Pete Adrian has been talking trash since 1994 when he was managing a student-staffed recycling program at Northern Illinois University. He has been with SWALCO since 2001, assisting various municipalities and organizations within Lake County to decrease the toxicity and volume of waste disposed in our landfills through the implementation of aggressive recycling and waste diversion initiatives.  He is responsible for managing the Agency’s Electronics Collection Program, monitoring residential and commercial waste and recycling service contracts, and implementing various food waste diversion and composting programs. He also assists with implementing various recycling education and awareness programs and their household chemical waste collection program and has been actively attempting to establish meaningful permanent film plastic recycling programs since his start with Lake County.  Pete holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Northern Illinois University and is a Certified Sustainable Resource Management Professional through the Illinois Recycling Association and Kankakee Community College.  He is currently President of the Illinois Counties Solid Waste Management Association, a board member of the National Recycling Coalition, an Activator to the US Plastic Pact, and a member of the Illinois Product Stewardship Councel. He resides in Gurnee, Illinois, has three children and enjoys camping and hiking.