Kate Krebs, executive director of the Washington-based National Recycling Coalition the past seven years, has resigned to pursue other opportunities, the coalition said July 10.
NRC said it expects to introduce a new executive director at its annual Congress and Exposition, slated for Sept. 21-24 in Pittsburgh.
In the interim, Anjia Nicolaidis and Ed Skernolis will serve as co-executive directors, with Skernolis in charge of policy and planning, and Nicolaidis in charge of day-to-day operations.
The nonprofit advocacy group — whose mission is to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through waste reduction, reuse and recycling — also is looking for a fund development director.
Under Krebs' leadership, NRC built a number of public/private partnerships with companies such as Dell, Nike, Coca-Cola, International Paper and Waste Management/Recycle America. It also said it has raised the profile of America Recycles Day and RecycleMania, the nation's largest recycling competition at colleges and universities.
Last fall, NRC and Coca-Cola instituted a program that to date has awarded grants to 151 cities and organizations enabling them to obtain more than 5,000 recycling bins. The next set of grants is scheduled to be awarded in the fall.
But, at the same time, a number of environmentalist groups have criticized the association for not setting nationwide recycling goals or supporting bottle-deposit bills, and for not instituting widespread programs to increase recycling rates.