Brenda D. Roberts holds an MBA in Finance from Golden Gate University and is a Project Manager with RGP, a financial and compliance services provider. During her career, Brenda Roberts served as the City Auditor for the City of Oakland. During her tenure, she audited the ‘Zero Waste’ program, a multi-million-dollar activity within the Public Works Department, to evaluate the effectiveness of the contracting process.

In 2006, the City of Oakland decided to adopt a strategy to achieve a ‘Zero Waste’ goal by 2020. This plan was developed with a focus on five strategies that would work together to reach its goal.

The plan started with developing and expanding the current recycling, waste, and composting facilities in both local and regional locations. The main focus of this strategy was to maximize programs for recycling that were already in place, as fully recyclable materials were still routed to local landfills.

The City then developed new incentives and rules to encourage residents to recycle whenever possible to reduce the burden on the diminishing landfill sites. The main goal of this strategy was to adopt a new waste management system focused on the reduction of waste.

Sustainability and green construction were also included in the plan, which focused on the preservation of land with an increase in the volume of materials recovered. In turn, this strategy would also create more jobs and bolster the economy.

Advocating for more responsible manufacturing and production was crucial for the success of this plan. The City leaders wanted manufacturers of building materials and developers to assume more responsibility for their product waste.

The final strategy focused on education and awareness, which was a multi-faceted approach: to gain acceptance from residents and change their behavior, by offering more recycling options, and then to encourage better building and development practices through progressive laws and regulations. In the end, the objective was to make the conversation around ‘Zero Waste’, less political and more casual so that ‘Zero Waste’ would emerge as common and accepted daily practice.