What's your trash story?  Can you recall a specific moment, experience, or person that sparked your love affair with trash? Can you share an early memory related to upcycling trash that left a lasting impression on you?

In my youth there was a serious concern about running out of landfill space. It became an issue I followed in part because of the idea that you could do other things with trash rather than just bury it in the ground. This is when I became committed to the concepts of reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Describe your job. What’s trash got to do with it?

In the part of my job that has to do with sustainability, I have two areas that I focus on. First, is to look internally at how Goodwill Southern California operates and find ways to decrease our impact on the environment. These are things from being more energy efficient in our buildings, converting our trucks to electric, and removing plastic bags from the operation. The second focus is on finding different outcomes for the items donated to us. Right now, through our operation, we divert a tremendous amount of waste from the landfills. However, with the growing emphasis on circularity, methods to reuse and recycle many different materials are emerging. My work involves finding out what those methods are and how Goodwill Southern California can play a part in the emerging processes.

What something you’ve seen or worked on in the world of waste that you found surprising, delightful or inspiring? 

The thing I have found delightful and inspiring is human ingenuity. I was recently at a textile recycling conference and there was a session for entrepreneurs to present their projects. The creativity and innovation presenting was truly inspiring. It helped me believe that solutions to these complex problems are possible.

This can be dirty, sometimes disheartening work. What’s something in your work that brings you joy right now? 

What brings me joy right now is the opportunity to collaborate with others. No one person or entity will solve the many problems related to waste. It will take many people working together, bringing their expertise and experience to the table to find solutions that work. I have met some amazing people who view this work as much bigger than themselves or their organization and are committed to doing what it best for people and planet.