Conference At A Glance 2026

All activities are on the Main Stage – except Concurrent Sessions.
View Day 1 and Day 2 schedules for more speaker information.

Times are listed in Pacific Standard Time

Keynote Showcase 2026

Day 1 • October 21

Time	Track A	Track B	Track C
7:45 am	Networking & Zoom Assistance
8:00 am	Welcome & Opening
8:15 am	Using Data and AI to Drive Progress Toward Zero Waste
9:15 am	Zero Waste Systems at a Major Sports Stadium
9:45 am	Urban Mining: The Circular Economy of E-Waste
10:45 am	Break
11:00 am	Piloting Reusable Foodware at Airports	Transitioning K-12 Schools to Reuse in Food Service	Prevention Meets Payoff – Practical Waste Reduction Assistance for Restaurants
12:00 pm	Sponsor Showcase
12:30 pm	Zero Waste in Construction
1:00 pm	SMM 2030 in Practice: Closing the Loop on Transport Packaging	Hold the Plastic: Approaches to Reuse & Reduction on College Campuses	Why Zero Waste Programs Stall or Fail and How to Fix Them
2:00 pm	Aligning Mission and Market to Build Local Economies
3:00 pm	Highlights and Key Takeaways from the Day

Day 2 • October 22

Time	Track A	Track B	Track C
7:45 am	Networking & Zoom Assistance
8:00 am	Welcome & Opening
8:15 am	Restoring the Sacred Loop: indigenous Values as the Blueprint for a Zero Waste Future
8:45 am	The State of Zero Waste in the U.S.
9:00 am	Spotlight: Communities Leading Toward Zero Waste
10:00 am	Break
10:15 am	Grassroots Community Action
11:15 am	Edible Food Recovery
12:15 pm	Selling the Myth of Plastic Recycling
12:45 pm	Sponsor Showcase
1:15 pm	Plastics	Solutions for Hard to Recycle Materials	Behavior Change & Community Engagement
2:15 pm	Concurrent Summaries
2:25 pm	Race to Zero Waste	Transformational Circular Economy Case Studies	Global Zero Waste Forum & COP31: What to Know & How to Engage
3:25 pm	Concurrent Summaries
3:35 pm	Breakout Discussions
4:20 pm	Highlights and Key Takeaways from the Day

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