Packaging Producer Responsibility Advisory Board

SB 54 (Allen, Chapter 75, Statutes of 2022) requires an advisory board to be appointed by CalRecycle’s director to:

  • Identify barriers and solutions to creating a circular economy;
  • Advise CalRecycle, producers, and producer responsibility organizations on SB 54 implementation.

The board’s 13 voting members and 3 nonvoting members represent:

  • Local government,
  • Environmental and environmental justice organizations,
  • Manufacturers, recycling and solid waste enterprises, and
  • Retail and grocery associations.

Members

Voting Members (13)

  • 1 from a statewide city association* – Timothy Burroughs, Executive Director of StopWaste
  • 1 from a statewide rural county association* – Scott Scholz, General Manager of Western Placer Waste Management Authority
  • 1 from an environmental protection organization– Doug Kobold, Executive Director of the California Product Stewardship Council
  • 1 from an ocean advocacy organization – Miho Ligare, Senior Manager, Plastic Pollution Initiative of Surfrider Foundation
  • 1 from an environmental justice organization – Thomas A. Helme, Co-Founder & Project Director of Valley Improvement Projects
  • 1 from a disadvantaged or low-income community or rural area – Fred Briones, Chief Executive Officer of Native American Fiber Program
  • 1 from a materials recovery facility located within the State of California – Christy Pestoni, Director of Government Affairs of Waste Connections
  • 1 from a recycling service provider or an association of recycling providers – Veronica Pardo, Executive Director of Resource Recovery Coalition of California
  • 1 from a composting industry operating in the State of California – Neil S. Edgar, Executive Director of California Compost Coalition
  • 4 representatives of each of four manufacturers of materials covered by SB 54 (single-use packaging/single-use plastic food ware) of different material types containing postconsumer recycled content, one of which produces third-party certified compostable covered material. These must not be a board member of a producer responsibility organization. They are: 
    • 1 from a manufacturer that produces third-party certified compostable covered material – Shannon Pinc, Senior Circular Economy Manager of NatureWorks
    • 1 from a manufacturer of covered materials – Patrick Keenan, Associate Packaging Principal Engineer of General Mills
    • 1 from a manufacturer of covered materials – Wes Carter, President & Co-Founder of Atlantic Packaging Corp
    • 1 from a manufacturer of covered materials – Ajit Perera, Vice President of Post Consumer Operations of Talco Plastics, Inc.

Nonvoting Members (3)

  • 1 from a statewide association* representing the retail sector – Rachel Michelin, President & Chief Executive Officer of the California Retailers Association
  • 1 from a statewide association* representing the grocery sector – Timothy James, Director of Local Government Relations of the California Grocers Association
  • 1 from a producer responsibility organization – Shane Buckingham, Chief of Staff for Circular Action Alliance

* Requires nomination by respective association.

Upcoming Advisory Board Meetings

January 23, 2026
Advisory Board Meeting
Agenda/Public Notice

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: CalEPA Headquarters, Sierra Hearing Room (2nd floor)
1001 I St., Sacramento, CA 95814

Attend in person or online:

Past Advisory Board Meetings

2025 Past Meetings

2024 Past Meetings

*Contact the advisory board to obtain documents before February 2, 2024.

Advisory board documents for meetings, including the Barriers and Solutions Report, are hosted by the advisory board on Google Drive outside of CalRecycle’s domain.

Note: CalRecycle does not maintain or control the contents of the host site or the linked documents.

For more information, contact the advisory board at sb54advisoryboard@gmail.com.

Advisory Board Duties and Responsibilities

Advisory Board members are required to perform several duties and responsibilities following their appointment. These include:

  • Meet at least once per year [PRC Section 42070 (c)]
  • Comply with the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act [PRC Section 42070(d)]
  • Elect a chair of the advisory board at the first meeting to serve for the calendar year [PRC Section 42070(b)]
  • Provide the PRO, CalRecycle, and a third party conducting a needs assessment with initial recommendations about creating a circular economy and implementing SB 54 [PRC Section 42070(e)]
  • Review any needs assessment or update within 90 days of receipt of the assessment (PRC Section 42067)
  • Review submitted PRO plans and offer written comments on the plan within 60 calendar days of receiving it [PRC Section 42070(h)]
  • Publish deliverables and accomplish goals (PRC Section 42070)
  • Serve for a staggered three-year term, with reappointment potential [PRC Section 42070(b)]

In addition, members of the Advisory Board are expected to:

  • Commit to attending meetings and contributing to work products outside of meeting times, including preparation of meeting notes and posting ADA accessible documents to a publicly available repository.
  • Provide their own travel funding, as required.
SB 54 Advisory Board Statute

CalRecycle requires that advisory board members adhere to a Code of Conduct and disclose private or personal interests that may be affected by the packaging extended producer responsibility program.

Contact

Submit non-media questions about the program to Packaging@calrecycle.ca.gov.

For media inquiries OPA@calrecycle.ca.gov.

Related Links