Tuesday, June 30, 2026
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PT
Online Town Hall
Navigating EPR in California: Source Reduction Plans & SB 54 Reporting Requirements – Western Growers Town Hall
California’s SB 54 (Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act) continues to introduce critical compliance milestones for producers, with Source Reduction Plans due August 1 rapidly approaching. Join us for a webinar designed to help producers understand and prepare for this key requirement.
Meet the Speakers
Jeana Cadby
Environment and Climate Director
Western Growers
Jeana Cadby, Environment and Climate Director for WesternGrowers, a non-profit agricultural trade association that represents farmersgrowing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Ourmembers and their workers provide over half the nation's fresh fruits,vegetables and tree nuts, including nearly half of America's fresh organicproduce.
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About the Town Hall
This session will provide a practical overview of what a Source Reduction Plan entails, what is required to develop and document one, and how your organization can align with California’s evolving packaging and reporting regulations. Speakers will also walk through the latest guidance on submitting the required packaging data under SB 54.
This session will cover:
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Source Reduction Plans Explained: What they are, why they matter, and what regulators expect from producers
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Plan Development: Key components, data inputs, and strategies for building a compliant and defensible plan
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SB 54 Packaging Data Reporting: What data must be submitted, how to organize it, and common challenges to avoid
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Compliance Readiness: Practical steps to prepare for the August 1 deadline and align internal teams
Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PT
Location: Online via Zoom
There will be an opportunity for Q&A.
Meet the Speakers
Jason Bergquist
RecycleMe
Jason is CEO – North America at RecycleMe, the consulting division of Reclay Group International. With more than 35 years of industry experience, Jason has led commercial and municipal waste divisions, material recovery operations across six states, and bottle bill redemption programs in Maine, New York, and California. His career spans the U.S., Europe, and Asia, bringing a global perspective to recycling and resource management. Jason holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from John F. Kennedy School of Law and has provided regulatory guidance on Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging, container deposit legislation, Superfund compliance, and hazardous waste management.
Elliot Bath
Validyn
Elliot is a sustainable packaging expert, with experience in both novel materials and packaging regulation, particularly EPR. He has experience working with several companies in the space including a packaging start-up (Soln packaging) who specialize in bringing novel materials e.g., fiber alloys, bio-based foams, to market, replacing single-use plastics and other virgin materials. More recently, he co-founded Validyn, a software company specifically focused on EPR reporting and supporting packaging transformation and circularity. He has supported many companies through various stages of their EPR journeys, including interpretation of legislation to their businesses, data readiness, analysis and report preparation, and defining packaging strategy to incorporates the impact of EPR.
Stay Connected with the Minds Behind the Science
Our Science Team is always exploring new ways to strengthen food safety, sustainability and crop health. Follow Western Growers Science on LinkedIn for research updates, field insights and a behind-the-scenes look at the work shaping the future of agriculture.
For more information please contact Jeana Cadby at jcadby@wga.com.
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