Sustainable Materials Management Web Academy
The Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Web Academy series is a free resource for SMM challenge participants, stakeholders and anyone else interested in learning more about SMM principles from experts in the field. From these webinars, you can learn about key issues, successful projects and a variety of best management practices for creating stellar materials and waste management programs. Hear from experts around the country on what works and what doesn’t and how to make your program more successful. The format for the webinars is a formal presentation followed by a question and answer session.
On this page:
Upcoming SMM Web Academy Webinars
Check back for upcoming webinars.
Previous Webinars
Find past webinars in the table below. The webinar date is linked to a web page containing a description of the webinar, speaker biographies, a recording of the webinar and presentation slides.
Sort the table using the arrows next to each table header or search our webinar archive using the search bar just above the table below.
Date | Webinar Title | Speaker(s) | Topic(s) |
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October 28, 2020 |
The Value of Repair: Fixing Stuff and Strengthening Communities |
John Wackman Jeanette Brizendine Peter Mui |
Repair; reuse; source reduction; sustainable materials management |
October 27, 2020 | National Recycling Strategy |
Meghan Radtke, Ph.D. Kimberly Cochran, Ph.D., Chief |
National Recycling Strategy; recycling; comments |
September 24, 2020 |
New International Requirements for Exports and Imports of Plastic Recyclables |
Rick Picardi, Chief Lia Yohannes |
Imports; Exports; International; plastics; recycling; OECD |
August 13, 2020 | A Review of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing and Select Experiences in the Midwest and Beyond |
David Shonnard, Sustainable Use of Materials Melissa Peck, Sustainable Procurement Program Coordinator for the State of Minnesota Mark Wriston, Senior Procurement Engineer |
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing; Recycling; Research; plastics |
June 18, 2020 | The Disaster Debris Recovery Tool - Materials Management for Debris Planning and Emergency Response |
Melissa Kaps, Office or Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Camille Lukey, Region 3, U.S. EPA Lucy Stanfield, Region 5, U.S. EPA Lony HaleyNelson, Department of Emergency Management, City and County of San Francisco Nancy Milholland, Department of Emergency Management, City and County of San Francisco |
Disaster debris, emergency planning, green remediation |
June 10, 2020 | Procurement of Recycled-Content Products: Stimulating Recycling Markets and Creating Demand |
Steve Alexander, Association of Plastic Recyclers Judy Sheahan, The U.S. Conference of Mayors Cheryl Coleman, Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division (RCSD), Office or Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Ron Vance, Resource Conservation Branch, RCSD, ORCR, U.S. EPA Ksenija Janjic, Materials Management Branch, RCSD, ORCR, U.S. EPA |
Recycling, recycled content, CPG |
June 2, 2020 | Supporting Anaerobic Digestion in Communities, Request for Applications | Chris Carusiello, U.S. EPA's SMM Program | Anaerobic Digestion, funding opportunity, RFA, grant |
April 23, 2020 |
Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Prioritization Tools: Sustainability Insights at a Glance |
Jarrod Bridge, U.S. EPA’s SMM Program |
sustainable materials management, recycling |
March 5, 2020 | After Disaster: Deconstruction, Rebuilding and Resilience Lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Irene |
Brad Guy, Associate of the American Institute of Architects Preston Browning, Salvage Works Tobiah Horton, Rutgers University, Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program |
built environment, construction and demolition debris, recycling, materials management |
February 20, 2020 | Facts and Figures 2017—Assessing Trends in Materials Generation, Recycling, Composting, Combustion with Energy Recovery and Landfilling in the United States |
Kent Foerster, U.S. EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) Swarupa Ganguli, U.S. EPA's ORCR Hope Pillsbury, U.S. EPA's ORCR |
recycling, materials management, measurement, municipal solid waste characterization data |
January 23, 2020 | Safe Packaging and Transportation of Lithium Batteries for recycling: What You Need to Know | Jordan Rivera, U.S. Department of Transportation | electronics recycling, battery recycling |
December 19, 2019 | From Pen & Paper to Artificial Technology -- 21st Century Methods for Measuring Excess Food |
Max Mlinar, Phood Solutions Inc. Jay Kahn, Central Michigan University Doug Bradley, SAVOR…Chicago Gina Sears, Winnow Laura Smith, Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) André Villaseñor, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
sustainable materials management, recycling, economic development |
November 20, 2019 | Recycling and Resource Recovery as a Tool for Regional Economic Development |
Gina Lee, Upcyclers Network Steve Lautze, Founding President, CA Association of Recycling Market Development Zones Will Sagar, Southeast Recycling Development Council |
sustainable materials management, recycling, economic development |
October 24, 2019 |
Electronic Waste Generation and Management and the Cost of Digitalization to the Environment |
Dr. Callie Babbitt, Associate Professor, Golisano Institute for Sustainability at the Rochester Institute of Technology | recycling, electronics, sustainable materials management |
September 16, 2019 | Oregon’s Wasted Food Strategy: Highlights of current work, recent research and next steps |
David Allaway, Senior Policy Analyst, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Elaine Blatt, Senior Policy and Program Analyst, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality |
sustainable materials management, food waste |
August 22, 2019 | Shining the Light on Solar Panel Recycling: A Status Update |
Garvin Heath, National Renewable Energy Laboratory |
sustainable materials management, recycling, building materials |
July 31, 2019 | Construction and Demolition Materials Markets: Identifying Opportunities Regionally and Locally |
Martin Brown and Megan Walton, Delta Institute |
built environment, recycling, deconstruction |
June 20, 2019 |
Introduction to EPA’s Planning for Natural Disaster Debris Guidance |
Melissa Kaps, U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery |
Materials management, debris |
May 23, 2019 |
Evaluating the Environmental Impacts of Global Materials Use |
Kathleen Salyer, U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery |
sustainable materials management |
May 9, 2019 | EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM) version 15 | Nathan Wittstruck, U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery | sustainable food materials management, food waste, recycling |
March 14, 2019 |
Preventing Food Waste Upstream - a Source Reduction Approach Part III |
|
sustainable food materials management, food waste |
February 21, 2019 |
State and Local Organic Bans: Implementation Planning, Lessons Learned and Updates |
John Fischer, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection |
sustainable food materials management, food waste |
December 18, 2018 | The Disaster Debris Recovery Tool: Materials Management for Debris Planning and Emergency Response |
|
materials management |
October 18, 2018 | Regional Cooperation to Harmonize Recycling Programs: Tools and Tips |
|
sustainable materials management, recycling |
September 20, 2018 | Preventing Food Waste Upstream: A Source Reduction Approach - Part II |
Janet Whited, San Diego Unified School District |
sustainable materials management, reducing wasted food |
September 13, 2018 | Assessing Trends in Materials Generation, Recycling, Composting, Combustion with Energy Recovery and Landfilling in the United States |
Swarupa Ganguli, Team Leader, U.S. EPA's Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) |
sustainable materials management, recycling, construction and demolition debris |
August 23, 2018 | Sustainability in the Built Environment: Why Materials Matter |
Kathrina Simonen, Director, Carbon Leadership Forum |
built environment, construction and demolition debris |
July 26, 2018 | Pay-as-You Throw Best Management Practices and Success Programs | Susan Bush, RSE USA, on behalf of The Carton Council Charles Kamenides, Longmont, Colorado Jillian Wilson Martin, Natick, Massachusetts |
recycling |
July 12, 2018 | Introducing the U.S. EPA Excess Food Opportunities Map (version 1.0) | Melissa Pennington, Sustainability Coordinator, EPA Region 3 Claudia Fabiano, Sustainable Management of Food Team, EPA Headquarters | reducing wasted food |
May 17, 2018 | Business Innovations in Reducing Food Loss and Waste |
Kathleen Salyer, Deputy Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, EPA |
reducing wasted food |
May 9, 2018 |
EPA's SMM Electronics Challenge: What's in it for you? |
Janice Johnson, Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, EPA |
electronics recycling |
April 19, 2018 |
Deconstruction and Building Materials Reuse: Innovations and Opportunities |
Shawn Wood, Construction Waste Specialist, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Portland, Oregon |
built environment, construction and demolition debris |
April 5, 2018 | Management Challenges for Lithium Batteries at Electronics Recyclers |
Craig Boswell, HOBI International, Inc. |
electronics recycling, batteries |
March 22, 2018 | An Introduction to Lithium Batteries and the Challenges that they Pose to the Waste and Recycling Industry |
Jeffrey Spangenberger, Argonne National Laboratory |
electronics recycling, batteries |
February 15, 2018 | Recycling Market Update | Jerry Powell, Founder and Executive Editor, Resource Recycling, Inc. | recycling |
January 25, 2018 |
Quality Matters: Free Resources to Support Plastic Recycling Programs |
Tonya Randell, More Recycling and technical support for the Wrap Recycling Action Program (WRAP) |
plastics recycling |
December 14, 2017 | Technology Innovation - Reducing Food Going to Waste |
Cheryl Kollin, Community Food Rescue |
reducing wasted food |
November 16, 2017 | Preventing Food Waste Upstream: A Source Reduction Approach |
David Allaway, Senior Policy Analyst, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Materials Management Program |
reducing wasted food |
October 26, 2017 | China's Green Sword: Impacts to State and Local Governments |
David Biderman, Executive Director, Solid Waste Association of North America |
recycling |
August 24, 2017 | The ABC’s of K-12 Food Waste Reduction: Start with the Guide to Conducting Student Food Waste Audits |
Melissa Terry, Researcher, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas |
reducing wasted food |
June 29, 2017 | Results and Local Examples of Nationwide Public Service Campaign to Reduce Wasted Food |
JoAnne Berkenkamp, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) |
reducing wasted food |
May 25, 2017 | 2016 State of the Curbside Report: "Public Action" Stars of Recycling |
Dylan de Thomas, The Recycling Partnership |
recycling |
April 27, 2017 |
Materials Footprint of the Consumer Electronics Ecosystem |
Mark Buckley, Staples, Inc. |
electronics recycling |
March 30, 2017 | Reducing and Recovering Wasted Food in Schools - Lessons from the Cafeteria Line! |
Nayiri Haroutunian, Washington Green Schools |
reducing wasted food |
February 16, 2017 | Taking on Takeout Waste: New Approaches in New York City |
Sarah Currie-Halpern, Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board |
reducing packaging and container waste |
January 19, 2017 |
The Story and Highlights of Oregon’s 2050 Vision of Materials Management |
David Allaway, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality |
materials management |
December 15, 2016 |
Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures 2014 |
Swarupa Ganguli, U.S. EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery |
municipal solid waste characterization data |
November 17, 2016 | Recycling Collection Programs: A Bigger Pinch Point Than We Thought |
Adam Gendell, Sustainable Packaging Coalition |
recycling |
New Tool Kit: Keeping Food out of Landfill: Policy Ideas for States and Localities |
Emily Broad-Leib, Food Law and Policy Clinic and Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation, Harvard Law School |
reducing wasted food | |
Food: Too Good to Waste – Community Results and Lessons Learned |
Ashley Zanolli, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality |
reducing wasted food | |
August 18, 2016 |
How Recycling Got Its Groove Back: Turning Up the Quality |
Keefe Harrison, The Recycling Partnership |
recycling |
June 23, 2016 |
Pollinator Habitat & Food Security - What’s All the Buzz About? |
Dr. Bruce Rodan, White House Office of Science & Technology |
food security, pollinators |
May 26, 2016 |
Feed the People: Public/Private Collaboration results in a 30 percent increase in food rescued in Vermont |
Eric Davis, Feeding America |
reducing wasted food |
April 28, 2016 |
Preview of the Soon to Be Released Nationwide Public Service Campaign to Reduce Wasted Food |
Dana Gunders, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) |
reducing wasted food |
April 14, 2016 | How Communities Can Transform Waste Streams through Policies and Programs |
Karen Irwin, U.S. EPA, Region 9 |
recycling, reducing waste |
March 31, 2016 |
Changes in the Waste Stream -- the Future of the Curbside Material Mix |
Chaz Miller, Director of Policy/Advocacy National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) |
recycling, reducing waste |
February 25, 2016 |
Innovative Collaborations in the Hospitality Sector to Increase Food Recovery |
Laura Abshire, National Restaurant Association |
reducing wasted food |
December 17, 2015 |
Managing “Recycling” Contamination: What Works and What is a Waste |
Bob Cappadona, Vice President Recycling, Casella Recycling |
recycling |
November 19, 2015 | State Policies to increase Organics Diversion from Landfills: MA and VT one year in and CA the new kid on the block |
Nora Goldstein, BioCycle |
reducing organics waste |
October 15, 2015 | Does plastics recycling need to be so confusing? |
Tonya Randell, Project Manager, Moore Recycling Associates |
plastics recycling |
Changing How We Think About Our Resources for a Better Tomorrow: How to Donate Surplus Food from K-12 Schools |
Jimmy Nguyen, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington DC |
reducing wasted food | |
Let's WRAP (Wrap Recycling Action Program): Best Practices to Boost Plastic Film Recycling in Your Community |
Shari Jackson, Director, Film Recycling, Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council |
plastics recycling | |
"Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures 2013" Assessing Trends in Materials Generation, Recycling and Disposal in the United States |
Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator in EPA's Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM) |
Municipal solid waste characterization data |
|
Pay-As-You Throw: Growth & Opportunity for Sustainable Materials Management |
Dr. Lisa Skumatz, Dana D’Souza and Dawn BeMent, Skumatz Economic Research Associates (SERA), and the non-profit Econservation Institute (EI) |
sustainable materials management |
|
Milestone 4: Measuring Impact |
David Klein and Chris Henson, Costco Wholesale, Columbus OH |
reducing wasted food,
SMM principles, measurement |
|
Milestone 2: Data Analysis, and Creating and Implementing Waste Reduction Strategies; & Milestone 3: Tracking Progress |
Cat Sullivan and Executive Chef Tim Cunningham, Northern Arizona University (NAU) |
reducing wasted food,
SMM principles, measurement |
|
Reducing Wasted Food: How Packaging Can Help |
Todd Bukowski, HAVI Global Solutions |
reducing wasted food | |
Wasted Food to Energy: How six Water Resource Recovery Facilities are Boosting Biogas Production & the Bottom Line |
Sophia Skoda, East Bay Municipal Utility District |
reducing wasted food | |
Recycling Right: Tactics and Tools for Effective Residential Outreach (Part TWO) |
Candy Castellanos, Waste Management PNW |
recycling | |
Milestone 1: Preparing for a Wasted Food Assessment and Establishing a Baseline |
Andrew Shakman, LeanPath |
reducing wasted food,
SMM principles, measurement |
|
Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a unique industry collaboration |
Gail Tavill, Vice President of Packaging and Sustainable Productivity, ConAgra |
reducing wasted food | |
Recycling Right: Tactics and Tools for Effective Residential Outreach (Part One) |
Sego Jackson, Snohomish County Solid Waste Division |
recycling | |
Managing Wasted Food with Anaerobic Digestion Incentives and Innovations |
David Babson, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
reducing wasted food | |
The Changing "Waste" Stream |
Susan Robinson, Waste Management |
recycling, reducing waste | |
Be an Endorser! |
Rachel Chaput, US EPA - Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) |
reducing wasted food |
|
Cupertino CA and Cambridge MA: Tips for How Communities Can Successfully Engage Businesses to Divert Food Scraps |
Cheri Donnelly, Environmental Programs Manager, Cupertino Public Works Department, Cupertino, CA |
reducing wasted food | |
How to Reduce Wasted Food: |
Julie Schilf, US EPA - Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) |
reducing wasted food | |
Compost from Food Waste: |
Rachel Chaput, U.S. EPA - Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) |
reducing wasted food, composting | |
Building Collection Infrastructure for Composting: Success in the greater Worcester, Massachusetts area |
Sean Pontani, Green Business Support Manager, Center for EcoTechnology (CET), Northampton, MA |
reducing wasted food, composting |
Webinars from 2012 and 2013
Search the EPA Archive for SMM Web Academy webinars from 2013 and 2012. Use the search terms "SMM Web Academy 2013 Calendar" to find webinars on topics like:
- Getting those BIG office Buildings to Recycle!
- Rubberized Asphalt: Innovative Sustainable Technology
- Green Sports and Venues as Environmental Stewards
- Composting Strategies for Colleges and Universities Webinar
- Model Composting Regulations
Use the search term "SMM Web Academy 2012 Calendar" to find webinars on the following topics:
- Universities and the Food Recovery Challenge
- Sustainable Food Management: Food: Too Good to Waste
- Greener Packaging – Integrating Reusable Transport Packaging into Your Supply Chain
- Green Purchasing, Tools for Federal, State, and Local Governments
- How to Negotiate Your Contract with Waste Haulers
- Food Donation: Feed People Not Landfills
Continuing Education Units (CEUs)
Are you working toward your Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) certification? Participation in an SMM webinar may help you earn CEUs. Learn more about the application and review process. Exit