2026 Agenda Highlights
The sessions at the Resource Recycling Conference are organized by the editorial team from Resource Recycling, Inc. in collaboration with industry experts and deliver exclusive insight on the most critical trends in recycling today. Please note sessions listed below are subject to change.
Here’s a look at some of the agenda highlights
you can expect in 2026!
What Food Waste Programs Can Learn
from Recycling Outreach
An interactive workshop that takes tips from recycling outreach and applies them to food waste reduction and organics collection programs. The rise of food waste reduction and collection programs is a starting-from-scratch education opportunity.
How to Start a Textile Recycling Program
In this workshop, learn how to establish or enhance municipal textile recovery programs featuring leaders from Goodwill, WM and RTCM. Understand diverse collection methods, successful strategies, partnership opportunities and the evolving landscape of textile diversion. Attendees will gain insights into current practices, challenges, future trends and actionable ideas to boost participation and capture rates in their communities.
Running the Numbers: Making Cents of Municipal Food Scraps Collection
This session breaks down the financials—from start-up costs to long-term budgeting—for curbside and drop-off models. Explore funding strategies, public-private partnerships and practical tools to make your program financially sustainable.
Packaging in Transition: Material Shifts
Driving Sustainability
This session will explore the major trends in packaging design through the lens of life cycle assessments (LCAs), weighing the true environmental trade-offs behind these shifts.
Improving Community Recycling with Participation, Capture and Quality
Join The Recycling Partnership for an inside look at the programs, technologies and messaging that are measurably improving recycling participation, capture and quality in communities nationwide. From hands-on tactics like Feet on the Street to smart truck cameras and data-driven messaging, this session will explore what’s working—and how to scale it.
Federal Dollars Are Flowing:
How States and Municipalities Are Putting Recycling Funds to Work
Federal funding for recycling is more substantial than many anticipated—bringing new opportunities and challenges for state and local programs. This session will explore how recent funding is being allocated, what it’s enabling on the ground and how communities are navigating the process.
Built to Last: How Repair, Reuse and Sharing Are Powering Resilient Communities
This panel explores how repair, reuse and sharing models are doing just that—keeping valuable materials in circulation while improving access, affordability and local resilience. Hear from innovators and community leaders who are scaling these solutions and reimagining how we consume, connect and take care of our stuff.
The State of Recycled Paper Markets:
Supply, Demand and Disruption
Recycled paper markets continue to evolve, influenced by global trade shifts, packaging trends, and policy developments. This session offers a deep dive into the current dynamics shaping recovered fiber markets and what to expect in the near future.
The State of Recycled Paper Markets:
Supply, Demand and Disruption
Recycled paper markets continue to evolve, influenced by global trade shifts, packaging trends, and policy developments. This session offers a deep dive into the current dynamics shaping recovered fiber markets and what to expect in the near future.
EPR as a Catalyst: Unlocking Public and Private Investment in Recycling
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is not just a policy tool—it’s quickly becoming an investment signal. This session will explore how EPR programs are driving financial commitments across the recycling value chain, from state-funded grants and low-interest loans to private equity interest in infrastructure and innovation.
Investing in End Markets
The conversation about circularity must include both collection and end-markets. With so much funding going to material collection, end-markets need more capital to meet the demand of material in the stream and create the solutions of the future. In this session, panelists will discuss challenges and opportunities in end-market innovation and the potential of circularity as an economic driver.
Education and Outreach:
What Works, What Doesn’t —
And How to Actually Reach Your Residents
Join CAA for a dynamic, interactive workshop exploring the do’s and don’ts of public outreach. Discover what strategies are driving success, what’s falling flat, and how to make the most of limited resources to boost awareness and participation in your recycling programs. Bring your challenges, ideas and questions — and leave with fresh insights you can put into action.
Stay Up To Date
Sign up to receive updates, including schedule changes, speaker announcements and more.