Identify: Rachel Wagoner
Earlier title: Director of CalRecycle
New title: Govt director for California at Round Motion Alliance

Permission granted by Rachel Wagoner
Rachel Wagoner, who stepped down as CalRecycle director in March, is now serving because the state lead for Round Motion Alliance, the industry-founded nonprofit producer duty group in control of getting California’s prolonged producer duty for packaging regulation off the bottom. CalRecycle named CAA as the only real PRO for its program in January.
Wagoner joined CalRecycle in 2020. SB 54, whose targets embrace recycling 65% of single-use plastic packaging and meals ware by 2032, handed in 2022. The goal is to lift $5 billion from registered producers over a decade.
CAA praised Wagoner’s statewide management expertise in an announcement Wednesday, saying she’s going to oversee growth and implementation of a program plan in California. This can contain collaborating with authorities stakeholders, producers and different {industry} companions “to realize SB 54’s bold recycling and waste discount targets.”
“I’m excited to be becoming a member of CAA at this pivotal second for recycling and waste discount in California,” Wagoner stated. “CAA and its founding members share California’s dedication to the profitable implementation of packaging prolonged producer duty.”
“It’s a nice privilege for me to work with this group and proceed to assist California lead in environmental innovation. I sit up for collaborating with CalRecycle and all the devoted organizations and people which might be working tirelessly to make Senator Allen’s SB 54 profitable,” Wagoner stated.
Wagoner was well-known within the waste and recycling {industry} earlier than becoming a member of CAA, on account of her function overseeing a number of key applications at CalRecycle. Wagoner has beforehand stated she thought-about collaboration with {industry} teams and advocates as “completely important” to bettering recycling methods.
CalRecycle has been led by Zoe Heller since Could.
It’s been a busy 12 months of hiring for CAA, which was based in 2022 by a bunch of main producers, together with Amazon, PepsiCo and Unilever. This 12 months it picked Jeff Fielkow, whose resume contains time at Tetra Pak and WM, as its CEO. It additionally added Useful resource Recycling Methods alum Juri Freeman as government director for Colorado and former 4R Sustainability marketing consultant Kim Holmes as government director for Oregon. CAA remains to be hiring for state-level and different positions.
Previous to her tenure at CalRecycle, Wagoner held key environmental roles in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration and within the state Senate. Since leaving CalRecycle, Wagoner has supplied legislative, regulatory and public coverage advising by her agency RMW Methods.
CalRecycle is scheduled to undertake rules for SB 54 subsequent 12 months.
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