WHO WE ARE
Zero Waste Humboldt is the only organization on California’s northwest corner that specializes solely on waste reduction solutions. Inspired by the Redwood Coast’s natural beauty and cultures, we educate the public, provide technical assistance and training, and advocate for sustainable materials management and Zero Waste policies. Our sense of urgency to conserve natural resources and fight climate change drives Zero Waste Humboldt to target all single use and wasteful products and packaging with proactive waste prevention strategies. Our public education campaigns create behavior change — not “green marketing happy talk.”
VISION FOR THE FUTURE
ZWH’s mission, services and community projects stem from our vision of a desired future with 0 waste, sustainable materials management, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Waste prevention will be accepted as the most effective method to protect our scenic rivers, Humboldt Bay, Pacific coastline, ranchlands, forests and Redwood Coast communities from plastic pollution, litter and roadside dumping.
Our residents, businesses, government agencies, community groups and schools will adopt Zero Waste values and habits. Systems will be implemented and infrastructure installed to direct discarded materials to second uses. Waste generation will decrease so much that the large trucks that haul Humboldt County’s garbage to distant landfills will no longer be needed. Humboldt County’s sustainable materials management practices will result in measurable and significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We will achieve the Circular Economy in Humboldt with many of our special niche manufacturers using recycled feedstock materials to make their products.
THE ZWH MISSION
ZWH adopted the Zero Waste International Alliance 10 Zero Waste Business Principles as the foundation for its work in 2012. Our top priority is to implement proactive waste prevention strategies to reduce waste generated in the first place, and our work with materials reuse, recycling and composting methods follows. Recycling-based economic development in Humboldt is essential to our mission; helping local businesses to integrate recyclable materials into their production processes creates the Circular Economy.
SERVICES
Central to our work are 3 core services: (1)public education for all segments of the local population, (2)advocacy and policy development with local and state government, and (3)technical assistance consulting and training for businesses, schools and government agencies to reduce the proliferation of single-use products and packaging – especially plastics. Our services benefit the community in the following ways:
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Natural resource conservation and achieving the highest & best use for discarded materials.
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Business and local economic development.
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Achieving compliance with new state and federal laws
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Grassroots organizing, project management and leadership development
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Preparing local youth with Zero Waste training to enter the workforce
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Examples and models for how to implement Zero Waste practices
ORGANIZATION
ZWH introduced the Zero Waste movement to Humboldt County in 2011, and incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization in 2014, to provide contemporary sustainable materials management and Zero Waste practices.
ZWH is governed by a board of directors who reside in different Humboldt communities and bring experience in the Zero Waste method, public education aimed at behavioral change, developing collaborative partnerships, advocacy, different business sectors, and nonprofit management. An Advisory Board provide both pro bono expertise and project feedback; and information on community resources and partners.
ZWH accomplishes much of its work with a small staff, a growing network of partner organizations, more than 50 regular trained volunteers, and as a work site for Humboldt State University student internships, work-study employees, community service-learning projects, senior capstone projects, and graduate student research.
ZWH honors Humboldt businesses and community members who are exemplary models of successful commitment to Zero Waste in an annual Zero Heroes Night celebration.
To learn about Zero Waste Humboldt’s services, please read SERVICES.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kelly Fortner, President, with degrees from HSU in Geology and Religious Studies, Kelly has a strong understanding of local geology and associated hazards as well as how religion plays a role in environmental concerns. She is the Student Support Coordinator in HSU’s Center for Community-based Learning, where she supports students’ academic internships, service-learning, and career preparedness. Kelly lives in McKinleyville, and is a graduate student in HSU’s Environment & Community Graduate Program. She researched U.S. cities’ plastic bag ordinances, the potential for a regional refillable beverage bottle system; and hosted the 2020 ZWH Movie Night Series.
Krista Miller, Vice-President, is a life-long resident of Humboldt County. She has been a teacher in local schools, and active in the League of Women Voters, the Cooper Gulch Common Grounds, and the City of Eureka working group. She joined ZWH to further its mission and overcome the “consumptive disease” that has a grip on our daily lives. Krista has a personal passion for salvage and reuse of building and construction materials, urban farming and canning.
Sophie Jones, Secretary, originally hails from Boise, Idaho but now calls Humboldt home. She is a local real estate agent and serves on several association boards that assist with fundraising and education. She previously volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters and Keep Eureka Beautiful, among other local nonprofits. Sophie is passionate about our local community, the outdoors, and loves being outside in her free time. She joined ZWH to decrease her environmental impact and encourage others to do the same.
Kate Lancaster, Treasurer, Ph.D., CPA, CPD, ISSP-SA. Kate recently retired as an associate professor from Humboldt State University, School of Business where she taught sustainable business and accounting at the undergraduate and graduate level. She worked with students to help numerous businesses explore and measure their sustainability (environmental, social, and economic) footprint. Kate has served as a North Coast Cooperative board member and was actively involved in numerous HSU-related sustainability endeavors. She was a presenter in the 2021 ZW Business Webinar Series and developed the selection criteria for our annual Zero Heroes honorees. An Arcata resident, Kate and her husband incorporate permaculture principles as stewards of their urban farm.
Ben Winker brings a variety of practical nonprofit management experience to the ZWH board. He is the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program Manager for Area 1 Agency on Aging and serves on the McKinleyville Recreation Committee. Ben is an enthusiastic recycler who worked for several years at Arcata Community Recycling Center. He enjoys gardening at his home in McKinleyville, and river rafting and whitewater kayaking.
Layla Richardson has shared her passion for environmental sustainability with her friends and family for years, and is pleased to now become active at the community level through ZWH. She is our new ZWH Project Manager. A Fortuna resident, she is an Admin and First 5 Play Group Leader at the Gene Lucas Community Center, active in the HSU Alumni Association, and long-time active member of Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority (CALPOLYHUM).
Michael Deakin runs a reusable building materials business in Eureka. He was an Educational Program Supervisor at Blue Ox, is a member of the Humboldt Juggling Festival, and has a special interest in educating the community about the environmental importance of materials reuse and how to do it.
Wendy White recently moved here from the Los Angeles area with her family. A former Special Education Program Administrator, she now concentrates her creative energy in reuse art. She brings her personal interest in materials reuse and experience in event planning to ZWH leadership.
STAFF AND CONSULTANTS
Amy Whitlatch is the owner of Whitlatch Bookkeeping Service. Amy specializes in on-line QuickBooks bookkeeping for small businesses and nonprofits. ZWH board of directors contracts with Amy for its financial recordkeeping, nonprofit reporting, and full payroll services.
Shelly Reider worked for over 20 years for the City of Millbrae in the Bay Area creating, implementing, and managing a variety of environmental programs, including for waste prevention and recycling, composting, water conservation, water pollution prevention, and climate protection programs. Shelly started in the resource recovery field in the mid 1980’s by starting San Francisco State University’s recycling program as a student there, which is still running to this day. She was hired right out of college by the City and County of San Francisco implementing a variety of recycling programs. After four years there, Shelly was hired by Millbrae in response to AB 939, the first waste management law requiring cities and counties to implement waste prevention and recycling programs. Shelly and her husband moved here a little over a year ago from Pacifica.
Lisa Enge is ZWH’s Arcata Business Packaging Reuse Coordinator. Lisa began spearheading this pilot project to help Arcata’s downtown businesses just before the coronavirus. It will resume when business operations are back to normal. The project will reduce packaging waste with an on-line packaging exchange information service.
ADVISORY BOARD
