Bob Gedert has 45 years of experience in building local economic development practices with zero-waste goals through private-public partnerships that utilize local markets for recyclables through innovative entrepreneurship and collaborative business networks. In his retirement, he is teaching climate change classes at Xavier University in Cincinnati and publishing his first book on the relationship of plastics to climate change.
Previously, Bob served as the department director of Austin Resource Recovery, leading the city toward zero waste goals. In addition to his tenure at Austin, he has served in the leadership of resource recovery in many communities including the City of Fresno, CA as chief of recycling operations; the Counties of Auglaize and Highland in Ohio; the City of Cincinnati in Ohio and communities across Indiana as Chief of Source Reduction and Recycling with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.
Bob is the Past-President of the National Recycling Coalition and previously served on the board of directors for the Indiana Recycling Coalition and the Association of Ohio Recyclers. He was also the executive director of the California Resource Recovery Association and a founding member of the California Product Stewardship Council and the National Stewardship Action Council.
In 2019, Bob was awarded the Lifetime Recycling Achievement Award from the National Recycling Coalition. In 2024, Bob was selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who for Expertise in Education and Waste Management.