Lexington, KY | ryan.cooper@rubicon.com

Ryan Cooper is the Director of Circular Economy Solutions at Rubicon, a software platform that provides smart waste and recycling solutions for businesses and governments worldwide. Prior to designing, implementing and managing thousands of organics recycling programs at Rubicon, Ryan helped develop composting programs for businesses and municipalities at the Sustainable Packaging Coalition. Ryan received his Master of Science in Regenerative Studies at Cal Poly Pomona, where his thesis focused on municipal composting and anaerobic digestion programs. Ryan is on the Board of Directors of the US Composting Council and is a certified permaculture designer and teacher.

strong>Session Code: F5

Track: Diversion and Collection

Session Name: Trends in Collecting Organics

Session Time: Thursday, Jan 26, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 PM

Presentation Title: Enabling the Organics Recycling Renaissance: Lessons from those Generators, Haulers and Processors that are Rising to the Occasion

Presentation Description: Momentum is rapidly building behind a renaissance in organics recycling. Currently, demand from generators is outpacing the growth and reach of organics recycling infrastructure. But given encouraging changes in legislation, new organics haulers and processors are entering the market at a rapid pace, helping to plug crucial holes in local, state and national organics recycling networks. However, the learning curve for successful adoption and roll-out remains.

From its position at the intersection of recycling and technology, Rubicon is acutely aware of the challenges and opportunities facing organics recycling advocates at every point in the supply chain. In this session, Ryan Cooper, Director of Circular Economy Solutions at Rubicon, will detail the ways in which generators, haulers, and processors are evolving to make organics recycling efficient, profitable and sustainable.
Demand from generators both large and small increases each day alongside their sustainability goals. Cities, too, are now joining ranks with businesses, seeking organics recycling solutions to meet municipal diversion goals. Haulers that were once solely focused on MSW are adjusting their fleets to include new organics trucks while smaller, local organics haulers are enjoying growth as route density improves for commercial and residential organics pick-ups.

In this session, Ryan will describe in detail how businesses and cities can better prepare themselves to partner with organics haulers and processors, how haulers can optimize their operations in close collaboration with their customers and processors, and how processors can complete the cycle and return the valuable would-be waste back into the economy.