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* – Tedd Ward, Director of Del Norte Solid 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 – Erin Levine, Resource Recovery Manager-West of World Centric
    • 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

May 16, 2025
Advisory Board Meeting
Agenda/Public Notice

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

Attend in person or online:
Zoom
Webcast

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 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