Walter Willis has been the Executive Director of the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County since 2007 and is responsible for overseeing the Agency’s solid waste and resource management programs and implementing the Lake County Solid Waste Management Plan. Mr. Willis is a board member of the Illinois Chapter of SWANA, an honorary board member of the Product Stewardship Institute, and was selected as Chairman of the IL Food Scrap Coalition for 2016 and 2017. Prior to joining SWALCO, Mr. Willis worked in the waste industry as a consultant for approximately 20 years developing solid waste management plans and assisting with solid waste facility development projects throughout the United States. He began his solid waste career with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in 1987 after receiving his Master’s in Public Administration from Southern Illinois University.
Topic: Regional View from the Ground – MRF Processing and Quality Issues: Doing it Right
Greg is Senior Vice President of Resource Management. He has prior experience in both private industry and government, including serving as Director of Nationwide Engineering for Waste Management, Inc.; and operations and administrative management positions with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Greg holds a Bachelor’s degree in Structural Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois and a Master’s degree in Engineering Management from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in both Illinois and Indiana.
Greg has served on the Illinois Governor’s Recycling Task Force, the Executive Board of Keep Chicago Beautiful, as President of the Illinois Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America, and as President of the Illinois Recycling Association.
Jon Schroeder, General Manager, Lakeshore Recycling, Heartland Recycling Facility
Topic: Regional View from the Ground – MRF Processing and Quality Issues: Doing it Right
Jon was born and raised in the Chicago- area and has been in the Garbage/Recycling industry for 34 years. Jon has been involved with running MRF’s for 24 years and has worked at Lakeshore for the past 2.5 years.
Jeff Snyder, Director of Fiber Supply and Brokerage, Pratt Industries
Topic: Industry End Markets and Updates on Needs/Capacity – Fiber
Jeff holds a BS in Business Administration from Northwest Missouri State University. Jeff has 27 years in the paper industry. His career started in 1991 with Rock-Tenn Company, holding several positions in the mill and converting side of the business. He then transitioned to the recycle side of the business in 2003 managing several different recycling facilities and single-stream MRF’s. In 2014 he started with Pratt Industries in Valparaiso In. with responsibility of buying 450,000 tons per year of recycled fiber to supply the Valparaiso Indiana mill. He recently was promoted to Director of Fiber Supply & Brokerage with responsibility for Valparaiso Indiana and Wapakoneta Ohio paper mills purchasing over 1 million tons of recycled paper a year.
Jay is the VP of Sales for North America at Sustana, a leading producer of FSC-certified, premium post-consumer recycled fiber which takes its role as a steward of the environment seriously. Sustana uses highly automated proprietary processes to turn post-consumer wastepaper into the highest quality fiber for use in the production of printing & writing papers, tissue paper and FDA-compliant paper products and packaging. Jay holds a degree in Applied Science (BASc) from the University of Miami and has held roles in sales and marketing globally for the Paper Chemical product lines. Jay joined Sustana in 2017 and in less than a year has achieved a consistent growth in sales for North America.
Topic: Industry End Markets and Updates on Needs/Capacity – Glass
Dan VanKorn brings more than 20 years of sales, operations, finance, and marketing experience to his role as Regional Sourcing Manager at Strategic Materials, North America’s largest glass recycler. Dan is an expert relationship manager, specializing in business-to-business, recycling, waste-to-energy, and waste management services. He places special emphasis on providing top-notch customer service, delivering an exceptional customer experience.
Dan recently joined Strategic Materials from VK Energy Resources, LLC, a niche, waste-to-energy brokerage company he founded, where he sourced liquid-waste feedstock streams needed for anaerobic biodigestion. Prior to that, he served as a technical sales and business development representative at Badger Disposal of Wisconsin (now Tradebe).
Dan received his Bachelor of Art degree from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and enjoys doing just about anything outdoors. He lives in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, with his wife Annie.
Andy Johnson, Raw Materials Procurement, KW Plastics
Topic: Industry End Markets and Updates on Needs/Capacity – Plastics
I have worked for KW for a total of 6 years. I worked in quality for our container division before moving to the Procurement team. My job is to manage the procurement and inventory of Polypropylene at KW Plastics. I work with our team to increase the volume and quality of curbside collected across the U.S. as well as working to supply the best customer service to the suppliers of KW.
Chris Newman, Environmental Scientist, EPA Region 5
Topic: Progress & Perspective: EPA Regional Input and EPA National Work (Moderator)
Chris Newman is an environmental scientist who has been with US EPA Region 5 since 2003. Chris has worked on several solid waste and recycling projects related to electronics, organic waste, and product stewardship. He has also been working on packaging issues in the information technology sector and the collection and recycling of plastic films. Chris is now focusing attention on contamination of the recycling stream and how to improve markets for recovered materials.
James Jennings, Waste Reduction and Compliance Section Manager, Illinois EPA
James Jennings has been the Waste Reduction and Compliance Section Manager for the Illinois EPA since 2016 and is responsible for managing the Illinois EPA Bureau of Land’s materials management programs, RCRA and solid waste compliance programs, and state and federal reporting obligations. James is a member of the Environmental Council of the States Compliance Governance Team, a member of the ASTSWMO Sustainable Materials Management Task Force, a board member of the Land of Lincoln Chapter of SWANA, and a governmental liaison to the Illinois Recycling Association. Prior to becoming Section Manager, James served as legal counsel to the Illinois EPA, representing the Agency in a variety of land and water regulatory and enforcement matters. James has also worked for the Illinois Executive Inspector General and the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy. James obtained his law degree from the University of Kentucky and his undergraduate degree from the University of Cincinnati.
Jennifer Semrau, Waste Reduction and Diversion Coordinator, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Topic: Progress & Perspective: EPA Regional Input and EPA National Work – State Status WI DNR
Jennifer Semrau is the Waste Reduction and Diversion Coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Since 2016, Jennifer has lead the agency’s recycling and diversion related programs including implementation of the recycling law, municipal and MRF annual reports, data analysis, education/outreach and more. Prior to joining the DNR, Jennifer worked for 17 years as the Recycling Specialist for Winnebago County Solid Waste. In that capacity, she oversaw the County’s recycling programs for both curbside (single stream recycling, joint MRF operations) and non-curbside materials, household hazardous materials, pharmaceuticals, composting/yard waste, education and other assorted solid waste programs. Jennifer also served as President of the Board of Directors for the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin (AROW). Presently, Jennifer is on the Product Stewardship Institute Board of Directors, as Clerk, and Co-Chair of the AROW Product Stewardship Committee. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in Environmental Policy and Planning and was the recipient of the 2013 Christy Dixon Recycler of the Year Award.
Topic: Progress & Perspective: EPA Regional Input and EPA National Work – State Status MO EIERA
Kristin has managed the EIERA’s state wide recycling Market Development Program since 1999 and the EIERA’s Missouri Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund since 2005. Both programs strive to convert things considered as having no values into things that contribute to the economic main Street. Kristin Is past president of the Missouri Recycling Association, past president of the Missouri Waste Control Coalition, past chair of the Mid-America Council of Recycling Officials, and director of the Compost and Organics Association of Missouri. Her BS degree is from Western Illinois State University and her MS degree is from Missouri State University.
Matt Flechter, Recycling Market Development Specialist, MI DEQ,
Topic: Progress & Perspective: EPA Regional Input and EPA National Work – State Status MI DEQ
Matt Flechter, Recycling Market Development Specialist at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, for 18 years has assisted recycling programs by growing the Michigan supply chain so the valuable commodities that businesses need make their way from the curb to new products. He is a longtime member of the Michigan Recycling Coalition board of directors and the former chair of the Mid-America Council of Recycling Officials. Matt is a graduate of Michigan State University’s College of Lyman Briggs and is always surprised by the number of other Peace Corps volunteers in the recycling world.
