Biography

Matt Todd is a Senior Consultant for RRS. His 22 years of waste and recycling experience derive from direct public sector service and private sector business and consulting. Matt has guided businesses toward sustainability, identify opportunities for community recycling improvement, and assisted trade organizations in bringing attention to their causes. Matt provides a great blend of expertise, practical application, and project execution.

Recent Team Projects

  • Foam Recycling Coalition: RRS facilitates a grant program and outreach aimed at capital investments to increase foam polystyrene recycling.
  • Coalition to Advance Recovery in Tennessee: RRS performed a recycling gap analysis to identify opportunities to improve recovery in the Memphis, TN region.
  • Rutherford County, NC: RRS assisted with the revision of the county’s solid waste ordinance through review of state statutes and alignment with current county solid waste programs.
  • Milwaukee/Waukesha County, WI: RRS developed a multi-party, multi-option RFP process for a regional recycling system for processing and marketing of single-stream recyclables.

Affiliations/Memberships

  • The Scrap Exchange
  • George Watts Elementary School PTA

Topical Expertise

  • Solid Waste and Recycling Programs
  • End Markets
  • Circular Economy
  • Recycling Gap Analysis
  • Grant Programs

Recent Speaking Engagements/Publications

  • Georgia Recycling Coalition Annual Conference (Sep 2019): Recovery Revolution
  • SWANA Quad State Conference (Aug 2019):  Municipal Processing Contracts
  • Carolina Recycling Association Annual Conference (Mar 2019): That’s Debatable
  • Michigan Recycling Coalition Annual Conference (May 2018): Collaborating to Overcome Challenges
  • Carolina Recycling Coalition Annual Conference (Mar 2018): Tools Rule: Free Resources for Recycling Coordinators & Educators
  • Carolina Recycling Coalition Annual Conference (Mar 2018): Special Waste Cafe, Pick Two Special
  • Carolina Recycling Coalition Annual Conference (Mar 2018): Throw the Pro: Bring Your Toughest Questions
  • Michigan Recycling Coalition Fall into Recycling (Nov 2017): Components of a Drought-Resistant Recycling Program
  • Tennessee Recycling Coalition Workshop (Sep 2017): Best Practices for Adding New Materials
  • USCCF Circular Economy Summit (Jun 2017): Building New to the World and Transformative Partnerships – Beyond 34: Increasing Recovery and Recycling
  • Mississippi Recycling Coalition Conference (Nov 2016): Carton Recycling – It Really Can Be Done in Your Community
  • Virginia Recycling Association Conference (May 2016): Recycling Difficult Packaging
  • Mississippi Recycling Conference (Oct 2015): Material Recovery Facility Material Flow Study
  • Carolina Recycling Coalition Annual Conference (Mar 2015): The Connection Between Packaging, Sustainability and Recycling
  • Carolina Recycling Coalition Annual Conference (Mar 2015): Give in to Your Inner Nerd – Planning Program Metrics
  • Carolina Recycling Coalition Annual Conference (Mar 2015): Material Recovery Facilities Panel

Education/Certifications

  • Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, Virginia Tech

Connect

Email Matt

Thought Leadership

  • Foam is Not a Four-Letter Word

    Foam is Not a Four-Letter Word In the 1830s, German pharmacist Eduard Simon discovered polystyrene. Today, we see foam polystyrene everywhere – cups to hold hot coffee, to-go containers to take home leftovers from the restaurant, and plates for summertime picnic outings. Foam polystyrene has great insulating and cushioning properties due to the fact it […]

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  • Mind the Gap

    Mind the Gap One of the things that makes America great is the diversity across our communities.  On this topic, think about recycling for a second.  How do you recycle where you live?  Now think about your neighboring community, or a city you’ve visited on vacation.  How does recycling work there?  Chances are your programs […]

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  • Responses to Tierney’s Opinion

    Letter submitted to the New York Times The backlash against John Tierney’s misunderstanding of the economics of recycling has been swift. But his business case against using waste as a resource ignores why more and more businesses – from General Motors to Dow – are focused on sending zero waste to landfills. Are these companies […]

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