Circular Action Alliance (CAA) recently appointed an executive director to oversee California’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) program.
CAA is the producer responsibility organization (PRO) in California with the overall mission to implement the state’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54). Emily Coven has been hired to work closely with stakeholders across the value chain—including state and local governments, producers, and industry partners—to advance a circular economy for single-use packaging and food service ware, CAA said in a news release.
Coven is the founder and former CEO of Recyclist, a software company that supported the implementation of California’s recycling and organics legislation. Recyclist served nearly half of all municipalities in the state before being acquired by Routeware in 2023.
“She brings more than a decade of experience building strategic partnerships with CalRecycle, local governments, and industry stakeholders, and is a frequent speaker at state and national waste and recycling conferences,” CAA says.
Coven received a B.S. degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University in 1996. Before Recyclist, she founded and led a web design and development agency serving local and national nonprofit, educational, and media organizations, CAA says.
“Emily’s experience in California’s municipal recycling ecosystem and her proven expertise in scaling startups will be instrumental to our work,” says CAA CEO Jeff Fielkow. “Her leadership will be key as we reinforce our foundation and build a resilient, forward-looking organization.”
California Program
Producers of packaging waste that fall under California’s packaging EPR law have until September 5 to register with CAA.
CAA will also open a producer supply reporting period, with a reporting deadline of Nov. 15.
“In 2025, a key priority in California is building the registration and reporting processes that producers need to stay on track with upcoming EPR obligations,” says Geoffrey Inch, CAA’s senior vice president of producer services. “We’re here to support producers every step of the way—helping companies complete their registration and confidently report 2023 baseline data this year. By choosing ‘PRO Reporting’ during registration, producers can also simplify their obligations in California.”
CAA recommends that producers choose PRO Reporting because it submits the required registration information and data to CalRecycle on their behalf. Producers who self-report must submit directly to both CalRecycle and CAA.
“Producer registration and reporting data are critical to shaping California’s packaging EPR program plan, establishing the source reduction baseline, and guiding implementation,” Inch says. “Registering and reporting by Nov. 15 allows CAA to better tailor the program to meet producer needs.”
EPR in Seven States
So far, seven states have adopted EPR programs: California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington.
In addition to California, CAA has been named as the PRO in Colorado and Minnesota. It has been selected to represent producer interests as the PRO on the State Producer Responsibility Advisory Council in Maryland. CAA is also the only PRO with an approved program plan in Oregon and is seeking to be the Stewardship Organization in Maine.
CAA had previously named Juri Freeman as its executive director in Colorado and Kim Holmes as executive director in Oregon, according to CAA’s website.
CAA is a nonprofit that was founded in 2022 and is guided by founding members representing the food, beverage, consumer goods, foodservice, and retail industries.
Thomas A. Barstow is senior editor of FlexPack VOICE®.