Agency Update - Winter 2017

Looks Who's 40!

40th Anniversary (Does this make us middle-aged?)

Forward thinking, energetic, and not looking a day over 25! StopWaste closed the year by celebrating our 40th Anniversary as an agency with a mission to divert waste from Alameda County. Founded in 1976 as the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, StopWaste has been reducing waste by working with our Member Agencies and community partners, enacting standards and ordinances, providing technical support, and outreach to the public.

A Big Year for Bags

It was a big year for reusable bag ordinances locally and statewide. California became the first state in the nation to enact a state law to ban plastic shopping bags, and the WMA approved an expanded reusable bag ordinance for Alameda County. The expanded ordinance will apply to all stores and restaurants in the County, and will go into effect on May 1, 2017 for retail stores and November 1, 2017 for restaurants.

Planting Seeds in the Community

We have found that raising voices from within our communities can be one of the most powerful ways of creating change.

Cal Athletics partnership

On a crisp December morning, more than 20 Cal student athletes put on garden gloves and picked up tools and shovels at the Hoover Elementary Garden Community Work Day in West Oakland. The work day provided a fun event of reciprocity since our partnership with Cal Athletics began in 2014.

Grantee profile: Memorial Tabernacle Church

During the last two years, StopWaste has been working with Memorial Tabernacle Church in North Oakland and their Youth Going Green (YGG) Program to help spread the word about the importance of composting, recycling, and energy efficiency programs. We are excited to share the series of tutorial videos made with their help.

We can make it easier for member agencies to comply with California’s updated Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (WELO). We’ve created a list of essential resources to assist in WELO adoption and implementation, and have worked with partners to develop trainings for landscape designers and contractors. The changes to WELO mark a dramatic shift toward landscape design and management practices better suited to the state's climates and conditions.

Arliss Dunn

Clerk of the Board

Arliss Dunn wears many hats at StopWaste and is visible at our board meetings and when you walk in our door. She joined the Agency in 2006, and serves as Clerk of the Board and Supervising Executive Assistant. She has over twenty years of administrative experience, mostly in non-profits. She is a critical bridge between the Boards and staff, as well as a thoughtful, compassionate, and indispensable member of the StopWaste family. (We should mention she is funny, too!)

What do you do at StopWaste?

All of our policy happens at the Board, and anything that happens with the Board goes through me. As Clerk of the Board, I manage the process for our two boards—the Waste Management Authority and the Recycling Board—as well as the Board Committees. This includes working with the Executive Director and staff to set up the meetings, agendas, disseminating the packets and notes in a timely manner, ensuring we meet Brown Act requirements, and all other follow-up. As Supervising Executive Assistant, I supervise administrative staff, work with the Administrative Services Director on personnel matters, oversee payroll, and overall office management.

What is your favorite part of working at StopWaste?

We work on so many different projects with our cities and special districts. We are able to represent and advocate for issues that other agencies can't do on their own, such as mandatory recycling and the plastic bag ordinance. I came from the non-profit world, working in social enterprises/entrepreneurial and human services. I like that StopWaste has a mission for the greater good and we also have the stability and resources for long-term follow-through of our efforts.

What do you do in your spare time?

I'm a big sports fan! I love the Raiders and the Warriors (Editor's note: she is wearing Raider's earrings). I spend a lot of time hanging out and being with my family. My immediate family lives locally and we are involved in several civic activities and attend church.

Anything else we should know about you?

I enjoy and know how to work with lots of different people. I like to sing. If there's a big event, I'm not afraid to take the spotlight. Oh! I also do really good impressions.