Personnel

Grayson named DSNY commissioner

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Edward Grayson as the commissioner of the city of New York Department of Sanitation (DSNY) on Dec. 31. Grayson, a 21-year DSNY veteran, has served as acting commissioner since September.

“Edward Grayson has distinguished himself in his acting commissioner role this autumn and winter. He has brought energy, experience and passion for the agency’s mission to his role, and he has fully earned New Yorkers’ trust to keep our city clean and safe,” de Blasio says. “I’m proud to offer him this role on a permanent basis, and I look forward to working closely with him to build a fairer and better city.”

With a family history in sanitation work, Grayson’s father was a sanitation worker and supervisor, and his mother was recycling outreach coordinator in the 1990s.

"As we have seen in these few short months since stepping in as acting commissioner, Ed Grayson has the experience and dedication needed to lead ‘New York's Strongest,’" New York City Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin says. "Coming from a working-class family dedicated to public service, Ed knows the true meaning and dignity of serving this city."

Before serving as acting commissioner, Grayson was appointed four-star chief and director of the Bureau of Cleaning and Collection in September 2017.

As director, Grayson oversaw day-to-day operations for DSNY, including the collection, recycling and disposal of more than 12,000 tons of waste per day. He implemented new technologies to improve snow removal and reform front-line operations, according to DSNY, and he has been a leader in the department's implementation of the city's zero-waste goals.

Carton Council appoints director of government affairs

The Carton Council, Denton, Texas, has appointed Jordan Fengel as its new director of government affairs. The Carton Council is composed of four carton manufacturers—Elopak, Evergreen Packaging, SIG Combibloc and Tetra Pak—and is focused on delivering collaborative solutions to divert cartons from the landfill.

The Carton Council says Fengel is the former executive director of the State of Texas Alliance for Recycling (STAR). In November 2020, Fengel also joined Tetra Pak as a sustainability manager for the U.S. and Canada. As a founding company of the Carton Council, Fengel will lend his expertise to the council.

“We are looking forward to having Jordan’s recycling expertise and perspective on our team,” says Jason Pelz, vice president of recycling projects for the Carton Council of North America. “His leadership with STAR in advancing the circular economy is particularly relevant as we continue to evolve carton recycling and educate on the benefits of carton recycling in the overall supply chain.

“STAR has been a longtime advocate of the Carton Council and in promoting carton recycling,” Pelz adds. “Fengel’s perspective from this leading state recycling organization will be valuable as the Carton Council continues to engage communities in carton recycling, whether it is adding cartons to their local program or assisting with education efforts to ensure residents know cartons should be recycled.”

In his role with the Carton Council, Fengel will help shape the carton recycling narrative with other recycling stakeholders working to increase participation and improve awareness, the Carton Council states in a news release.

Recology appoints new CEO

Recology, San Francisco, announced Jan. 4 that Sal Coniglio has been appointed CEO. Prior to this appointment, Coniglio served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Recology. He took over Jan. 1 as part of a transition plan put in place prior to the Dec. 31, 2020, retirement of Recology CEO Mike Sangiacomo.

Sangiacomo had been with the company for 37 years.

“I have dedicated over three decades of my professional life to Recology, and I am deeply proud of the work we have done together to reduce waste and promote recycling with a focus on sustainability,” Sangiacomo says. “I have had the privilege of acting as a mentor to Sal over the course of his five years with Recology, and I wish him and Recology every success going forward.”

Coniglio has worked in the waste management industry since 2000, beginning as a weighmaster for Garaventa Enterprises (now Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery) in Pittsburg, California. He worked his way up at the company, serving as a route auditor and then transitioning into managerial roles, overseeing various business aspects including collection operations, transfer stations, material recovery facilities, landfills, composting, customer service, information technology systems and finance.

Coniglio joined Recology in 2015 as the general manager of Recology Butte Colusa Counties and was promoted in 2018 to be the group manager of the Inland Group, overseeing many of the company’s Central Valley collection and processing facilities in California. He was promoted to the role of executive vice president and COO in July 2020.

“We are delighted that Sal is now stepping into this role. He is a proven leader who knows our business top to bottom,” Christa Steele, chair of the Recology board of directors, says. “He understands the critical importance of waste reduction, and he is committed to advancing Recology’s sustainability efforts and building strong relationships with the communities we are privileged to serve. We look forward to working closely with him in the years to come.”

Recology is an employee-owned integrated resource recovery company providing materials collection, processing, commodity sales, and outreach and education to customers throughout California, Oregon and Washington. Recology has more than 3,700 employees, who serve in excess of 150 communities.

“I am honored by this appointment,” Coniglio says. “Over the past five years, I have come to know our extraordinary base of dedicated employee-owners, and I have every confidence that together, we can deliver outstanding customer service, advance Recology’s environmental stewardship and support our communities across California, Oregon and Washington. As the chief executive officer, I pledge to continue to embrace our strong employee-owner culture and to strive to have a diverse and experienced workforce at all levels of the organization. I am also grateful to Mike for his leadership and for his confidence in me to guide Recology’s next chapter.”

During Sangiacomo’s tenure, Recology implemented numerous recycling and diversion programs. Sangiacomo also led an effort to add a third cart for the collection of organics. This move marked the nation’s first large-scale curbside organics collection program and laid a foundation for further success using a three-cart system in San Francisco and beyond.