Hi! I’m Eli Forrester, and I’ve spent more than a decade keeping products and materials at their highest and best use. I’m from San Francisco and work as the Sustainability Program Manager at Recology, leading the sustainability strategy for an employee-owned company that recycles and composts 1.5 million tons of material a year. Previously, at Steelcase, a century-old furniture company, I built the circular economy programs in reuse, remanufacturing, and reverse logistics that became Circular by Steelcase, the company’s end-of-use program to reuse, repair, remake, and recycle furniture.
From 2021 to 2024, I served on the University of Michigan President’s Sustainability Advisory Board, advising campus leadership on dozens of projects including expanded food recovery and composting at dining facilities serving 15,000 students daily. Earlier, as a policy director at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, I worked with state agencies on zero-waste legislation.
I’m a founding member of NCRA’s Reuse & Repair Committee because reuse must come before recycling. As a Board Member, I will help grow it from a new committee into a lasting NCRA program. I’ll push to close the organics and recycling access gap in multifamily, low-income, and multilingual communities. And I’ll help plan tours and Recycling Update sessions that advance NCRA’s mission to End Waste. I’d be honored to have your vote.