Speaker profile
Scott Cassel
Scott Cassel has over 40 years of experience tackling waste management issues in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. In 2000, he founded the Product Stewardship Institute, a policy advocate and consulting nonprofit that pioneered product stewardship in the United States and has helped enact 136 extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws across 18 product categories in 33 states — the bedrock of the circular economy. Prior to founding PSI, Scott served seven years as the director of waste policy and planning for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, where he developed and implemented solid and hazardous waste management policies and programs. As PSI’s CEO, he developed the widely acclaimed facilitation process that the organization uses for stakeholder engagement and consensus-building — a process that resulted in the nation’s first industry-run, government-mandated paint stewardship program. In 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) appointed Scott to its Marine Debris Foundation board of directors, where he works on policy, infrastructure development, and innovative technologies to clean up and prevent pollution of our waterways and ocean.