Personnel Notes

4thBin hires new CEO

4thBin, a New York-based electronics recycling and data disposal firm, has appointed Paul Kirsch as its CEO. According to 4thBin, he will lead the company as it expands nationally in the year ahead.

“Paul’s unique background of leading both entrepreneurial and large enterprise experiences makes him uniquely qualified for this position,” says John Kirsch, founder of 4thBin. “We are excited to have him at the helm, giving us an experienced, steady hand as we quickly magnify our unique services for companies of all sizes across the country who are working to stay compliant with e-waste disposal.”

Paul Kirsch was most recently president of Wilmington, Delaware-based Chemours Co.’s $2.7 billion-per-year fluorochemical operation. He also previously held positions as vice president at New York-based XM Satellite Radio; vice president at Atlanta-based Hughes Telematics; and president of automotive, metals and aerospace at Germany-based Henkel.

Paul Kirsch has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and earned his MBA from the University of Michigan.

“With the rapid rollouts of 5G creating an unprecedented amount of e-waste, and the ever-changing federal, state and industry-specific legislation, the market is primed for services like ours,” Paul Kirsch says. “4thBin has more trusted technical and environmental certifications than anyone in the business and is made up of seasoned technologists. We are passionate that customers’ old IT assets, whether laptops or cloud-based, are ethically and securely destroyed to the highest standards.”

He adds, “I am honored to help take this company to the next level of success.”

NWRA Services Board of Governors elects first female chair

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, has elected Lisa Disbrow as the first woman to serve as chair for its Services Board of Governors. Disbrow handles government and public affairs for Houston-based Waste Management.

NWRA President and CEO Darrell Smith says, “Lisa is a tremendous asset to the association and industry. She is a strong advocate for the waste and recycling industry, and I know that will continue as she leads our Services Board of Governors.”

Disbrow replaces Terry Guerin of South Side Landfill, Indianapolis.

“I am honored to be selected to serve as chair of the Services Board of Governors. As this board represents multiple state chapters within the waste and recycling industry, I look forward to working with the governors and carrying on the great work started by Terry Guerin,” Disbrow says.

CalRecycle director resigns

Scott Smithline, the director of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), resigned from the department at the end of 2019, according to local media reports.

Smithline began his role as CalRecycle director in July 2015, having previously served as assistant director for policy development since 2011 for the department, according to CalRecycle. He was a consultant at the Smithline Group from 2008 to 2011, director of legal and regulatory affairs at Californians Against Waste from 2003 to 2008 and an attorney at Lawyers for Clean Water in 2001. Smithline earned a law degree from the Golden Gate University School of Law.

His resignation was welcomed by Los Angeles-based Consumer Watchdog, which says it is the “first step in overhauling the troubled agency in charge of the state’s failing bottle deposit system.”

“The resignation of Scott Smithline opens the door to remaking the state’s bottle deposit system to ensure that consumers have convenient access to redemption of their empty bottles and cans,” says Consumer Advocate Liza Tucker. “When half of the redemption centers in the state have closed over the last six years, it’s time for new leadership and a new director who recognizes the emergency for what it is.”

In August, the largest chain of centers in the state that offered redemptions for California Redemption Value (CRV) containers, rePlanet, closed, removing nearly 300 redemption centers from California’s system.

Consumer Watchdog sent a letter dated Aug. 8 to California Gov. Gavin Newsom calling for new leadership at CalRecycle. “The leadership of CalRecycle needs to change its attitude and treat this crisis as a crisis or it needs to be replaced. We suggest an immediate job review for the director of CalRecycle and possible replacement depending upon on its findings,” the letter reads in part.