Zero Waste New York (ZWNY) Founding Statewide Conference 

For Advocates Working on Incineration, Landfills, PFAS, Sewage Sludge, Recycling, Reuse, Composting & Waste Prevention

Can you provide a place to stay for out-of-town attendees?

CONFERENCE AGENDA (as of 4/8/2025)

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

10:00 AM – 10:15 AM
Welcome Speaker: Neil Seldman, Zero Waste USA, Recycling Cornucopia Project

10:15 – 11:30 AM
Introductions: Facilitator: BP Lyles, Delco Environmental Justice

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
Part 1: History of New York State Solid Waste Policies & Programs
Anne Rabe, Don’t Waste NY, United Neighbors Concerned About GE Dewey Loeffel Landfill
Part II: Overview of Zero Waste Hierarchy & Where Does NYS Garbage Go?
Mike Ewall, Executive Director, Energy Justice Network
Matthew Civello, Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board (MSWAB)

12:45 PM  – 2:00 PM Lunch with Networking Tables
(Attendees are encouraged to bring their groups’ materials and resources.)

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Successfully Implementing Zero Waste Programs at Local & State Level
MC: Neil Seldman, Zero Waste USA, Recycling Cornucopia Project
Ruth Abbe, Zero Waste USA
Tom Padia, Former Director, Stop Waste Agency, Alameda County, CA
Pete Harckham, Senate Environmental Conservation Chair (invited)

3:30 – 5:00 PM
Lessons Learned: Paths to Victory
Tracy Frisch, Clean Air Action Network of Glens Falls, Zero Waste Warren County
Mike Ewall, Executive Director, Energy Justice Network
Neil Seldman, Zero Waste USA, Recycling Cornucopia Project

6:00 – 9:00 PM
Dinner & Evening Program
Dinner catered by Honest Weight Food Coop
Music by Fred Gillen, Jr.
NY Zero Waste State of the Art Panel with Maggie Clarke, Ph.D., Chair, Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board’s Long Range Planning Committee; Mike Ewall, Energy Justice Network; Courtney Williams, Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions; MC: Sandi Stratton-Gonzalez, Mothers Out Front Dutchess County

(Attendees are encouraged to bring their groups’ materials and resources.)

Thursday, May 1, 2025

9:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Keynote Speakers: Mike Ewall, Executive Director, Energy Justice Network
Tracy Frisch, Coordinator, Zero Waste Warren County, Chair, Clean Air Action Network of Glens Falls

9:30 AM – 10:15 AM
Taking Action on PFAS Pollution & More: Landfill Leachate & Sewage Sludge
Rebecca Martin, Project Manager, Hudson and Mohawk Rivers Leachate Collaborative  
Wayne Miller, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, Farm and Food Committee, co-author of Sierra Club 2023 report, “Sewage Sludge ‘Fertilizer’ Contaminates Farms with Toxic PFAS.”

10:20 AM – 11:30 AM
Building Zero Waste From the Bottom Up
Maggie Clarke, Ph.D., Chair, Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board’s Long Range Planning Committee
Mike Ewall, Energy Justice Network
Tracy Frisch, Zero Waste Warren County, Clean Air Action Network

11:30 – 12:30
Strategy Session: Building a Powerful Zero Waste Movement
How Do We Achieve Our Goals?
Facilitator: BP Lyles, Delco Environmental Justice

12:30 – 1:30 Lunch

1:30 – 3:00 PM
Strategy Session: Building a Powerful Zero Waste Movement
2025 ZWNY Plan of Action
Facilitator: BP Lyles, Delco Environmental Justice

Co-Sponsored by Beyond Plastics Sullivan County; Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group; Christians Against Racism in the Apostolic Spirit; Clean Air Action Network of Glens Falls; Clean Air Coalition of Greater Ravena Coeymans; Concerned Citizens of Seneca County; Delco Environmental Justice; Don’t Trash The Catskills; Don’t Waste NY;  Energy Justice Network; Finger Lakes Reuse; Finger Lakes Zero Waste Coalition; Hands Off the Hudson; Keep It Greene; Lights Out Norlite; Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board; Mothers Out Front Dutchess; Mothers Out Front Hudson Valley; Not Moreau; Rensselaer Environmental Coalition; Sullivan Alliance for Sustainable Development; Sustainable Wyandanch; Town of Ulster Citizens; United Neighbors Concerned about GE Dewey Loeffel Landfill; Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions; Zero Waste Capital District; Zero Waste Ithaca, Zero Waste USA, Zero Waste Warren County