Shane Buckingham

Principal

Shane is a sustainability leader, strategic communications professional and policy specialist with 14 years of experience working in consulting, industry, government and media. He is the founder of Apex Policy, a firm specialized in creating public policy solutions, leading sustainability and circular economy initiatives, managing stakeholder relations and developing communications strategies.

• 2022-23: Serving as Project Deputy Lead for Circular Action Alliance, a new U.S. producer responsibility organization for paper and packaging. Leading EPR program and organizational planning, as well as supporting the Board of Directors.

• 2018-Present: Serving as a Director on the Board of the Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation, which is a producer responsibility organization that operates Alberta’s deposit-return program collecting from 220 depots.

• 2021-23: Served as a lead advisor on the project team that created Circular Materials, a national, non-profit organization responsible for paper and packaging recycling systems in Canada.

  • 2021-23: Created, led and facilitated Circular Materials’ Producer Working Group from October 2021 to March 2023 for a total of 35 meetings covering a range of topics from recycling system design, material costing, recycled content and rulemaking.

  • 2021-22: Led Circular Materials’ producer recruitment strategy and team, ensuring Circular Materials was successful in representing a majority of producers and market share in Ontario in less than a year.

  • 2022: Represented Circular Materials in the Ontario government’s mediation process amongst producer responsibility organizations, which led to regulatory reforms supporting the creation of a common collection system for blue box material.

• 2021: Co-authored the report that recommended the creation of Circular Materials, a national non-profit producer responsibility organization for paper and packaging in Canada.

• 2020-21: Provided strategic communications and stakeholder relations advice to Stewardship Ontario for the consultation and approval of the Blue Box Wind-Up Plan to transition from the shared producer-municipal funding model to full extended producer responsibility for paper and packaging.

• 2020-21: Provided policy and strategic communications advice to Automotive Materials Stewardship on the development of Ontario’s extended producer responsibility regulation for Hazardous or Special Products.

• 2020-21: Represented the Canadian Beverage Association in Ontario’s Producer Blue Box Working Group to provide feedback on the development of the province’s Blue Box Regulation, which was released on June 3, 2021.

• 2019: Represented the Canadian Beverage Association in Ontario’s Blue Box Mediation between producers and municipal representatives on transitioning municipal curbside blue box programs to a new producer-funded and operated recycling system for paper and packaging.

• 2017-2019: Prepared the Canadian Beverage Association’s 2017 and 2018 Annual Reports for the Beverage Refrigeration Units Stewardship Plan in British Columbia.

• 2017-2018: Successfully managed the roll-out and communications of the Canadian Beverage Association’s Public Space Recycling Pilot Project with the Town of Erin in Ontario, which included the installation of 87 recycling bins and a community promotion and education campaign (Wellington Advertiser: Erin to boost public space recycling with new bins as part of pilot project).

• 2017: Managed a contract with Shared Value Solutions, on behalf of the Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA – now called Waste to Resource Ontario) to develop an industry guide, Enhancing Pollinator Habitat. Additionally, developed the communications for the guide and worked with the Toronto Star on an exclusive story to release it. (Toronto Star: Niagara landfill transforms into farm for bees.)

• 2016-17: Led an initiative on behalf of the OWMA to update the province’s traffic laws to require drivers to slow down and move over for waste collection vehicles and workers on the job – which garnered favourable local and provincial coverage. (Niagara this Week: Slow down, move over rules urged for garbage trucks, snow plows; Drivers’, lifters’ lives worth no less; Global News: Ontario MPP wants to broaden ‘slow down, move over’ law. Hamilton News: Ontario’s waste management association gets behind "Slow down, Move over" bill by Tory MPP.)

• 2016: Managed policy development and stakeholder relations, on behalf of Ontario Environment Critic and Member of Provincial Parliament Lisa Thompson, in response to the Waste-Free Ontario Act, which formed the foundation of individual producer responsibility in Ontario.

• 2015: Supported and communicated the Government of Canada’s science review of microbeads, which led to the phase-out of their use in cosmetics in Canada. (CBC News: Plastic microbeads: small bits with a big impact).

• 2014-15: Supported Canada’s Environment Minister and Environment Parliamentary Secretary for meetings of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment in 2014 and 2015.

• 2013: Managed policy development and stakeholder relations, on behalf of Ontario Environment Critic and Member of Provincial Parliament Michael Harris, in response to the Waste Reduction Act.