From campus composting upgrades and airport glass loops to a 275-community education campaign and a tribal program that has recycled more than 360 tons since 2015, this year’s National Recycling Coalition awards point to the same conclusion: circularity is already being built, place by place.
On August 6, 2026, during the 35th National Recycling Congress, NRC honored sixteen individuals, organizations, and communities. Christine Kiourtsis and Mehreen Chowdhury hosted the virtual ceremony. Honorees came from nine states. Even the awards themselves reflected the work — pieces crafted from upcycled circuit boards by TechWears.
“These awardees aren’t just maintaining recycling programs, they’re reinventing them,” said NRC Board Chair Jay Bassett. “They’re turning food waste into renewable energy, building equitable, community-led systems, and proving that circularity isn’t just a goal, it’s the future of sustainable development.”
“The quality of nominations this year was truly exceptional,” said NRC Board President Teresa Bradley. “We saw an incredible range of creative, practical, and replicable solutions that are transforming recycling and circularity nationwide.”
Founded in 1978 and approaching its 50th anniversary, NRC is a coalition of 22 affiliated organizations representing more than 9,000 members across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. The Coalition’s vision is a society where everyone can participate in, and benefit from, high-performing sustainable materials management systems.
As the ceremony slide put it: awards celebrate the destination, but honor belongs to the journey no one saw.
Trailblazers in Individual Leadership
Lifetime Achievement in Recycling — Nina Butler, Stina Inc.
The honor: An individual with a lifetime of leadership and dedication to the field.
The work: For more than a decade, Butler has produced the annual post-consumer plastic recycling study used by governments, industry, and NGOs. When national plastics figures are contested or incomplete, that dataset has remained one of the sector’s most cited roadmaps for what is actually recovered.
Recycler of the Year — Ayodeji Oluwalana, Penn State University
The honor: Outstanding individual leadership over the past year.
The work: Oluwalana leads one of the nation’s largest campus programs, serving about 85,000 students, and secured $2.3 million to upgrade composting infrastructure. The campus is treated as a working system — signage, contamination, organics, and student habit — not a brochure.
“I see recycling as more than diverting waste or materials from the landfill,” Oluwalana said. “It’s about building resilient communities, advancing the circular economy, and leaving a better world for those that come after us.”
Bill Heenan Emerging Leader Award — Juan Martinez, Salt Lake City International Airport
The honor: An outstanding professional under 35 who has emerged as a leader in the field.
The work: Martinez built an airport glass recycling loop that has diverted 147.7 tons since 2024. High-volume public infrastructure is often where recycling goes to get complicated. His program shows a closed loop can still work at that scale.
Equity, Diversity, and Community Impact
Outstanding Diversity Leadership — MaryEllen Etienne, Women in Circularity
The honor: A company or individual showing leadership and success as a model in recycling and diversion.
The work: Etienne, an NRC board member, launched Women in Circularity in 2021 to spotlight women accelerating the circular economy across companies, government, campuses, and community organizations. The platform makes leadership visible — and makes the field look like the people already doing the work.
Outstanding Minority Leadership — Christopher Dipnarine, 4MyCity
The honor: A business or individual showing leadership and success as a model in recycling and diversion.
The work: Dipnarine’s Baltimore-based 4MyCity built a “Zero Waste to Zero Hunger” model that links food recovery, composting, workforce development, and hunger relief, with staff hired from the community it serves. Surplus food is treated as both an environmental problem and a human one.
Tribal Recycling Award — Nez Perce Tribe Solid Waste & Recycling Program
The honor: Outstanding community waste diversion.
The work: Since 2015 the program has recycled more than 360 tons — about 720,000 pounds — while expanding office and community collection and strengthening long-term planning for the Tribe and neighboring communities.
Community, Civic, and Market Leadership
Outstanding Community or Government Program — Keep Allen Beautiful (Andrea Smith)
The honor: A public program showing innovation, progress, and success as a model for others.
The work: Keep Allen Beautiful, accepted by Andrea Smith, was recognized for year-round engagement that reaches tens of thousands of residents through education, event diversion, and volunteer-powered civic work in Allen, Texas.
Outstanding Market Development — City of Allen / Keep Allen Beautiful (Alicia Gray)
The honor: A program showing innovation, progress, and success as a model for others.
The work: The City of Allen, accepted by Alicia Gray, was recognized for connecting public celebration to circular practice — including engagement with about 60,000 people at the city’s USA Celebration and the introduction of reusable cups that keep materials in use.
Outstanding Elected Leader — Honorable Mayor Curtis Cornelius, Little Elm, Texas
The honor: An elected official with outstanding programs, leadership, or impact in the field.
The work: Mayor Cornelius was recognized for making recycling visible in community leadership — treating materials management as civic infrastructure, not a back-of-house chore.
Innovation and Institutional Leadership
Outstanding Recycling Innovation — Christine Kiourtsis, Renewable Recycling, Inc.
The honor: An outstanding innovation in recycling, organics, or reduction that moves the industry forward.
The work: Renewable Recycling, Inc., led by President Christine Kiourtsis, was honored for turning difficult-to-manage materials into valuable resources through an expanding regional network. Innovation here is a working market for materials others leave behind.
The Fred Schmitt Award for Outstanding Corporate Leadership — Community Waste Disposal
The honor: A company showing leadership, innovation, and success as a model in recycling and diversion.
The work: Community Waste Disposal (CWD) was recognized as a corporate partner advancing recycling well beyond basic compliance — the kind of operator that makes community programs work on collection day.
The Tim McClure Award for Outstanding Corporate Leadership — City of Greenville, South Carolina
The honor: Leadership, innovation, and success as a model in recycling and diversion.
The work: Greenville was honored for a replicable municipal model that embeds recycling, diversion, infrastructure, outreach, and data. The point of the award is not a single project. It is a system other cities can copy.
Education, Outreach, and Grassroots Practice
The Beth Brown Boettner Award for Outstanding Public Education/Outreach — Chicago Regional Recycling Education & Outreach Partners (J. Mathey)
The honor: A program showing innovation, leadership, effectiveness, and creativity in diversion messaging.
The work: The Chicago Regional Recycling Education & Outreach Partners launched “Feed the Cart,” described during the ceremony as the largest recycling education campaign in Illinois history. The coalition includes the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and partners such as SWALCO, SWANCC, and county agencies across Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will — 275 local governments under one brand and one message.
Supported by a $2 million U.S. EPA Recycling Education and Outreach grant, the campaign was built to raise regional recycling tonnage 15% by 2030 and restore public confidence in the cart. Cart-tagging cut contamination from 60% to 27% in Waukegan and from 55% to 35% in Zion. Loop, the googly-eyed cart mascot, made the rules memorable.
Outstanding Public Education/Outreach Program — Zero Waste Strategies, Inc. (Stacy Savage)
The honor: An exceptional program in recycling, or in connecting higher education and the industry.
The work: For more than two decades, Savage has translated waste issues into campaigns, training, audits, and TRUE Zero Waste practice for businesses and communities. The work sits where policy, operations, and public communication have to meet.
Outstanding K-12 School Program — Tri-County Recycling Partnership, “The ABC’s of Recycling Right”
The honor: A school program showing engagement, innovation, progress, and success as a model for others.
The work: Outagamie County Recycling & Solid Waste and the Tri-County Recycling Partnership — Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago Counties in Wisconsin — were recognized for “The ABC’s of Recycling Right.” The program put clear recycling guidance into classrooms, including hundreds of free books for students, so the habit can travel home.
Outstanding Not-for-Profit Business Leadership — Recycle Utah
The honor: A nonprofit showing leadership, innovation, and success as a model in recycling and diversion.
The work: Now in its 35th year serving Park City and Summit County, Recycle Utah was recognized as a community hub for drop-off, reuse, education, and volunteer power — and for planning a new multi-acre sustainability campus near Silver Summit.
2026 Award Recipients at a Glance
Award | Recipient | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
Lifetime Achievement in Recycling | Nina Butler, Stina Inc. | Post-consumer plastics data relied on by government, industry, and NGOs |
Recycler of the Year | Ayodeji Oluwalana, Penn State University | Campus program serving ~85,000 students; $2.3M composting upgrade |
Bill Heenan Emerging Leader Award | Juan Martinez, Salt Lake City International Airport | Airport glass loop diverting 147.7 tons since 2024 |
Beth Brown Boettner Award | Chicago Regional REO Partners (J. Mathey) | Feed the Cart regional education campaign |
Fred Schmitt Award for Corporate Leadership | Community Waste Disposal (CWD) | Private-sector leadership beyond compliance |
Outstanding Recycling Innovation | Christine Kiourtsis, Renewable Recycling, Inc. | Hard-to-manage materials recovered through a regional network |
Outstanding K-12 School Program | Tri-County Recycling Partnership (WI) | The ABC's of Recycling Right |
Outstanding Not-for-Profit Business Leadership | Recycle Utah | 35 years of community diversion; new sustainability hub |
Outstanding Community or Government Program | Keep Allen Beautiful (Andrea Smith) | Civic engagement and event diversion in Allen, Texas |
Outstanding Market Development | City of Allen / Keep Allen Beautiful (Alicia Gray) | Large-event reuse and local circular practice |
Outstanding Diversity Leadership | MaryEllen Etienne, Women in Circularity | Platform elevating women in the circular economy |
Outstanding Minority Leadership | Christopher Dipnarine, 4MyCity | Zero Waste to Zero Hunger in Baltimore |
Outstanding Public Education/Outreach Program | Stacy Savage, Zero Waste Strategies, Inc. | Campaigns, training, and TRUE Zero Waste practice |
Outstanding Elected Leader | Mayor Curtis Cornelius, Little Elm, TX | Making recycling visible in civic leadership |
Tribal Recycling Award | Nez Perce Tribe Solid Waste & Recycling Program | 360+ tons recycled since 2015 |
Tim McClure Award for Corporate Leadership | City of Greenville, SC | Replicable municipal recycling and diversion model |
Thank You to Nominees and Sponsors
NRC thanks every nominee as well as every recipient. The awards only work because communities take the time to put one another forward.
The Coalition also thanks the 2026 award sponsors whose support made the ceremony possible, including CRRA, PROP, NETZERO360, Campus Race to Zero Waste, G2 Zero, Pennsylvania Resources Council, Pearl Accounting Services, Zero Waste San Diego, The Battery Network, DonifyUSA, and Stephen M. Bantillo.
About the National Recycling Coalition
The National Recycling Coalition is a member-based network founded in 1978. NRC serves as an umbrella for recycling organizations across North America and works to provide leadership, connectivity, and support so that recycling remains a powerful economic and environmental practice. Together, we are powerful.
Learn more at nrcrecycles.org. To support NRC programs, awards, and scholarships, visit Get Involved on the NRC website.
