Solving the Fiber Packaging Recycling Puzzle: ReMA’s Fiber Recycling Readiness Tool

ReMA Webinar
Solving the Fiber Packaging Recycling Puzzle: ReMA’s Fiber Recycling Readiness Tool

Free for ReMA members and non-members
Registration is required.
Description

The Recycled Materials Association (formerly ISRI) recently unveiled a new tool to help more fiber and paper in the U.S. get recycled. The new ReMA Fiber Recycling Readiness Tool is a free, science-based online resource to assist brands (and packaging companies) as they design or redesign fiber-based packaging for the U.S. market. The Tool assesses whether the packaging will flow through the current recycling infrastructure in the U.S., given pressure points in the current recycling system. It provides customized feedback on how to improve the recyclability of a package, such as changing its size or composition. Attendees will also hear about the Tool’s development, its advantages, and plans for the future.

SPEAKERS
Bret Biggers, Senior Economist, ReMA

Bret Biggers is a senior economist at ReMA. He collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on recycled commodity trends. He is the staff liaison for the Paper Division, Plastics Division, and the MRF Committee. Other efforts Biggers is working on include the ReMA Specifications Circular, the ReMA Recycling Readiness Tool, the ReMA Recycled Materials Industry Yearbook, Trade Committee and Market Access Working Group.

Biggers has addressed economic, markets, and sustainability issues throughout most of his career, writing articles and producing reports. He has worked at the National Waste & Recycling Association, Flexible Packaging Association, and consulted in the trucking, chemical, and specialty printing industries.

David Brabham, Cellulose’s Senior Director of Customer Engagement, Sustainability and Stewardship, Georgia-Pacific

David Brabham joined Georgia-Pacific (GP) in 2013 to accelerate the company’s efforts to provide sustainable products through enhancements in responsible sourcing and environmental performance. He now serves as GP cellulose’s senior director of customer engagement, sustainability and stewardship, where his passion and knowledge of the industry and responsible stewardship of natural resources helps the company better serve their customers. His organization seeks to understand and anticipate needs of GP customers to optimize engagement points to better inform, educate, and service their needs. This includes understanding their priorities and translating those insights into activities that reduces environmental impacts in a way that aligns with the company’s goal of effectively managing resources in a way that benefits our customers, employees, partners, communities, and society.

Brabham is a Registered Forester, holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Kennesaw State University and a Bachelor of Science in natural resources management from The Ohio State University.

Dan Liswood, Senior Project Director, Closed Loop Partners

Dan Liswood is a senior project director at Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy where he has managed the NextGen Consortium since 2018. The NextGen Consortium is a multi-year partnership of food-service industry leaders, founded by Starbucks and McDonald’s, to address single-use food packaging waste by advancing the design, commercialization and recovery of food packaging alternatives.

Prior to joining Closed Loop Partners, Liswood spent five years in corporate sustainability consulting where he developed and helped lead sustainability and energy management strategies for multiple Fortune 500 clients and some of the largest real estate owners and operators throughout the U.S. Before entering the private sector, Liswood spent four years as a project manager at the Clinton Foundation’s Climate Initiative working on large-scale clean energy projects. Liswood holds an MA in international affairs and urbanization from the New School University and a BA from McGill University.

Leonard Zeid, Executive Vice President, Midland Davis Corp

Leonard Zeid is a seasoned 34 year veteran of the recovered paper industry. He joined Midland Davis in 2005 and was recently promoted to president paper brokerage division, prior he has been the executive vice president and director of Brokerage & Marketing at Midland David Corporation. As president of the brokerage division, Zeid is responsible for strategic growth and aligning responsibilities with the company's business needs through Midland’s network of brokers throughout North America. Zeid’s team manages a variety of commodities, including paper, plastics, metals and other materials. Midland has been in the recycled materials business since 1892. Zeid is currently on the ReMA Board of Directors, and is the past chair of the ReMA Paper Division (2016 to 2018) and was president of ReMA's Paper Stock Industries (2018 to 2020).

All ReMA events follow ReMA’s Antitrust Policy and Code of Conduct. Download a copy of these documents at https://www.recycledmaterials.org/antitrust.

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