Regional Action. National Impact.
Join local, regional and national leaders for an interactive day focused on practical circularity solutions, local government action, Extended Producer Responsibility and the partnerships needed to move the circular economy forward.
Hosted by the National Recycling Coalition in partnership with SWANA, CircularSTL, Race to Zero Waste, and MidAmerica Clean Future Alliance, and the Illinois Recycling Foundation.
Held immediately before RCon® Powered by SWANA, September 29–October 2 — Forum registrants receive a discount on RCon® registration.
Sessions beginning at 2:20 PM led by MidAmerica Clean Future Alliance.
Circularity is built through action.
The National Recycling Coalition, in partnership with SWANA, CircularSTL, Race to Zero Waste, and MidAmerica Clean Future Alliance, and the Illinois Recycling Foundation, will host the Circularity Forum on Monday, September 28, 2026, at America’s Center in St. Louis. The program brings together national, state and local leaders to explore practical circular economy solutions, emerging policies and regional initiatives.
The Forum takes place immediately before RCon®, powered by SWANA, September 29–October 2, giving attendees the opportunity to participate in both events and to register for RCon® at a discounted rate.
This is not designed as a day of back-to-back presentations. The Forum is built around conversation, practical examples, facilitated breakouts, audience participation and ideas that can be taken home and put to work.
Move Beyond the Conference Presentation.
The Circularity Forum is designed to get people from different parts of the system talking with one another about implementation, barriers, costs, policy and solutions.
Learn What Is Working
Hear practical examples from communities, researchers, recycling professionals and businesses already navigating circularity challenges.
Work Through the Details
Dig into contracts, ordinances, reporting requirements, EPR implementation, recovery barriers and other issues that determine whether good ideas actually work.
Help Shape What Comes Next
Bring your own experience into the conversation through facilitated breakouts, Q&A and candid discussion with leaders from across the field.
2026 Program
One Day. Multiple Perspectives.
The latest working agenda now includes the full morning program, featured speakers, exact session times and the detailed afternoon run of show. A small number of participant assignments remain subject to final confirmation.
Welcome & Opening
NRC President Teresa Bradley opens the Forum.
Keynote: “What Do I Do with This?”
Brooke Butler, Senior Managing Producer at Nine PBS, shares the “What Do I Do with This?” series exploring the lifecycle of everyday items and their environmental impact.
Circularity in St. Louis
A local panel featuring Dr. Jess Watson of earthday365, Lynne Scott of Principia High School and Caran Hanks of MACFA. Moderated by Magdalen Sparrow.
Bio Break
A short program break.
Passback Lightning Talk
Magdalen Sparrow highlights how the St. Louis nonprofit Passback is building a circular economy for sports gear so more kids can play.
STL Regional Circularity Spotlight
Cassie Hage, Assistant Director of Sustainability at Washington University in St. Louis, shares work toward a campus-wide Circularity Hub.
Circularity in Academia
Webster University students present waste issues from their home communities, followed by a faculty panel with Katy Mike of Webster University and Betsy Ruckman of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Moderated by Delaney Demro.
Keynote: Circularity in Theatre
Christina Rios of Riverside Theatre Project discusses the organization’s pledge to reduce waste by more than 60% and make reuse part of its culture.
Networking Lunch
Continue the conversation with speakers, partners and attendees while building new regional and national connections.
Afternoon Welcome
Teresa Bradley and Jennifer Wendt welcome participants back.
Featured EPR Perspective
Heidi Sanborn provides a broad look at Extended Producer Responsibility, with the discussion intentionally focused on EPR generally rather than packaging alone.
Local Levers for Change
A 25-minute panel, 30 minutes of facilitated breakouts and a 15-minute report-out focused on operational, contractual and ordinance-based actions communities can take now.
Education Session: Packaging Policy EPR + DRS
A practical overview of packaging EPR and deposit return systems, including local-government economics, Colorado implementation, state policy differences, federal possibilities and open Q&A.
Networking Reception
Drinks, appetizers and informal relationship-building hosted by MidAmerica Clean Future Alliance.
Heidi Sanborn
A broad discussion of Extended Producer Responsibility — not limited to packaging — connecting product stewardship, recycling policy and the role communities can play in building stronger circular systems.
Local Levers for Change
A panel and facilitated breakout session with local officials, MRF operators, haulers, contract specialists and policy experts focused on actions communities can take independently of state or federal policy.
Run of Show
- 2:20–2:45 PM: Panel discussion on local operational, contractual and ordinance-based actions.
- 2:45–3:15 PM: Breakout — recycling reporting requirements, led by Todd Rullo.
- 2:45–3:15 PM: Breakout — model solid waste/recycling contracts, led by Cody Marshall.
- 2:45–3:15 PM: Breakout — model reuse policies, practices and ordinances, led by Upstream (to be confirmed).
- 2:45–3:15 PM: Breakout — model circularity policies, practices and ordinances, led by Jennifer Wendt or Jenna Jambeck.
- 3:15–3:30 PM: Breakout report-out and discussion of potential solutions, led by Jennifer Wendt.
From Discussion to Action
The session is built to identify practical steps communities can take now — including better recycling reporting, stronger service contracts, reuse policy and local circularity practices.
The format moves quickly from expert perspectives into facilitated small-group discussion, then brings the ideas back to the full room.
Education Session: Packaging Policy EPR + DRS
A clear, accessible overview of Extended Producer Responsibility and deposit return systems — how these policies shift costs upstream, stabilize markets and can strengthen local recycling systems.
Run of Show
- 3:30–3:35 PM: Session overview led by Jennifer Wendt; Jenna Jambeck participation remains to be confirmed.
- 3:35–3:45 PM: What EPR means to local government — Bob Gallagher, Mayor of Bettendorf, Iowa.
- 3:45–3:55 PM: What implementation looks like in practice — Todd Rullo, Thornton, Colorado.
- 3:55–4:05 PM: How state EPR policies differ — Cody Marshall, The Recycling Partnership.
- 4:05–4:15 PM: What a federal EPR policy could look like — Jeff Bezzo, SC Johnson.
- 4:15–4:45 PM: Open Q&A and participant discussion led by Jennifer Wendt.
What the Session Will Cover
The discussion connects policy design to the practical realities faced by local governments and brands: municipal economics, implementation, differences among state programs and the potential role of a federal framework.
The final 30 minutes are reserved for participant questions, input and open dialogue.
Talk About the Good, the Bad & the Ugly.
Progress requires more than polished success stories. The Circularity Forum is designed to create space for honest discussion about what works, what does not, where implementation gets difficult and what communities, businesses and recycling professionals need from one another to move forward.
Mid-America Circularity Networking Reception
After the formal program, continue the conversation with Forum participants, partners and regional leaders over drinks and appetizers.
The reception creates space for informal relationship-building and continued discussion after the day’s local-action and EPR sessions.
Hosted by MidAmerica Clean Future Alliance.
Bring Every Part of the System to the Table.
The Forum is designed for people who want to move beyond broad circularity goals and work through the practical decisions needed to make those goals real.
Join Us in St. Louis.
Reserve your place for an interactive day connecting practical local action, real-world implementation and the national circularity conversation. Registering for the Forum also unlocks a discounted rate on RCon® Powered by SWANA, September 29–October 2.
- Full Circularity Forum program
- Expert panels and facilitated discussion
- Interactive breakout sessions
- Networking lunch
- Access to speakers and participants
- Eligibility for the discounted RCon® rate
Local & Community Participation
Forum organizers are working to make it possible for important local government, community and regional voices to participate in the conversation.
Special participation and invited-attendee arrangements are still being finalized.
Additional information will be posted as those options are confirmed.
Register for the Forum and Save on RCon®
The Circularity Forum takes place Monday, September 28 at America’s Center in St. Louis, immediately before RCon® Powered by SWANA, September 29–October 2. Circularity Forum registrants are eligible for discounted RCon® registration. RCon® registration is handled separately by SWANA.
Register for the Circularity Forum
Use the Circularity Forum registration link to reserve your place and access the special RCon® registration benefit.
REGISTER FOR THE FORUMLog in or create a SWANA profile
RCon® registration runs through SWANA. Sign in to your existing SWANA profile or create a new one.
GO TO SWANA LOGINRegister for RCon®
Register for RCon® 2026 through SWANA. Registrants will receive the codes for their RCon® discount registration after they register for the Circularity Forum.
REGISTER FOR RCon®Registrants will receive the codes for their RCon® discount registration after they register for the Circularity Forum.
Circularity Forum 2026
September 28, 2026
St. Louis, Missouri
America’s Center
Circularity Through Collaboration
The Circularity Forum is hosted by the National Recycling Coalition in partnership with SWANA, CircularSTL, Race to Zero Waste, and MidAmerica Clean Future Alliance, and the Illinois Recycling Foundation, alongside organizations working locally, regionally and nationally to strengthen recycling, circularity and sustainable materials management.
Be Part of the Conversation.
The transition to a circular economy will not be built by one organization, one industry, one community or one policy. It will be built by people willing to work across those boundaries, share what they know and tackle the difficult questions together.
