The 30th Annual Recycling Update Call for Speakers is now live!

The 30th Annual Recycling Update Call for Speakers is now live! The tentative date is March 25, 2026. Official date and SF venue to be confirmed soon!

How to Apply: Submit your proposal by COBD – Monday, December 1st, 2025.

Application portal: https://bit.ly/RU2026Speaker

For additional questions, feel free to contact our office.

The Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA) is seeking dynamic speakers for its annual Recycling Update (RU), our fast-paced, high-energy event that showcases what’s new and innovative in the world of waste reduction and Zero Waste. We welcome proposals from those who haven’t yet presented at RU, as well as from experienced speakers eager to share their cutting-edge ideas and insights.

With over 500 attendees, including local government recycling staff, policy makers, consultants, haulers, and processors from across Northern California, RU is an ideal platform to showcase your work in front of a highly engaged audience. This is your chance to highlight the latest programs, policies, and projects shaping the future of our industry.

Presentation Format:

Each speaker is allotted 10 minutes for their presentation, followed by a 2-minute Q&A session.

The event features a single-track format, ensuring that all attendees hear your presentation—no breakouts, no missed opportunities.

Timeliness is crucial. Speakers must be well-prepared and adhere to their time limits.

Key Focus Areas: We encourage proposals that reflect NCRA’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, incorporating these values in both the content and design of presentations. Additionally, the selection committee is especially interested in presentations that explore reuse, repair, state and local policies, edible food recovery programs/ enforcement, extender producer responsibility, and recycling markets.

DEI Salon: What is Meaningful Community Engagement? Let’s Talk About It!

Link to Recording

The Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Committee Presents:

Do you find it challenging to get good turnouts at public meetings?

Join us for a salon style discussion to explore non-traditional strategies to collect feedback and gain insight to diverse community perspectives on policies and projects.

This peer sharing opportunity will explore topics such as:

-What does successful engagement look like

-How to create space for overlooked communities to participate in planning processes

-Challenges and barriers to encouraging participation in public meetings

Recorded on October 21, 2025 | 12 – 1pm PDT via Zoom.

Webinar: What’s the Secret Sauce? 7/25

 

Recording Link

Presentation Slides
Event Description:

Join the NCRA Schools Committee for: “What’s the Secret Sauce? How Castro Valley schools achieve such high diversion rates”

Castro Valley has an award-winning Schools Program!
  • Average school diversion rate is 91% and 15 out of 17 schools have achieved 90% or more.
  • Support includes: Green Ribbon school program, custodial recognition, 4Rs field trips, refresher presentations, donations & supples.
  • Learn how they do it and how you can support schools on the path to Zero Waste!
Speaker: Jordan Figueiredo, Zero Waste Specialist, Castro Valley Sanitary District
July 31st at 1-2PM

Bonnie Betts

Bonnie Betts, Environmental Content Creator, Mission Driven Marketing & Social Media Consultant. Bonnie is thrilled to be the Social Media Coordinator for the Northern California Recycling Association since 2020. As a project manager, Zero Waste Advocate, and environmental content creator, Bonnie enjoys the opportunity to create and lead projects within the resource recovery and Zero Waste space. In 2019 Bonnie joined Zero Waste Youth USA to lead community engagement and content development for their annual youth convergence. For the past 3 years, Bonnie’s focus has been to support programs that build leadership skills and empower youth to advocate for Zero Waste in their communities.

Chris Sparnicht

Chris Sparnicht, Web Maestro, Laughter On Water
Chris Sparnicht provides program management, technical and website support to environmental and citizen-science nonprofits throughout the US and Canada. A certified Zero Waste Associate, he is NCRA’s IT consultant and a valued member of NCRA’s webinar and conference production team. Chris has degrees in biology, horticulture and landscape architecture, and is interested in music and video production. He has been involved with the Bear Hollow Zoo in Athens, Georgia for six years and on the board for three.