The Recycling Partnership appoints new leadership, board members

The Recycling Partnership (TRP) made several personnel appointments this week, adding two senior leadership positions while naming six members to its board of directors, moves the Washington-based organization says will help it toward its goal of improving the residential recycling rate by 25 percent by 2026.

TRP has named Dune Ives its chief marketing officer and Kate Davenport its chief policy officer, bringing decades of combined experience to its executive team.

Ives brings more than 20 years of experience as a systems-change advocate, keynote speaker and behavior change expert. Previously, Ives was CEO of Lonely Whale, an organization working to address plastic pollution, where she led campaigns like the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, NextWave Plastics and For a Strawless Ocean.

As chief marketing officer, TRP says Ives will make recycling solutions more accessible and relatable through human-centered communications and campaigns, supporting TRP’s work to build a better recycling system and build trust in the recycling system on behalf of people who want to recycle and those who work in the recycling industry.

Davenport most recently co-led Minneapolis-based nonprofit recycler Eureka Recycling before joining TRP to lead the policy advocacy and policy implementation teams.

In her time with Eureka, she was instrumental in the launch of the Alliance for Mission-Based Recycling, a coalition founded by what the group says are the pioneers of mission-driven, community-based nonprofit recycling in the U.S.

As chief policy officer, Davenport’s primary responsibilities include leading efforts to adopt extended producer responsibility at the state and national levels while ensuring the implementation of these policies result in expanded recycling access, delivery of proven education practices that increase and sustain participation and address environmental justice issues.

“As The Recycling Partnership celebrates its 10^th anniversary, we are proud to introduce two more incredible leaders to our executive leadership team to drive the organization and our mission forward,” CEO Keefe Harrison says. “We are confident in both Dune and Kate’s unique capabilities to accelerate the Partnership’s mission as we grow and amplify a movement where companies, communities and people across the U.S. are engaged and equipped with the tools, access and trusted systems that, together, deliver a better U.S. recycling system.”

TRP also has added six members to its board of directors:

• Alex Schenck, director of global environmental policy, Walmart
• Brent Bell, vice president of recycling, WM
• Ginger Spencer, deputy city manager for the city of Phoenix
• Robert Flores, global vice president of sustainability, Berry Global
• Scott Ballard, president, Eastman’s Plastics Division
• Scott DeFife, president, Glass Packaging Institute

“The work of The Recycling Partnership is made possible by the incredible staff and our board of directors,” says Scott Breen, chair of the TRP board and senior vice president of sustainability at the Can Manufacturers Institute. “The unique experiences and backgrounds of our board and leadership will enable the Partnership to expand its reach, allowing us to further our mission of building a better recycling system, one that delivers the economic and environmental benefits our communities deserve.”