Sims Recycling Solutions has hired Patricia Whiting to join the company’s Original Equipment Manufacturer Compliance Group as its first international policy analyst. Prior to accepting this position, Whiting spent 21 years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an environmental protection specialist in the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (formerly the Office of Solid Waste).
During her time with the U.S. EPA, Whiting analyzed the issues related to the use, storage, and transport of extractive and industrial nonhazardous waste for the Industrial and Extractive Waste Branch in support of the development of Congressional Reports, Regulatory Determinations, and Guidelines. As a member of the Communications Services Branch, Whiting lead the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery’s Environmental Education initiative, a national campaign to educate school children about the three R’s—reduce, reuse and recycle.
Most recently, Whiting served as the U.S. delegate to the Open-Ended Working Group of the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Control for the Agency’s International and Special Projects Branch. Whiting’s Basel Convention experience will give Sims the ability to help customers achieve compliance as electronic waste regulations emerge in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to Renee St. Denis, vice president, business development, Sims Recycling Solutions, Americas.
“To provide comprehensive solutions for our clients, Sims needs to be able to engage with the public and private sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean at an even higher level than we do now,” stated St. Denis. “Patricia’s background in, and knowledge of, international electronic waste policy will allow us to do that so we can better serve our customers as they try to navigate the evolving regulatory landscape in these countries.”
“I find electronic waste compelling because it is a very complicated issue. There can be environmental and health concerns, but used electronics can also provide economic and social benefits by recovering precious metals versus extracting them from the earth and bridging the digital divide,” explained Whiting. “Sims has the expertise to address these issues and has shown they are committed to doing the right thing. I am looking forward to this new challenge.”
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