Name: Juri Freeman
Previous title: Managing principal, Resource Recycling Systems
New title: Colorado executive director at the Circular Action Alliance
Freeman will hit the ground running when he joins CAA as executive director on June 18. Colorado is in the process of implementing its extended producer responsibility program for packaging and paper products, and CAA is its producer responsibility organization tasked with building the program plan.
Freeman will build and lead the team on the ground in Colorado and oversee the development of the program plan, which is based on a recycling scenario approved by the state Assembly’s Joint Budget Committee in April.
CAA’s Colorado team is about to start stakeholder consultation on the program plan, and Freeman will manage the partners and team members who will be conducting these consultations. He’ll also keep open lines of communication with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the state advisory board, CAA said in a news release.
The program plan is due Feb. 1, 2025. CAA projects that by 2035 the EPR program could more than double the current recycling rate for materials covered under the program.
“I eagerly accept the challenge of leading Colorado’s EPR program and look forward to collaborating with colleagues, brands, haulers, CDPHE, Colorado's recycling community, and the many other stakeholders needed to make EPR succeed,” Freeman said in a statement.
Freeman has a background in Colorado’s recycling and composting systems, and he sees his appointment to CAA as “the culmination of nearly two decades of effort working to improve recycling systems in my home state.”
Before his role as a managing principal at RRS, he was recycling program manager for the city and county of Denver, where he managed recycling and composting programs for facilities, public schools and residences.
He also served as president of the Colorado Association for Recycling and chair of the National Recycling Coalition. Freeman also held a role on the board of directors for the Solid Waste Association of North America’s Rocky Mountain Chapter.
“Juri brings with him deep knowledge of the many facets of EPR, hands-on experience in the industry, and strong relationships with key stakeholders. He is recognized as a circular economy leader in Colorado and will help build a strong program that is right for the state,” said Neil Menezes, CAA’s Colorado board chair.
CAA also plans to appoint executive directors for Oregon and California, the other states where CAA is a PRO for paper and packaging EPR programs, said Olivia Barker, a spokesperson for CAA. The organization is in the hiring process for the Oregon executive director and has not yet posted the California role, she said.
