#ZeroWasteActionMonth Interview Series
Welcome to the re-cap of the 2021 #ZeroWasteActionMonth Interview Series! As part of #ZeroWasteActionMonth, R20W hosted weekly interviews to inspire us to take action at all the intersections in our lives. We hope these expert words motivate you to courageously open conversations in your home, workplace, and community. With each conversation, we are shifting the voice of public opinion! When small changes snowball into policy and system changes, a zero waste lifestyle can become convenient and automatic for everyone. Join the conversation with us. Then, start the conversation wherever you are! Together we can reach the finish line!
#ZeroWasteActionMonth Week 1 Interview: Take Action with Textiles
OCT 8 12PM PDT | Facebook Live
recording available here
Week 1 interviewees:
Alexis Miller Lettis is a fourth-generation family business leader at Regent Apparel, a uniform manufacturer serving the needs of the textile rental industry. She has had the opportunity to support the company in business development and operations. Most recently, she has directed the company’s sustainability efforts and implemented pilot textile recycling programs. Alexis is also engaged in a Bay Area leadership program, working to develop and evaluate policies to promote environmental sustainability in the region.
Lindsey Troop is FABSCRAP’s Regional Manager and runs FABSCRAP’s second location which recently opened in Philadelphia. FABSCRAP is a textile recycling non-profit dedicated to ending the fashion industry’s commercial textile waste problem. Their goal is to divert as much unused material as possible from being landfilled or incinerated. Lindsey joined the FABSCRAP team in 2019 after witnessing firsthand the waste being created by the fashion industry while working in styling and merchandising.
Week 2 Interview: Reusables, Durables, Single-use Plastics, and You
Oct 14 10AM PDT | Facebook Live | recording available here
Week 2 interviewees:
James Wakibia is a freelance photojournalist and environmental activist advocating for better plastic waste management in Kenya. Between 2013 and 2017, he led a campaign calling for a ban on single-use plastic bags, which led to a nationwide ban on plastic carrier bags. His mantra is “Less Plastic is Fantastic.”
Keiko Niccolini, CMO and General Manager at r.Cup, is a marketing guru and reuse leader fighting plastic pollution through strategic partnerships, systems solutions, and industry-changing product innovations. Her experience with entrepreneurial and more established brands, including govino, Rishi Tea, ILLY CAFFE and Flowers Vineyards, makes her a key driver of r.Cup’s continued growth plans. She recently spearheaded the brand’s extension with r.Ware reusable foodware for the hospitality industry.
Week 3 Interview: Compost, Climate, and Carbon Sequestration
Oct 21 11AM PDT | Facebook Live
recording available here
Week 3 interviewees:
Kevin Drew is the Senior Zero Waste Specialist for the City of San Francisco (City) with 35 years’ experience in the field. He leads city efforts to sequester carbon through City-generated compost. Rich in nutrients, the compost is a treatment for soils and helps grow critical agricultural products in a regenerative manner in the surrounding “food-shed”. Additionally, Kevin and his daughter Aimee Drew, have formed “Carbon Positive Futures”. Their independent consultancy assists cities and other jurisdictions to transform their existing “waste” stream into valuable organic products. They are working to draw down carbon, contribute to carbon reduction goals, and assist in compliance with CA state law SB 1383.
Darrell Frey is the author of Bioshelter Market Garden: A Permaculture Farm, New Society Publishing 2011 which serves as both a case study of permaculture applied to a five acre market garden and as a guide for designing, building, and managing bioshelters and market garden farms. He is co-author of The Food Forest Handbook, New Society Publishing 2017. Darrell currently offers permaculture education and consultation through Three Sisters Permaculture.
Week 4 Interview: Environmental Justice, Advocacy, & Zero Waste Policy
Oct 28 12PM PDT | Facebook Live |
recording available here
Week 4 interviewees:
Estefania Arriaga is a biologist with a specialty in Resource Management from the National Polytechnic Institute, with a Diploma in Circular Economy from the University of the Environment. She worked in the private sector as a consultant and environmental auditor for HazMat consultants. For 6 years, she has been working for the Ministry of the Environment of Mexico City. Currently, she serves as Head of Unit of Sustainable Management of Solid Waste and is responsible for the waste inventory solids of Mexico City. She also coordinates and participates in various projects on waste management, green purchases, and the circular economy.
Isadora Bertoli is one of the coordinators of Zero Waste Youth International Organization. Unhappy with the culture of waste, she is one of the founders of the Plastic Free Federal University of Santa Catarina project (UFSC Plastic Free @ufscsemplastico). Her passion has led to this being a successful pioneer project created to inspire and co-create a Zero Waste Campus. It is now in 9 different universities around Brazil, and also got the Innovation Award by PLAN in 2018.
Sabrina Sabatini is a designer and is also one of the coordinators of Zero Waste Youth International in Brazil. She uses communication and design as a change tool for a better word. She graduated from the Federal University of Santa Catarina and now works as a branding manager at a social and corporate innovation business called Semente Negócios.
