30 years, 24 of which within the Waste Management Branch where she is currently Coordinator of the Division on Reduction, Recovery and Recycling. Marie has been involved in the establishment of Quebec’ Waste Management Policy and subsequent Action Plan, and more specifically with matters pertaining to Regional Waste Management Plans, Extended Producer Responsibility, the Compensation Regime for municipal curbside recycling, Deposit and Refund systems, Disposal levies and CRD wastes and, more recently, with plastics related issues. She has been the Quebec representative on the CCME Waste Recovery and Recycling Committee for most of the past 15 years.

Peter Hargreave
Peter Hargreave is a proud member of the Recycling Council of Alberta and the President of Policy Integrity Inc. He has over 16 years’ experience in providing strategic advice in the development, implementation, and oversight of public policy. Over his professional career, he has developed a strong network of relationships with regulators, public and private organizations, and other key stakeholders involved in environmental issues across Canada, the United States and abroad. He has extensive experience in assessing waste management policies at the federal, provincial, and municipal level across the country. He has also played a key role in leading major research efforts in the waste management sector including data capture & analysis and understanding the economic and environmental impacts of various waste management activities. 

Bob McDonald
Bob McDonald has been managing waste diversion programs in BC for almost 30 years. He was involved in the BC government’s original ‘in-house’ managed stewardship programs in the early 1990’s, and returned to the Ministry in 2014 to lead some 21 different Extended Producer Responsibility programs now in place. He also served for the Cowichan Valley Regional District for many years, helping it achieve one of the lowest per-capita waste disposal rates in Canada, while also building a thriving local waste management industry. Bob has a diverse range of education – from the trades, to marketing to business administration.

Mark Miller
Mark Miller has been with the New Brunswick Department of the Environment for just over 30 years with varying roles from drinking water to information technology and most recently a proud member of the Department’s Waste Diversion Unit starting in 2015. The Waste Diversion Unit is involved in varying degrees with New Brunswick’s existing diversion, stewardship and EPR programs and in the development of new diversion programs such as the recently announced PPP-EPR program for New Brunswick.

 

Ryan Parmenter
Ryan Parmenter recently joined Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) as the Director of the Plastics and Marine Litter Division.

Ryan began his career at the Conference Board of Canada working on energy security and sustainability projects. His first positions in the federal public service were with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) working on energy, nuclear and climate change files. Ryan also worked for the Northern Contaminated Sites Program at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) on the Giant Mine Remediation Project. For the Environment Directorate at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), he led a team accountable for mainstreaming green growth. Most recently, he served as the Chief of Staff to the Associate Deputy Minister responsible for the Laboratories Canada initiative at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).

Ryan holds an undergraduate degree in geography and biology from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Masters in Environmental Science from the University of Calgary.

November 17 – Chemical Recycling

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Sponsored by Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation

The holy grail of plastic recycling will be reviewed on a technical and practical level. This is your opportunity to learn what all the fuss is about including the latest from companies based in Canada.

Speakers & Presentations:

  • Paula Luu – Closed Loop Partners: A leading organization on plastics circularity, Closed Loop Partners authored the report Accelerating Circular Supply Chains for Plastics. The report explores the challenges of managing plastics and identifies $120 billion addressable market in the U.S. and Canada to recovery waste plastics and the technologies to create safe and high-quality materials. https://www.closedlooppartners.com/research/advancing-circular-systems-for-plastics/
    View Paula’s Presentation
  • Jocelyn Doucet – Pyrowave: With offices in Ontario and plants in Quebec, Pyrowave is a pioneer of the Plastic-to-Plastic microwave-based chemical recycling technology that allows post-consumer and post-industrial plastics to be regenerated and restored to their full value. Its patented high-power microwave catalytic depolymerization technology platform is the most advanced worldwide and is now at the forefront of the new generation of plastics. https://www.pyrowave.com/en/
    View Jocelyn’s Presentation
  • Martin Stephan – CARBIOS: Carbios is the first and only company in the world developing biological processes for the end-of-life of plastics with the potential to engage the entire industry in a truly circular economy. The company is now moving to industrialization with two disruptive innovations, of which a process to infinitely recycle PET without any quality loss, opening the possibility to create a virtuous circular economy scheme. https://carbios.fr/en/
    View Martin’s Presentation
  • David Lynch – Enerkem: Offering an innovative, sustainable solution for waste management, energy diversification and the implementation of a circular economy by manufacturing biofuels and renewable chemical products from non-recyclable waste. The company’s Edmonton facility is producing ethanol from waste. https://enerkem.com/
    View David’s Presentation

Speaker Bios

  • Jocelyn Doucet
    Jocelyn Doucet holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Polytechnique Montréal where he is Adjunct Professor since 2011. During his graduate studies, he started a first company focusing on in chemical process scale up and commercialization and developed few innovative processes for international clients. Some of his inventions had applications in the field of protein extraction, therapeutic agents and food processing. He then picked up opportunities to work on resource efficiency and decided to launch a new project based on microwaves to break down molecules into their original constituents. This idea led to the creation of Pyrowave in 2014, a company that has now developed the World’s most advanced High Power Microwave technology platform that will lead the process electrification revolution. This technology is first applied to recycling plastic waste, a global problem affecting every countries, has multiple other application in enabling electrification of materials, chemicals and processes in general by applying electricity directly into the reaction by the action of microwaves. He is actively involved in all aspects of the technology as well as setting up key partnerships with stakeholders and leading the fundraising activities of the company.
  • Paula Luu
    Paula is a Director at Closed Loop Partners, a hybrid investment firm and innovation center focused on the development of the circular economy. Her work focuses on evaluating new technologies, materials, and markets to drive investment towards viable, safe, and circular solutions and to accelerate their commercialization. She leads the Closed Loop Partner’s research in advanced plastics recycling. Paula has helped future-proof supply chains for multiple brands including Nike, Starbucks, and Amazon. Before completing her MBA/MS at the University of Michigan, she worked for several environmental groups and ran a startup that upcycled textile waste. 
  • Martin Stephan
    Martin joined Carbios in February 2017. He is now Deputy CEO supervising the strategy, the business development, and the investor relations of the Company. Martin has made his entire career in the chemical industry. Prior to joining Carbios, he held several senior international positions at Du Pont de Nemours, Chemours, and at the chemical branch of the French Oil & Gas major, Total. He worked in France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, where he is currently a resident. Martin Stephan holds a Master in Business Economics from HEC in Paris and a BA in Economics from Paris II University.
  • David Lynch
    At Enerkem, Mr. Lynch manages pilot integration and testing that has provided data-driven support for Enerkem’s commercial process design.  Mr. Lynch orchestrated the bench scale development of Enerkem’s methanol-to-ethanol process and has established pilot and laboratory facilities in Edmonton, AB. Mr. Lynch is an Energy Futures Lab Fellow building on more than 25 years of industry experience, where he advanced development and scale up of various new products and manufacturing processes. He holds a Master of Science degree in Management of Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Fairfield University.

Registration:

A portion of the cost of the webinar goes directly to supporting the sustainability of the RCA and our goal to advance a circular economy in Alberta. Due to COVID-19 we were unable to host our largest revenue generating, and most popular event – our annual conference. We look to continue to advance education and engagement opportunities online until we can meet again.

Per webinar – $75/person RCA members*; $99/person non-members

Please note that registration is for individuals, not groups, and each person attending the webinar/s must register separately.

2020 series (3 webinars) – $199/person RCA members*; $275/person non-members
You can still sign up for the entire series, we will provide a link to the recording of any session that was already held.

*Every employee of an RCA member company qualifies for the member rate. To find out whether your company is a current RCA member, check whether it is listed on our A-Z membership directory list here or contact us at info@recycle.ab.ca. For more information on how to sign up for an RCA membership, click here.

Students & Grassroots

A limited number of free grassroots and student registrations are available. For further information, please contact our office.

Register today!

Please provide names and contact information for each delegate.
Please note that registration is for individuals, not groups, and each person attending the webinar/s must register separately.

How to register: Click the “Select Options” button next to the registration type you’d like to purchase, and enter the delegate name and contact info in the form that appears, then click the “Add to Cart” button. If you want to register more than one person, you can enter their contact details into the same form and click “Add to Cart” again. You now have two registrations in your cart. Once you have entered the registration details for everyone, go to your cart, review, and select “Checkout”. You can now enter your billing information and select a payment option to finalize your registration(s). If you have any questions about the registration process, please contact info@recycle.ab.ca

Select Member or Non-Member Registration, then specify your webinar choices. Prices will adjust according to your selections.

Professional Development / Continuing Education Units

The RCA Webinar Series 2020 is on Alberta Environment and Parks’ list of approved courses for continuing education for the Alberta Landfill Operator Certification Program. View the CEU policy document on the AEP certification website. Participants can claim 0.1 CEUs per webinar hour for their attendance.