This week, Sego Jackson - one of Upstream’s founding board members - retired from the City of Seattle. 

As the saying goes, “People don’t remember what you said. They remember how you made them feel.” And I remember the way Sego made me feel when I first met him back in 2004. 

At the time, I had been working with Upstream’s founders on a variety of first-in-the-nation extended producer responsibility (EPR) bills in the Maine legislature. I really wanted the legislators on the Senate and House Environment and Natural Resources Committee to have a better understanding of EPR, why it was needed, and how a small state like Maine could implement it successfully.

Sego was on the founding board for Upstream. He flew across the country, and we did a full briefing for the Committee. I remember listening intently as he described how municipal solid waste management systems had evolved as a response to the public health crisis of people throwing their garbage and waste into the streets. 

I also remember how he pivoted to describe how the municipal solid waste systems that had been set up to take care of a public health crisis had inadvertently become a form of welfare for corporations. A company could design and package a product any way they wanted and then leave the responsibility for disposing of that product to local governments and taxpayers. The solution was to pass extended producer responsibility policies that would make companies putting these products in the marketplace responsible for sustainable design and collection for reuse and recycling.

Because Sego is such an incredible communicator, I watched as the legislators’ skepticism turned to enthusiasm. And I credit this briefing as a defining moment for why Maine became the national leader on moving EPR policies forward. Sego helped convince the legislative leadership - Democrat and Republican - to believe in and invest in EPR as a strategy. Maine went on to pass five first-in-the-nation EPR laws, paving the way for other states to follow. 

I’ve since worked on a number of nationally significant projects with Sego. When you really understand how much he has been involved in through his tenure, his contribution to growing the circular economy in the US is unparalleled among government officials. 

I’m also grateful for his mentorship. He’s been an incredible example of how to work well with different stakeholders with competing interests. Beloved and respected by the people who have worked closely with him, it’s hard for me to fathom that he’s retiring from his post in Seattle.

But I know that while he’s eager to spend more time on his farm and out crabbing, Sego is still hungry to contribute to growing the circular economy here in the US. And I for one, am thrilled to be able to continue to work with and learn from him. 

Thank you Sego, and congratulations on your retirement.

Matt Prindiville, CEO - Upstream