2011 July: Waste, Recycling & Product Stewardship
Dean Tormey
Dean Tormey (Green Dean) is a graduate of California State University-Chico with a BA, in Graphic Arts, Marketing. He currently works as a Major Account Representative for Allied Waste Services in Sacramento. He specializes in waste audits for companies getting their buildings LEED Certified. In the pass 10 months he has completed LEED Audits for The EPA Building, 300 Capitol Mall, Wells Fargo Center and Renaissance Tower. He is known as Green Dean because of his commitment to helping people and companies go green.
Heidi Sanborn
Heidi has been active in the solid waste industry in California for 20 years, working in various public and private positions including with consulting firms to cities and counties on reducing waste and increasing recycling, as an independent consultant, and serving in state government as the technical advisor to the Chair of the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), now CalRecycle. In her positions, Heidi observed the lack of attention to true “source reduction,”recognizing that local governments are not the source, but that manufactured products are responsible for 71% of our waste.
Ms. Sanford became interested in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as a policy tool to change the economics so costs of product waste are internalized back on the manufacturers instead of being externalized onto the taxpayers and garbage ratepayers. As a consultant, Ms. Sanborn was the primary author of the contractor’s report to the CIWMB titled “Framework for Evaluating End-of-Life Product Management Systems in California” (7/07). This report analyzed different policy systems around the world and recommended that California utilize EPR policy for problem products to ensure fully funded and sustainable recycling systems for products banned from disposal like mercury lighting and batteries.
Ms. Sanborn is widely recognized as the expert in EPR policy in California. She has been called to serve as an expert witness, and in 2009 she made presentations on packaging to the California Ocean Protection Council, National EPA Pollution Prevention conference in Washington D.C, and on two EPA national webinars on EPR. She has authored numerous articles and reports on product stewardship. She helped found and is currently the Executive Director of the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC). Heidi speaks internationally on producer responsibility and in the fall of 2010 presented in Brussels, Belgium at the international packaging EPR conference and Zurich, Switzerland at the WEEE Forum. She continues to speak to legislators and large audiences in conferences across the United States. Ms. Sanborn is a graduate of the University of California at Davis with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science – Public Service and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. She lives in Sacramento with her husband Brad.
Donna Sneeringer
Donna Sneeringer brings to the position a vast knowledge of non-profit management, public policy and media strategy. She has extensive experience doing presentations before large and small groups to educate on policy issues and has worked for many years building coalitions between diverse organizations, government and the private sector.
Her experience began in Los Angeles working on state contracts and developing programs and community services in the San Fernando Valley. In 1999, Ms. Sneeringer joined the management team at Child Action, Inc. and worked for 11 years. During her tenure she grew through various positions in the organization spending the last five years as their Public Affairs Manager focusing on local, state and federal public policy issues, contract management, fund development, agency communications and media relations. In addition Ms. Sneeringer works as a consultant on Government Relations assisting non-profit organizations as they navigate issues in state and local government.
Ms. Sneeringer holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and Graduate Certificate in Political Management from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelors Degree in Child Development from California State University, Northridge. Ms. Sneeringer has also served as a member of various statewide and national association Board of Director's in the field of early childhood education. She also served as a Sacramento County Board of Supervisors appointee on the Sacramento County Children's Coalition from 2005 - 2011, including in the role of Chair from 2009 - 2010.