Waste ReForum 2025
Step back in time to the Prohibition era and imagine a future where waste is outlawed, and a thriving circular economy takes centre stage. The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council’s annual conference invites you to explore innovative strategies, policies, and practices that keep resources in play and waste out of the equation. Join us as we come together to banish waste and usher in a sustainable, resourceful tomorrow. Let’s make waste a thing of the past—cheers to circular solutions!
Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council Annual Conference
May 28 - 30, 2025
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, 1975 Broad St, Regina -- Hotel link for conference
Program:
Wednesday, May 28
Afternoon activities (choice of):
1) 1:30 p.m. -- Bus tour of City of Regina Waste Management Centre Education Room and Crown Shred & Recycling Material Recovery Facility
- The City of Regina Waste Management Centre Education Room is an interactive learning space where Regina residents can explore the City of Regina's waste management and water systems through play-based activities. Featuring immersive wall-to-wall projections, touchscreens, and interactive buttons, the room brings waste and water concepts to life in a dynamic, hands-on environment.
- Crown Shred & Recycling's Material Recovery Centreis the newest recycling facility in the province and boasts an array of sorting technology.
2) 1:00 p.m. - Bus tour of Loblaw Food Distribution Centre and K-Light Recycling
- Loblaw Distribution Centre's works to minimize waste and maximize sustainability by implementing effective waste diversion strategies. Through innovation, collaboration, and responsible resource management, they strive to reduce landfill contributions, promote recycling and repurposing, and foster a culture of environmental stewardship within their operations and communities.
- K-Light Recycling Solutions provides recycling programs for various lighting products, metals, and plastics in their specially equipped facility. K-Light has provided innovative recycling solutions to Saskatchewan businesses since 2003.
3) 1:30 p.m. -Workshop -- Smart Fridges, AI Assistants, and Self-Driving Cars: It’s Not the Jetsons—It’s Just Tuesday -- Jeph Maystruck, Strategy Labs
In a world where smart fridges, self-driving cars, and AI assistants have become everyday realities, the way we think about and use technology needs a shift. This session will explore how technology, not just AI, has evolved to touch every aspect of our lives—from how we work to how we communicate. We’ll dive into 20 surprising examples of this evolution and provide practical, hands-on tips to help you harness these advancements in your personal and professional life. By the end, you’ll walk away with a new mindset on how to approach technology—not as something to fear but as a tool to thrive in the rapidly changing Roaring 2020s.
Workshop sponsored by City of Regina
7:00 p.m. Speakeasy at Crave
What's a Roaring Twenties event without a Speakeasy? We're sneaking across the street from the conference hotel to the Crave Kitchen + Wine Bar. Join us for appetizers and formerly prohibited beverages and reconnect with colleagues and friends. Come decked out in 1920s fashions and don't forget the secret password!
Thursday May 29
8:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Opening Prayer & Welcome -- Jim Pratt, Elder; Joanne Fedyk, SWRC
9:00 a.m. Opening Keynote: Roaring into the 2020s: Coming Full Circle -- Christina Seidel, sonnevera corp
Was life more circular in the 1920s than it is now? What aspects of that era should we be looking to re-adopt? What mistakes should we avoid as we work toward a circular economy? Christina Seidel investigates ...
Christina holds a PhD in Engineering Management and has an extensive background in Circular Economy and waste reduction. She operates sonnevera international corp., a waste reduction consulting firm, and was the Executive Director of the Recycling Council of Alberta for over 30 years, where she was very involved in the waste management policy development arena and led Circular Economy and EPR advocacy efforts. She was a member of the National Zero Waste Council and the Canada Plastics Pact, and chaired the Canadian Standards Association Plastics Recycling: Definitions, Reporting and Measuring technical committee.
Opening Keynote sponsored by SK Recycles
10:00 a.m. Refreshment Break - Sponsored by Call2Recycle
10:30 a.m. Concurrent Session 1A: Everything is Copacetic: Circular Procurement - sponsored by Tire Stewardship Saskatchewan
An introduction to how to consider the circular economy in your organization's buying decisions and the best ways to set up circular systems.
10:30 a.m. Concurrent Session 1B: Knowing your Onions: Creative Strategies to Prevent Food Waste - sponsored by Affinity Credit Union
Speakers with programs that divert excess food to people and animals, education campaigns that encourage residents to reduce food losses.
10:30 a.m. NEW - Community Roundtable 1: Getting the Goods - Landfill Operations
A forum for community representatives to share their experiences and learn from each other. This facilitated session will focus on the day-to-day management of landfills.
12:00 pm. Lunch
1:00 p.m. SWRC Annual General Meeting
1:30 p.m. Concurrent Session 2A: On the Level: Indigenous-led Initiatives - sponsored by Tetra Tech
Innovative programs that tackle fish waste and divert reusable items back to the community
1:30 p.m. Concurrent Session 2B: Get a Wiggle on: Municipal Developments
Updates from SK Recycles, Saskatoon and Regina outline their new approaches for non-residential waste diversion.
1:30 p.m. NEW - Community Roundtable 2: Getting the Goods - Waste Diversion
A forum for community representatives to share their experiences and learn from each other. This facilitated session will focus on programs to divert waste from landfill.
3:00 p.m. Refreshment Break
3:30 p.m. Concurrent Session 3A: What's the Rumble? Advances in Plastics - sponsored by Emterra
How to define plastic recycling, what is plastic recycled into, options to reduce plastics.
3:30 p.m. Concurrent Session 3B: Hitting the Hay: Options for Diverting Mattresses
A panel to examine current mattress recycling options, what's happening in SK, on the Prairies and elsewhere.
3:30 p.m. NEW - Community Roundtable 3: Getting the Goods -- Public education and engagement
A forum for community representatives to share their experiences and learn from each other. This facilitated session will focus on ways to help the publlic participate in waste reduction programs.
6:00 p.m. Puttin' on the Ritz: Reception & Banquet - sponsored by Saskatchewan Association for Resource Recovery Corp
7:45 p.m Minister of Environment Travis Keiseg
8:00 p.m. Saskatchewan Waste Minimization Awards Ceremony
8:45 p.m. Entertainment: The Carter Powley Trio
Friday May 30
8:15 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Closing Keynote: Calling in Your Allies: A Perspective from the Prohibition to 2025 - Jocelyn Peltier-Huntley, Prairie Catalyst Consulting
In this final keynote of Waste Reform 2025, Dr. Jocelyn Peltier-Huntley from Prairie Catalyst Consulting is going to give you goods on allyship. As a professional engineer turned equity, diversity, and inclusion researchers, Jocelyn is sitting pretty to level with you about how to call in your allies so you can better implement circular solutions. To help you get a wiggle on with inclusive practices and make sure you are left holding the bag on sustainability, she will take you back to the prohibition of the 1920s. We will compare and contrast human rights from the 1920s and 2025, learn how to call in your allies or act as an ally, and sustainable strategies to reinforce inclusive behaviours. By the end of her talk, you will be on the up and up on how to win over wet blankets and those that tell you to mind your own potatoes.
Dr. Jocelyn Peltier-Huntley, P.Eng. has more than 20 years of experience leading change. After working in mining for 13 years, she is now focused on leading and inspiring positive change through equity, diversity, and inclusion consulting. Her PhD project, “Activating Allies” focused on creating better workplaces for everyone by engaging everyone. Through her business, Prairie Catalyst Consulting, Jocelyn creates awareness and removes roadblocks so that individuals and organizations can realize the benefits of inclusion and achieve their full potential. Outside of her business, Jocelyn volunteers as the Board Chair of Women in Mining and Women in Nuclear Saskatchewan.
10:00 a.m. Refreshment Break
10:30 a.m. Hitting on all Six: Effective Education/Marketing Campaigns (Lightning Talks)
This quick-paced session will include eight speakers, each with five minutes and ten slides to highlight their most successful education or marketing campaigns. Presenters will tell the stories of their most effective, innovative campaigns and outline the problem or behaviour they were trying to change, the approach they used, the finished product and the feedback they received.
Sponsored by Electronic Products Recycling Association - Saskatchewan
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Conference end
(Vernacular issues? You can check here.)
