2010 BC EPR Workshop Speaker Profiles | RECYCLING COUNCIL OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

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Neil Antymis, Director, Government Affairs Pepsico Beverages Canada

Neil, a CGA, has worked in the beverage industry since 1990. He leads Pepsico's beverage container stewardship, is responsible for co-leading its environmental sustainability agenda and serves on eight recycling stewardship boards including Encorp Pacific, ABCRC & BCMB in Alberta and Refreshments Canada. Neil co-chaired the Stewardship Ontario Blue Box Funding Formula Review in 2005 and 2006 was a key driver behind the newly formed Canadian Beverage Container Recycling Association.

Meegan Armstrong, B.C. Ministry of Environment

Meegan Armstrong is the Ministry's Industry Product Stewardship group's lead on hazardous waste residuals category expansion, the tire and pharmaceutical files and provides support to the e-waste program. Prior to joining the Ministry, Meegan spent ten years with Metro Vancouver as a liquid waste and air emissions compliance officer.

Jenna Bentley, Summerhill Impact

Jenna Bentley is program director for Summerhill Impact, a national not-for-profit with the ultimate goal of transforming markets to sustainability. Her current work is focused on the expansion of Switch the Stat, a program that ensures the responsible recovery of mercury-containing thermostats, to B.C., with the eventual hope of a harmonized national program.

Teresa Conner, B.C. Ministry of Environment

Teresa Conner has been with the Ministry for the past five years working predominantly on product stewardship. She leads the e-waste EPR file, participates in the Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment working group on EPR, and most recently was appointed the lead on the packaging EPR file for BC.

Cindy Coutts, Simms Recycling Solutions

Cindy holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph and an MBA from York University in Toronto. She initially joined Noranda Inc. in 1989 and has spent most of her career involved in the electronics recycling business. In 1993 she participated in the Leadership for Environment and Development program looking at sustainable development issues on a global basis. She has been involved in waste/recycling issues from a commercial perspective and from a regulatory/policy perspective at both the international level (UN and OECD) and the domestic level. Most recently she has been involved with Sims Recycling Solutions, the world leader in electronics recycling and developed Canada's first 100% end of life electronics recycling facility in Brampton, Ontario. She lives in Toronto with her two hockey fanatic children.

Neil Hastie, Encorp Pacific (Canada)

Neil is President & CEO of Encorp. Since 1998 he has led the team, which provides an efficient, and cost effective common collection system. For more than 25 years he's been a senior executive in the retail industry, as the COO for several retail chains and a management consultant specializing in strategic retail planning. Neil has a B.Sc from Bishops University and an MBA (honors) from York University.

Jay Illingworth, ACES, ESABC & SWEEP

With more than 20 years of experience in developing effective public-private partnerships, Jay Illingworth's background crosses a wide range of technology-based initiatives for both government and industry. He played a key role in developing the federal government's e-business strategy, including an assignment as the secretariat team leader at Industry Canada for the Canadian E-Business Opportunities Roundtable. Through an Interchange Canada program, he also served as government programs manager for IBM Canada in Ottawa. Jay served as Vice President of Electronics Product Stewardship Canada (EPSC) up to 2008, where he worked closely with Canada's leading manufacturers of information technology and consumer electronics on a variety of environmental issues. He has also served as an interim Executive Director for each of the industry-led electronics stewardship programs in Saskatchewan, British Columbia and most recently, Nova Scotia. In January of 2009 Jay was named the Director of Harmonization for Canada's industry-led and regulated environmental stewardship programs for electronics.

Allen Langdon, Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors

Allen Langdon is the Vice President, Environment and West for the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD). In this role, Mr. Langdon is responsible for coordinating a proactive industry agenda to address a wide range of complex environmental issues including climate change, sustainable packaging, extended producer responsibility programs and food security.

David Lawes, B.C. Ministry of Environment

David Lawes, Head of Industry Product Stewardship for the BC Ministry of Environment, manages a group of policy analysts that work to develop, support and administer industry-led stewardship programs under the BC Recycling Regulation. David represents the province on the Canadian Council of the Ministers of Environment (CCME) Extended Producer Responsibility Task Group.

Brock Macdonald, Recycling Council of B.C.

Brock Macdonald, Executive Director of the Recycling Council of B.C. (RCBC), began his career in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) as communications manager for Product Care, B.C.'s first regulated EPR agency. Brock is a former educator and journalist who leads RCBC's efforts in the transition to EPR as a key zero waste and sustainable economic development strategy

Clint Mahlman, London Drugs

Clint Mahlman is the Senior Vice President of London Drugs Limited, Retail Operations, Distribution, ECommerce; Senior Vice President of TLD Computers ( a division of London Drugs Limited); and Senior Vice President of London Enterprises DBA Sonora Resort. Clint's career over the past 26 years has spanned Store Management, Retail Operations, Human Resources and Distribution and Ecommerce. He is also responsible for the company's sustainability initiatives and aboriginal relations.

Joyce Thayer, Electronic Stewardship Association of B.C.

Joyce Thayer is in private practice as a sole practitioner, with an emphasis in environmental law. She has a wealth of environmental law experience, gained through her nine years as a barrister in the Administrative and Constitutional section of the Legal Services Branch, Ministry of Attorney General and subsequently in private practice. Since July 14, 2008 Joyce has also assumed the role of executive director of the Electronics Stewardship Association of British Columbia

Greg Tyson, B.C. Ministry of Environment

Greg Tyson has been with the Ministry of Environment for eight years and has worked on a wide range of EPR issues including the Ministry's EPR Compliance Framework and third party verification standards for industry stewardship agencies.

Usman Valiante, EPR Consultant

Usman Valiante is a senior public policy analyst, commercial strategist, negotiator and advocate with Corporate Policy Group LLP.

For 18 years Usman has developed and evaluated of public policies and commercial programs regarding the environment.

With regard to Extended Producer Responsibility Usman has designed, implemented and evaluated a number of programs as they pertain to solid and hazardous wastes. In this capacity he has worked for waste generators (both IC&I and consumer retail), reuse and recycling industries, industries utilizing recovered materials for production feedstock as well as with federal and provincial governments.

In collaboration with Dr. Don Dewees at the University of Toronto Usman recently undertook an evaluation of proposed changes to Ontario's Waste Diversion Act in the context of the incentives those changes provide for improved environmental outcomes and economic efficiency.

Craig Williams, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

Mr. Williams, a Professional Engineer, has held a variety of executive positions in engineering, construction and manufacturing. For the past 20 years, he has been President/CEO of manufacturing companies in Europe, Australasia, USA and Canada. After serving on the Board of CME for many years, in 2008 he became CME's Executive Director for BC. CME, as Canada's largest industrial trade organization, focuses on the success of Canada's manufacturing and exporting sector.

Joe Zenobio, Call2Recycle

Joe Zenobio leads the Canadian operations for Call2Recycle®, the only free battery and cell phone collection program in North America. As executive director, Joe drives the strategic direction for the organization's Canadian presence and serves as the liaison between battery manufacturers, government agencies and Call2Recycle's program participants. He has a wealth of experience in multi-stakeholder collaboration, government and consumer relations, strategic marketing and executive management. Prior to joining Call2Recycle, he served as President of GS1 Canada, a non-profit e-Commerce firm working with retailers nationwide. A native of Toronto, Joe has also managed multiple broadcast stations and served as a senior level executive with a major accountancy.