Agenda

Note:  Session titles and names highlighted and are linked to pages that contain speaker/moderator profiles.

1:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Registration Open

1:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Exhibitor Setup

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Pre-Conference Workshop:

EPR, Capital, and Markets: The Forces Reshaping U.S. Recycling in 2026

Moderator: Mark Neitzey, Director of Sales, Van Dyk Recycling Solutions

Critical EPR Developments Shaping the U.S. Landscape: What You Need To Know

Jason Bergquist, CEO, RecyleMe - North America

Financing Circularity in a Challenging Climate: Innovative Sources of Capital for Circular Solutions

Ray Hugel, Director of Closed Loop Catalytic Capital & Private Credit, Closed Loop Partners

Recycling Markets Update

Angela Webb, Chief, Recycled Products & Marketing, Maryland Environmental Service

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Welcome Reception – Exhibit Hall

8:10 am – 7:00 pm   

Registration Open

8:10 am – 8:50 am

Continental Breakfast – Exhibit Hall

8:50 am – 10:00 am

Opening Keynote Session

Welcome:  Gene Jones, Executive Director, Southern Waste Information eXchange, Inc.

Moderator: Charmayne Watson, Account Manager, Greif Recycling

Beyond Simply the OCC Recycling Rate: An Exclusive First Look at Historical Ground-Truth Data

Myles Cohen, Board Member, VIPA USA

10:00 am – 10:30 am

Refreshment Break – Exhibit Hall

10:30 am –  12:00 pm

Session I:  

AI in Recycling: From Business Strategy to Processing Solutions

Moderator:  Gene Jones, Executive Director, Southern Waste Information eXchange, Inc.

Panelists:

Vincent Hunt, Founder & CEO, The Bureau of Creative Intelligence

Peter Lakanen, President, Platinum Web Development

Ting Zhang, Head of Business Development, Glacier

Raghav Mecheri, CEO, Visia

Daryl Arias, CEO & President, Nix Waste

David Marcouiller, Executive Vice President Sales Engineering, Machinex Technologies

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Lunch

 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Session II: 

The Future of Recycling: Technologies & Trends Shaping 2026 and Beyond

Moderator: DJ VanDeusen, President, Harris American

Recycling Equipment In 2026

Cameron Cecil, VP of Business Development, Recycling Equipment, Inc.

Battery Detection and Removal in Material Streams: A Multi-Sensor Approach for Enhanced Safety and Regulatory Compliance

Edel Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, STEINERT

Scaling Recycling: Challenges and Opportunities in MSW Processing

John Kelsey, Chief Commercial Officer, AMP

Vibratory Screening for Various Waste Streams

Bob Huffer, Director of Recycling, General Kinematics Corporation

3:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Refreshment Break – Exhibit Hall

3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

Session III: 

Innovations in Waste Conversion: Pyrolysis, Green Tech & Biomass Optimization

Moderator: Dave Robau, CEM, LEED AP, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Garbologist, National Energy USA

Pyrolysis as a Sustainable Solution for Agricultural Plastic Waste Management

Dr. Steve Wong, CEO, Fukutomi Recycling Ltd. and Lisa Puckett, Chief Compliance Officer, BayArea Compliance (BAC)

Discover New Revenue Streams Through Green Technologies

Steve Napolitan, CEO, WastAway

Enhancing Biomass Flowability for Entrained Flow Gasification: The Role of Densification, Torrefaction, and Blended Waste Processing

Dr. Jordan Klinger, Researcher, Idaho National Laboratory - BEA

Navigating Carbon Credits: A Path to an Additional Revenue Stream from Waste Biomass

Varsha Ramesh Walsh CEO, Offstream

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

ReMA PSI Chapter Meeting

(Coral Ballroom D)

5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Reception - Exhibit Hall

8:00 am –11:30 am

Registration Open

8:00 am – 8:30 am

Continental Breakfast – Exhibit Hall

8:30 am – 10:00 am

Session IV: 

Advancing Recycling: Innovations to Recover More, Waste Less

Moderator: Lynne M. Coe-Leavitt, Department Manager, Idaho National Laboratory

Recycling the Unrecyclable

Lennart Bendfeldt, Solutions Manager, eFACTOR3

Reducing Contamination in the Recycling Stream

Neal Yancey, Principle Engineer, Idaho National Laboratory - BEA

Developments in Sorting Film and Flexible Packaging at a MRF

Mark Neitzey, Director of Sales, Van Dyk Recycling Solutions

10:00 am - 10:30 am

Refreshment Break - Exhibit Hall

10:30 am - 11:30 am

Session V: 

Innovation & Compliance: Strategies for Problematic Materials and Emerging Policies

Moderator: Karen Moore, Environmental Administrator, Division of Waste Management, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

How To’s, Do’s and Don'ts for Controlling Odors and Emissions in Composting Facilities

Dan Collins, P.E., Organics Consultant, Sustainable Generation, LLC

Treading New Ground in Tire Policy

Stratton Kirton, Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Liberty Tire Recycling

11:00 am – 6:00 pm

Golf Outing

• 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Golfer Sign-in 
• 12:30 pm Shotgun Start

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Lunch On Your Own

12:30 pm - 5:00 pm 

Networking Session (On your own)

5:00 pm 

Adjournment

A separate registration fee of $157 is required to attend the RFT Summit.

To Register Click HERE

7:30 am - 8:00 am

Registration Open and Networking with Breakfast 

8:00 am - 8:15 am

Welcome and Opening

Session summary: Opening welcome, housekeeping, and association updates.

8:15 am - 9:15 am

Session #1 – Recycling Innovation & Operations

Session summary: Looking at the future of technology, automation, and

artificial intelligence in solid waste and recycling programs.

Speakers:

• Fred Cornell, AD REM - Technology Optimization for Electronics, Metal & Plastic Recycling
• Patrick J. Owens - SMM 2030: Redefining Waste as a Strategic Asset in the Era of Automation and Accountability
• Evan Williams, Cambridge Companies, Inc., Office of Sustainability - The Future of Trends Impacting Facility Design and Operations

9:15 am - 9:20 am

Session Transition 

9:20 am - 10:20 am

Session #2 – Advancing Solid Waste & Recycling: Regulatory Updates,

Systems Innovation, and Promoting Responsible Recycling

Session summary: Hear how solid waste, landfill, and recycling industries

are undergoing significant changes, as communities in Florida grow,

including a share on how a pilot program in Kansas City MO that tested

three recyclates in the road to show better performance and promoting

solid waste management solutions, and how Osceola County, Florida launched the Responsible Recycling Osceola program, to make recycling

meaningful, fun, interesting, visible, and community powered

Speakers:

• Ralph Demeo, Adams and Reese - Legal, Regulatory, & Policy Update on Solid Waste, Landfills, and Recycling in Florida
• Olivia English, LiveGreenUSA - Trash to Roads - A Systems Approach to Innovation
• Paul Conover and Nicole Enverga, Osceola County – Office of
• Sustainability - Advancing Solid Waste & Recycling: Regulatory Updates, Systems Innovation, and Promoting Responsible Recycling

10:25 am - 10:30 am

Session Transition 

10:30 am - 11:30 am 

Session #3 – Modern Composting in Action

Session summary: This session highlights how a County Organics Compost

Facility is advancing large-scale, how facilities are enhancing their ability

to recover organics from packaged food waste and divert material from

landfills, and a county program that empowers residents with composting

knowledge, promotes sustainable food practices, and creates a valuable

soil-building resource for the community.

Moderated by Levin Gaston, Gaston Tree Debris Recycling, Florida

Composting Council Chair

Speakers:

• Steven Birchfield, Maryland Environmental Service - Depack Attack
• Eva Maria Pabon, UF-IFAS Extension-Osceola County – A Collaborative Approach to Reducing Food Waste
• Dan Collins, Sustainable Generation - Covered Aerated Static Pile Composting: Reducing Organics Loading to, and GHG/VOC emissions from, Landfills

11:30 am - 11:35 am

Session Transition 

11:35 am  - 12:10 pm 

Session #4 – Legislative Mid-Session Update (virtual share)

Session Summary: Hear an update of the waste and recycling bills from

the 2026 Florida Legislative Session.

Speakers:

• Willie Puz, Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County, FL
• Recycle Florida Today, Inc. Legislative Committee

12:10 pm - 12:15 pm

Closing Remarks and Adjourn