2013 Summit Agenda

For conference attendees - Relax in the Exhibit Hall with the CAFR Board of Directors and staff, sponsors, exhibitors and local dignitaries.

Say the word -

Because healthcare facilities frequently are the largest organizations in many communities, reducing the amount of waste that is diverted for beneficial use can have a significant and measurable impact. The benefits of a successful healthcare recycling program can be wide-ranging, providing a means to reduce operational costs, increase worker safety, enhance community relations and, on some occasions, generate revenue.

Some of the waste, such as pharmaceuticals and hazardous materials, must be disposed of permanently, but much of the material, if properly handled, is completely recyclable. Most facilities are not set up to separate and handle these materials properly. Recognizing the need to establish best practices and maintain constant oversight is key to a successful program.

As a growing number of event organizers and individuals move towards producing zero waste events, planners are confronted with a wide choice of serviceware bearing different numbers, symbols, and certifications. Key essentials to the success of -

Getting to Zero Waste goes beyond recycling - it's a psychological approach that first seeks to prevent or eliminate waste wherever possible, and then manages discards through reuse and recycling. Attempting to eliminate waste is an ambitious goal, but there are actions everyone in a community can take to help achieve Zero Waste. Panelists will share their challenges working in or studying conservative and rural areas and offer lessons on how to build infrastructure, educate people, earn buy-in, find enthusiastic volunteers, and collect and transport materials. Panelists present best practices from case studies and illustrate operational tradeoffs that will help attendees learn about innovative programs around the country and identify which designs might best suit their situations.

View list of exhibitors

The High Country Conservation Center, a community nonprofit, partnered with towns in Summit County to create programs to encourage business sustainability practices. Frisco's Clean Tracks Program, Silverthorne's Energy Smart Business Program, and Breckenridge's Sustainable Breck Business program have enrolled almost 50 businesses in the program in the past two years. Businesses receive free energy and sustainability assessments, small rebates and marketing recognition through participating in the program.

As people are increasingly inundated with advertising messages, it becomes a challenge to reach each person with recycling information. To engage more of our community, recycling outreach efforts need to focus on two areas: the "operational" elements of "how, where and what to recycle" along with the "promotional" elements related to "why recycle." Using word-of-mouth marketing, many recycling efforts aim to balance the "operational" vs. "promotional" outreach strategies in order to improve recycling habits.

Panelists share their solutions to manage hard to recycle items like restaurant grease, metal, paint, bulbs, Styrofoam peanuts, and electronics. Hear about how used cooking oil is upcycled into soaps and other bath and body products. This session covers interesting and innovative programs from around the country including pricing incentives, mandates, processing, partnerships and technologies.

Let's face it - having to lead public meetings that debate highly-charged, change-the-status-quo recycling issues is about as high on your top-ten list as getting a root canal.  But what if there's a way to move away from polarizing and adversarial confrontations? To reduce the emotion, change the us-versus-them focus and actually get to a win-win outcome? Join us to learn about a new - and surprisingly effective - way to tackle PAYT (or any other controversial issue) in a public forum. This session will include "real" actors who role-play their way through a controversial meeting and provide both how-not-to and how-to training tips.

Items intended for one-time use, such as disposable bags, are pervasive in today's society. Several towns and cities in Colorado are taking steps to eliminate them from the waste stream and address their environmental impacts, with varying levels of political success. If you are wondering how others have tackled this issue and what you can do to reduce single-use items in your community, join representatives from Aspen, Boulder, and Fort Collins to hear their stories and lessons learned.

The session is structured with one "topic expert" at a different round table spread throughout in the room. This allows participants to interact with the experts one-on-one for a set period of time. Each attendee is able to talk with the expert for 10 mins and then when a buzzer goes off, they move to the next "topic expert." Attendees will be able to interact with experts from various industries including: Certification Process, Colorado Department of Health and Environment, Grant Writing, Legislation, Markets Development, Print Media, and Industry Law.

This session will guide you through paint product stewardship legislation in a best practices study from a dozen states across the nation. Learn from Portland Metro's perspective on Oregon's paint product stewardship program since its inception two years ago. Take an in-depth look at Colorado Product Stewardship Council's 2012 survey of Colorado paint collection programs. And an explanation of how voluntary extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs help your community protects the environment and save money.

View list of exhibitors

How do we educate and inspire our future leaders to embrace environmental stewardship? The Keystone Science School (KSS) is a pioneer in fostering engagement and action in Colorado youth. KSS hosts K-12 students from around the state, teaching scientific principles and leadership skills to young people, teachers, and community members through hands-on field experiences. Come see student-powered environmental stewardship meshed with high quality scientific investigation. The Science School's 25-acre campus features historic buildings, onsite solar energy demonstrations, along with easy access to the mountain environment for outdoor education.

Cost: $10

Is it possible to maximize landfill diversion while running an economically-sound landfill operation? Summit County is working towards this goal. The Summit County Resource Allocation Park (SCRAP) features the County's Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), a commercial composting operation, a household hazardous waste and electronics collection program, and the area's landfill. Summit County serves as a model for diversion within the state. This tour will feature the MRF and commercial composting operations, along with a discussion of how Summit County is working towards economic viability while increasing landfill diversion. Cost: $10

How do we manage our forests in the midst of natural events largely out of human control? Summit County's forests have been ravaged by a pine beetle epidemic in the past several years, killing more than 90% of mature lodgepole pines. This tour will be led by the U.S. Forest Service and Keystone's environmental manager, exploring the causes of the beetle infestation and how the Forest Service and the ski areas have partnered to mitigate the effects. This will be a walking tour throughout the base of the ski area to view affected forests and discuss several of Keystone Resort's environmental initiatives. Cost: $10

How do small and medium-sized businesses embrace sustainability efforts that don't break the bank and ultimately increase revenue? Breckenridge Grand Vacations has achieved impressive results through visionary leadership and staff involvement. Breckenridge Grand Vacations (BGV) serves as the developer, owner and operator of three resorts in Breckenridge. BGV's local owners empower employees to find innovative ways to save energy, reduce waste and increase sustainability across all areas of the company. BGV also participates in the Town of Breckenridge's SustainableBreck Business Program, which provides them with additional tools and support to increase their sustainability. The tour will feature BGV's environmental initiatives and discuss how they've successfully created an employee culture of sustainability. Cost: $10

Can french fry grease be turned into eco-friendly soap and biodiesel within a mountain community setting? The Summit Greasecycling Tour will show the process of a community-scaled closed loop upcycling business that collects used cooking oil and upcycles (manufactures) it into various products (soap, biodiesel, industrial cleaners, & lubricants).

Enjoy an evening of fun, food, entertainment, and networking at Wolf Rock Steakhouse in Keystone. Consider this a must-participate opportunity. All proceeds directly fund CAFR programs. The evening includes dinner and refreshments. Entertainment provided by High 5. Cost: $50 per person

At 9:45 pm on Friday evening, May 4, 2007, Greensburg, Kansas was obliterated by a 1.7 miles wide EF5 tornado. The town's infrastructure and ninety-five percent of all the homes and other buildings were completely destroyed. The townspeople, made it clear that their intention was to rebuild Greensburg.

In 2008, Mayor Bob Dixson, took office and has been the leader in the recovery of Greensburg. His cornerstone for rebuilding the city of Greensburg was to focus on best recycling practices, sustainable buildings and renewable energy.

Now, six years later, his efforts have resulted in the most LEED platinum buildings per capita in the world.

Join us for this one-time only series of exclusive interviews where we learn the secrets behind the capitol and how you can really make a difference / get the results you want. Get the -

Recycling and composting efforts are working, but what are we to do with the thousands of tons of mixed-waste residual -

Currently, 25 states have e-waste programs in the U.S. Twenty-four of those states are producer responsibility programs while California is the only state to have adopted an advanced recovery fee program. ERI will discuss the different types of e-waste legislation that exist within the U.S. and how those laws have impacted the collection of electronics within those states. ERI will also discuss the importance of selecting a responsible recycler to partner with for any electronics recycling initiative including address the two-certification programs, e-Stewards and R2 that exist for the industry.

View list of exhibitors

Each year, CAFR offers scholarships to university students to attend the Summit for Recycling. This year we have asked them to share their perspective on the steps it will take to achieve the next 30%.

Panelists share award-winning best practices on rebuilding greener and stronger communities following a natural disaster. Case studies include the Greensburg, Kansas "Greentown" and lessons from the Waldo Canyon Fire. Experts provide information on creating a statewide recovery plan focusing on how Colorado supports local communities before, during and after disaster events.

Does your online outreach create such an effect that people are compelled to want to know how they can be a part of it? Determine the steps needed to powerfully communicate your vision. Learn from Google veteran Jon Ray in this fast-paced interactive workshop that will help you untangle the web. Learn how to capitalize on the world's largest go-to search engines including Google, Facebook, Youtube and LinkedIn. Get your organization to the top of search engines by creating content that captures the attention of your target audience. Bring a list of your organization's specific online challenges, Jon's workshops always allow ample time for attendee Q & A.

View list of exhibitors