CPSC 2022 Awards
As trash and litter continue to accumulate in our communities, the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) continues to recognize the best and brightest companies, organizations, and agencies for their creative approaches tackling post-consumer material management problems. CPSC’s Arrow Award recipients illustrate how innovative business models in California are now offering products and services that support responsible and cost-effective waste management and a circular economy, while creating new green- designed products, and offering products and services offsetting the negative impact of society’s increasing waste generation. CPSC has been recognizing these trailblazing organizations and individuals in California annually for the last 12 years. Today CPSC announced award winners for the 13th Annual Arrow Awards…
“The Arrow Award winners are leaders in managing resources responsibly, protecting the earth, and creating jobs,” said Doug Kobold, Executive Director of CPSC. He goes on to say, “products should be made to be more Durable, Reusable, Repairable, and Recyclable, so to that end CPSC created it’s DR Cubed (or “DR3”) campaign to encourage product manufacturers to follow these values.”
Threadhaus Co. (threadhaus.la) is the winner of the 2022 Green Arrow Award for system and design innovations. The Green Arrow Award is given to an organization demonstrating an innovative system approach that removes or reduces toxic or other problematic attributes present in products. Threadhaus exemplifies these principals with their Recycle Repurpose Reprogram campaign that diverts textiles into a circular economy and supports community sustainability initiatives. Threadhaus’ expansion into mobile collection events for textile recovery, with on-site sorting provides an innovative solution to the textile waste issue burdening communities.
Ocean Protection Council (www.opc.ca.gov) is the winner of the 2022 Bow & Arrow Award for coalition building and creative partnerships. Bow & Arrow recipients demonstrate synergistic relationships between producers, distributors, retailers, public agencies, and other stakeholders. The Ocean Protection Council (OPC) makes incredible efforts in reducing microplastics pollution and supporting healthy, resilient, and productive ocean and costal ecosystems. OPC oversees coordinating the activities of ocean and coastal-related state agencies to improve state efforts to protect ocean resources, as well as establish policies to coordinate the collection and sharing of scientific data amongst stakeholders. All while ensuring the involvement of the public in all aspects of their work.
Cal Micro Recycling (www.calmicrousa.com) is the winner of the 202 Infinity Arrow Award for service and take-back. The Infinity Award is given to an organization to recognize
efforts to initiate an outstanding Take Back program for one or more products as an additional convenience and service to their customers. Cal Micro Recycling accomplishes these goals by providing cost-effective recycling and destruction solutions for several hard-to-manage products. Cal Micro Recycling was essential in the Santa Monica Solar Pilot Project, completed in early 2022. Cal Micro has been an active mattress recycler in California’s Mattress Stewardship Program and expanding services to other textile processing.
California Cloth Foundry (clothfoundry.com) is the recipient of the 2022 Golden Arrow Award for overall excellence in product stewardship. The Golden Arrow Award is given to an organization that exemplifies all the characteristics of the Green, Bow & Arrow, and Infinity Awards. The California Cloth Foundry (CCF) focuses on green-designed garments made toxic and fossil-fuel free with a circular supply chain. CCF’s textiles and apparel are made from natural fibers and natural dyes and color to avoid all petrol-based fibers, treatments, and dyes. CCF’s cradle-to-cradle principles highlight the potential of a circular economy of textiles through soil-to-soil design with end-of-life options, such as upcycling, recycling, or composting.
In addition to our Arrow Awards, CPSC has recognized Spencer Silverstein from the City of Thousand Oaks as our 2022 Associate of the Year. Spencer has been active on the California Product Stewardship Council’s (CPSC) Policy and Education Advisory Committee (PEAC) and continues to be front of the line in following up on stewardship program performance in his community. Spencer has been a vital asset, ensuring residents have access to safe medication disposal and passed a local foodware ordinance, including a ban on polystyrene containers.
CPSC also wants to express gratitude to the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) and recognize it as the 2022 Sponsor of the year. CRRA one of the largest and oldest non-profit recycling organizations in the United States. The organization is dedicated to achieving environmental sustainability in and beyond California through Zero Waste strategies such as product stewardship, as well as providing CRRA members with resources to advance local, regional, and statewide waste reduction efforts which result in the achievement of critical environmental and climate protection goals.
The California Product Stewardship Council’s Annual Arrow Awards ceremony took place during the California Resource Recovery Association’s 46th annual conference and tradeshow, held in Oceanside from September 6-9, 2022.
California Product Stewardship Council educates both the public and private sectors about Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Product Stewardship and closely partners with business, jurisdictions, waste and recycling companies, manufacturers and others to promote and encourage sustainable practices and to recognize those companies who are taking a leadership role in participating in waste reduction and recycling.
For more information, please go to: www.CalPSC.org.
