Presented by the Sustainable Environment Institute of LACCD (SEI) in partnership with the Professional Development College (PDC) of the District Academic Senate (DAS)
With funding from the Climate Center.

SEI Fall Speaker Series Welcomes

Zero Waste, Who’s Garbage is It

On Zoom

Zoom / Online

Elizabeth Balkan

Elizabeth Balkan

Independent Consultant

Ms. Elizabeth Balkan is an independent consultant with extensive expertise on zero waste policy and implementation. She most recently concluded an EPR implementation project for the state of California. Previously, Balkan served as Executive Director of Reloop North America, where she built a circularity-focused coalition of leading decision-makers across the value chain as well as the most influential government and non-profit stakeholders, delivering tangible, data-oriented policy proposals. Before that, she led the food waste program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, growing the Food Matters initiative to comprise more than 40 cities nationwide. Balkan worked in NYC government for more than six years and developed and oversaw implementation of New York City’s zero waste plan, first in the Mayor’s Office and then in her role as Director of Policy at the NYC Department of Sanitation. She served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Sanitation Foundation, DSNY’s official non-profit organization.

The SEI Fall Speaker Series, Professional Development College of DAS, and the Climate Center, welcome:

Ms. Elizabeth Balkan, an independent consultant with extensive expertise on zero waste policy and implementation.

Watch Here

Please contact sei@laccd.edu with any questions.. 

About the Seminar

This seminar explores the intersection of environmental equity, consumer culture, and producer responsibility within our waste and consumption systems. It will examine how the growing crisis of disposable packaging disproportionately impacts marginalized communities and unpack the various interventions being considered to address the three-part assault—impacts to biodiversity, human health, and the environment—plastic and waste in general are having on us. It will cover the current status of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies, including California’s ambitious legislation, and likewise demonstrate attempts by industry to preserve, rather than dismantle, the systems of disposability that fuel extractive capitalism. It will situate this shift within the broader context of global consumption, urbanization, and fossil-fueled economic growth, showing how the volume of plastic waste has risen in direct proportion to material wealth. Drawing from the new Netflix documentary BuyNow!, the presentation highlights how deeply consumerism has been woven into identity and social belonging, while offering a lens of hope and agency through collective and policy-based action. Attendees will leave with a richer understanding of how consumption and waste are tied to structural inequities and what steps can be taken—from advocacy to personal behavioral change—to push for systemic reform and sustainable alternatives.

More Information

Event notes

For help adding environmental equity to your curriculum, attend the SEI Community of Practice (1:05–2:00 p.m.), also available on Zoom.
Contact
sei@laccd.edu
Location
Zoom / Online
Mode
Online
Event type
Seminars