The Future of Recycling
Please join us this Friday morning when we will have Joe La Mariana, the Executive Director of RethinkWaste, as our guest speaker. RethinkWaste is a joint powers authority of twelve public agencies (Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo, the County of San Mateo and the West Bay Sanitary District) in San Mateo County and is a leader in the delivery of innovative waste reduction and recycling programs. RethinkWaste owns and manages the Shoreway Environmental Center which receives all of the recyclables, organics, and garbage collected in its service area. RethinkWaste also provides strategic oversight, support and management of service providers that collect, process, recycle and dispose of materials for the 12 Member Agencies. RethinkWaste, also known as the South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA) was formed in 1982.
The primary goal of RethinkWaste is to provide cost effective waste reduction, recycling, and solid waste programs to member agencies through franchised services and other recyclers to meet and sustain a minimum of 50% diversion of waste from landfill as mandated by California State Law, AB 939. As of January 1, 2011, Recology San Mateo County (Recology) provides Recycle, Compost and Garbage collection services for the 93,000 RethinkWaste residences and 10,000 businesses.
RethinkWaste owns the Shoreway Environmental Center in San Carlos, Shoreway serves as a regional solid waste and recycling facility for the receipt, handling and transfer of refuse, recyclables and organic materials collected from the RethinkWaste service area. RethinkWaste offices are located in the San Carlos library building. They also share staff with the City of San Carlos including using the city’s Finance and Accounting Department.
RethinkWaste is led by an Executive Director, Joe La Mariana, who reports to a Board of Directors comprised of elected officials from our Member Agencies. Joe joined the RethinkWaste staff in August 2016 after serving in local government for ten years as San Mateo County’s Solid Waste and Environmental Services Manager. During this time, Joe was a section manager in the County Manager’s Office of Sustainability and the Department of Public Works. Before working at the County, Joe worked for over 13 years in the local solid waste industry’s private sector, including assignments as the Recycling Director for Republic Services (formerly known as BFI/Allied Waste) at the San Carlos Shoreway Environmental Center, and in regional management positions with Recology (SF) and Waste Management Inc. (East Bay). Joe’s responsibilities have always emphasized top-tier customer service in residential and commercial garbage and recycling services, while working closely with local elected officials and business leaders. Prior to the solid waste industry, Joe worked for 13 years in corporate communications and marketing.
Joe serves as the immediate Past President of the Solid Waste Association of Northern America’s (SWANA) Northern California Gold Rush Chapter, and is extremely active in the California Resource & Recovery Association (CRRA), the Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA), California’s Against Waste (CAW), the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) and the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), as well as numerous business organizations. Joe serves on SWANA’s California Legislative Task Force and is a passionate advocate for strong environmental legislation in our state.
With a robust commitment to community, Joe has extensively volunteered with the Rotary Club of Burlingame, the Burlingame and Brisbane Chambers of Commerce, the City of Burlingame’s Park and Rec Commission, several mid-peninsula youth sports leagues and Our Lady of Angels parish.
Joe earned a technical certificate in Solid Waste Management from UC Berkeley; an MBA from Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont; and a BA in Public Relations from California State University, Chico. Joe completed the San Mateo/Burlingame/Foster City/Hillsborough Leadership program in 2004.