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Green Shoots & Big Shifts is hosted by Reetu Gupta, who started the show to have open, hopeful conversations about what it really takes to make sustainability part of how we live, lead, and work.
Each week, she talks with people doing innovative, meaningful work, turning ideas into action. From startup founders and corporate change-makers to community leaders - reimagining how business, society, and the planet can thrive together.
These are stories about innovation, collaboration, possibility, and the everyday shifts that move us toward a more abundant and resilient future.
you're listening to Green Shoots and Big Shifts
the show that spotlights the people and ideas
transforming our world for the better
I'm your host Reetu Gupta
in every episode
I'll be talking with innovators and trailblazers
who are reimagining our relationship with our planet
earth whether it's a small spark of innovation
or a sweeping shift in how we live and work
we'll explore the stories that give us hope
and the actions making a difference
together we are planting seeds of change
and driving big shifts for a healthier
abundant sustainable future
hi welcome
this is Reetu Gupta
your host for the Green Shoots and Big Shifts podcast
today I have a Sarah Fuentes
she is an amazing leader in sustainability
she has her own startup Smart Waste
and she is the chairwoman of women and Clean Tech
Sustainability
I recently Learned she's also a board member
so I don't know what else she does
she has influenced so many women
and helped so many entrepreneur
so I'm so excited to have Sarah on the podcast
I've known Sarah now for a few years
but only last week I got to like have a day
you know indirect great conversation
so welcome Sarah thank you Ritu
yes I'm excited to be here
when I found out you were launching your podcast
I was like how can I support you
yeah thank you
yeah that's what I love about you
like your your first question was like
how can I support you
so I you know
I know we talked about a lot of different things
but I just to start the conversation
since this is your baby you know
what LED to the journey of starting Smart Face
were there any pivotal moments or AHAs that LED you to
like Start Smart Face
because this is not like you know
typically it's not where
it's not an industry where women are typically
you know
I was introduced to the industry by another woman
when I was in college actually
and I was majoring for my degree in early childhood
development and I was a dispatcher at this small
boutique garbage company in San Jose
and I really fell in love with
learning about the industry
you know when I was in college
um and it stayed in the back of my head
while I was pursuing other things
I ended up becoming a a teacher
working with that rescue in Santa Clara County
under a judge here in Santa Clara County
and as well working with special needs children
through a early Development program
or early Hood Childhood Development program
and through my you know
career after this I went into financial services
and I Learned about products
financial mechanisms to make your money
earn money
but then I decided to do something extremely crazy
which was or not crazy
but it's really normal for women to become a mom
at that time why I say it was
crazy was because I really was not prepared right
like I just you know
was not prepared but then after having my son
I decided
I really wanted to do something more meaningful
more impactful
because becoming a mother really changed you as a woman
so this LED me back to something that I really was like
interested in and I called that boss
that hired me when I was a dispatcher
and I asked her if she had any work
and she said no
like just like that no
literally the next weekend
she calls me and she gets on the phone
she's like Sarah
get your ass to the office on Monday
you got a job and I was like
I didn't ask no questions
I was like cool
I'll see you Monday that was it
that was our conversation hahaha
wow and I showed up on Monday
I didn't ask how much I was getting paid
I didn't ask there was no formal
like she said okay
you're gonna go out to the field today
and you're gonna learn how to compost
you used to be a teacher right
I said yeah
and she's like well
I got this contract
and we really need to compost with this school
and I really want you to help me figure it out
and I said okay sure
but I don't know anything about composting
I don't know anything about recycling
I just know about some operational stuff
some dispatch stuff about the industry
but as a teacher you're always a learner
and so I knew I could learn by being in a school
and I knew I could learn so sure enough
she was right and I Learned
not only did I learn
but I fell in love with the industry
so fast forward
I ended up working for this company for 10 years
and then Covid happened
and Covid was the pivotal thing that changed everything
for me and my
you know career right
cause I still feel like I'm in my early career
I'm only 44 years young
and so I feel like I got a lot to work to do still
right and Covid
and I'm also a caregiver my uncle's special needs
he's 62 years old and what really set it over for me
to basically fire my boss and
you know bless her heart she
she did a lot for me and
and leading me to loving the garbage industry right
but I needed to be in a place
where I was allowed to have autonomy
where I could be in a collaborative space
where I could pursue and allow my leadership skills
that you mentioned I didn't mention it
you mentioned it right
to evolve
and I was not in a place anymore where I could do that
there unfortunately
and Covid just gave me permission to fire my boss
and so that's really I mean
it was a blessing and a curse
at the same time right
Covid was a blessing and a curse at the same time
but I looked at it like
I'm gonna go ahead and take a risk well
I really was just my when I quit my job
I did not have a plan
I had no plan to start a business business
I had
I was pursuing a job to make 100 thousand plus a year
a salary and I had get I had received some offers
right but then I met a my business partner
Rodney and and that changed the game for me
I'll never forget it
we went out to eat and this is like Silicon Valley
you meet people through friends of friends right
and we were just chit chatting
he used to be in the e waste industry
I tad services and he was really
you know fascinated with me
and I was really fascinated with him
and he had asked me a question like
how much money do you think you would need to like
start start your own thing
I said oh
well I'm not prepared to answer this question
there's a big difference between how much money I need
and how much money I want hahaha right right
there's a big difference so needless to say
we had this conversation in sometime in in July
late late June early July and August 25th
we were incorporated and that changed fast for me yeah
because he saw he felt like I was a sure bet
you know
and here we are six years later in this economy
it's there's challenges that come with this economy
and the current climate that we're in right
but needless to say
the waste and recycling industry is recession proof
so I'm here for it yeah
that's thank you for sharing
and I heard a I heard a few things in there
like you took a risk you took a risk
you like
you realize you've reached like you reached the ceiling
I you didn't say that you reached the ceiling
and you're like okay
I'm hitting against the ceiling and I need to take a
make a different move take a risk
and when you took the risk
like
you met the right people and you started your company
I I love that yes
big risk I have always been a risk taker
I don't like thank God for Lisa Ann
you know Lisa Ann Pinkerton yep
the found yep
of yes
Lisa Ann's a no first woman
she's a no first then yes later
I am a yes first and no later
so we've been a really great
you know balance to each other
those years that we were building WCS together
right like right
because I was like no yeah
she was like always no and I was like
but no yeah hahaha
and she was always like no
and I'm like oh ha ha
I love that I love that
so it looks like you
you basically that this
I just thought you were the founder of smartbase
but it looks like you co built Lucy's also in the last
you know several years
and yeah for those people who don't know
and for the women who are in cleantech
and listening to us
do you want to share a little bit about what women in
cleantech and sustainability is
yeah gladly
so
I've been a founding board member of WCS for 15 years
women in cleantech and sustainability
was founded by Lisan Pinkerton
and after a year
she decided to really make it a real organization
and formally formalize it into a formal non profit
and that was when she built the board
and women in cleantech and sustainability
is a non profit organization
that supports women and men in the green economy
but our focus is around a couple
you know initiatives
around helping women achieve gender parity
in the cleantech space
another one is finding thought leaders
in the cleantech space and giving them an ample
opportunity to have their voice or ideas heard
and we have a couple ways
and how we do this in community
and we also are striving to
to be one of the most
largest and diverse networks in the cleantech space
and last but not least
is we are not just women that are learners
many of us are extremely intelligent
experienced talented women
but we are also women of action
and a woman in cleantech is around climate action
in their communities where our members are
women in cleantech was founded in San Francisco
but is now an international organization
where we have launched chapters this year in DC
in Colorado we will and
and we have also launched in Zurich
and Amsterdam this year so we are not stopping
we have ambitions to open in India
as well as Japan and we want to support women globally
not just locally and local
globalization is exactly how we plan to do that
through every woman
that cares about clean technologies
and sustainability so it's a little bit about us
if you want to get to know us
look us up online and on LinkedIn
and you can look me up online on LinkedIn
and be more than happy to introduce you to some of our
members you know
wherever you may be that's amazing
and congratulations on all the growth
shifting gears going back to your company
I know you talked about zero waste strategy
and how waste can be more than waste
it's actually resource management and can be
lead to value creation
can you talk a little bit about how you think about
you know in
from the lens of your company
and the clients you work with
how do you
how do you think about waste and value creation
yes so
you know smart stands for save money and reduce trash
Smart Waste is a zero waste facilitation
company with the the desire to
our business model is
intended to put us out of business right
like we do such a good job
of getting a business to zero waste
they're not gonna need our help anymore right
and we've had these types of experiences
with some of our customers
in San Francisco when I think about waste
I think about wasted resources
and I'm just gonna talk about a couple commodities okay
that many of us are familiar with which is glass
aluminum
and then I'm gonna throw a random one out there
a palette
because we won't be getting any material or anything
without a palette okay
so these these types of materials could be recycled
repurposed right
and a lot of times customers are
they're looking at it as a supply up here in the upper
like a product that they need
but then they're looking at it as a
something that needs to be handled after it's done
a problem that needs to be handled after right
in a circular economy
you're building in the system in the with the product
okay so when we think about glass
or we think about aluminum
these are materials that are infinitely recyclable
so on a zero waste standpoint
we want to leverage businesses
that are currently purchasing these types of materials
and help them switch their mindset from
it's a problem that we gotta handle and pay for to
let's think about it a little bit
more prematurely and how we purchase and how we design
right right now
in a waste stream
in a zero waste stream or in a in a zero waste idea or
or world means that we would not be consuming as much
right mm hmm so at Smart Waste
what we wanna be able to do is help our customers
first and foremost
identify the materials that they can commoditize
if they don't have the ability to redesign
up the stream right
and a lot of times businesses are not in that place
they don't have sustainability leadership
they don't have the buying from facilities
they don't have the buying from the CFO
so they gotta work reverse engineer the process right
so we're coming in and evaluating
a company's waste stream
identifying some of those heavy commodities
that can be commoditized so then we can recover them
now on a scope 2 3 process
we want recovery there is a demand for waste reduction
there is a demand for waste recovery right
so there's gonna be a requirement up the line
for companies to be in compliance
so zero waste facilitation is really around
as well as connecting the company with the right buyer
so once you realize that you got commodities
and I say pallets as an example
we've had manufacturing clients that
or construction jobs that were building
a 300 megawatt solar field in Pensacola
Florida okay
and when we put in the waste infrastructure plan
and the waste management plan for this build
we found a buyer for the pallets that all the skids
all the pallets that were being put on
in that 300 megawatt build
but that was because we had a Waste Management
Zero Waste plan right
where we talked about it
I knew I had details of the skits
I had the specs kids
so we were able to properly source a buyer
so they can then be recirculated back into reuse
instead of it being disposed of or recycled potentially
right so right
when I think about zero waste facilitation
that's the the
my favorite thing that sounds
you know as you were saying you
you said like you said
it helps them like smartly
because you're able to identify what that material is
reduce cost because now
then don't have to pay for the landfill or like
someone taking it away
but the question I have for you in that example
did they also make money
because then they sold the pallets to someone
did they do do they make money
that's a really good question
because people have this fallacy that oh
well it's a aluminum bottle
so you're making money on it and it should be free
well there's a cost for processing
there's a cost for transportation
there's a cost for labor to come load it right
so in in most cases
it can be a net zero where it's just a wash
got it you're
you're you're getting a service
you're getting a what they say is a free service
where they're not charging you
what they normally charge for truck and driver right
and then what they normally charge you for loading
on a forklift right
like I'm gonna charge you money to send me out there
I I'm forklift certified
so if you want me to come offload your truck
I'm gonna charge you right
but if I'm getting commodities in return that equate to
or will cover the cost of my fuel
and my guy that us
our vendors guy that we're sitting out there
then we're gonna do this as a contingent basis that hey
we're gonna do this at a net cost net zero cost right
in some cases
we do have to charge for just the truck and driver
and the labor
but that is substantially less cost for the builder
or the project right than to send it to the landfill
oh yeah oh yeah
and there are all the extern
externalities that we are not even talking about
once it's in the landfill
we can talk about that
but we won't have to do that today
yeah we don't have to do that today
yeah I
it just it feels like a no brainer to me
like it it feels like a no brainer
like because you're saving cost
your the material is getting reused
and yeah I know you mentioned commodities
but some of those commodities are critical materials
so oh
I would think they're really
you know going back into circularity
going back into reuse is a lot
I would think they're very valuable that way
you know right now
it would
the EPA regulations
there's a lot of conversation around
regulated materials right
materials that were not once regulated will be
I am not gonna list them
because I'm not privy to all of this details
off the top of my head yet
right because it's fresh
it's really fresh for all
it's happening right now yeah exactly
it's really fresh
for all of us that are in the industry and
and many of us are like at the edge of our seat
Rick too
like when's it gonna drop
yes so once it drops
we're all gonna have our opinion about it
and then we'll have another episode about that
mm hmm mm hmm
yeah and you
you mentioned the regulation
and trying to get the full form out
from the acronym
it's Extended Producer Responsibility Act
and that's both in EU and California and from correct
and Canada in Canada
someone was telling me the other day
and I haven't read up on this
it's like some other states are also trying to
to implement it I don't
ask me to name the states
I don't remember so yeah
that would be a game changer
and obviously as you said
all the details are not out yet
so we can't talk about it
so tell me more about like who are your clients
like it seems like everyone should be using Smart Face
but who are your clients
so some of our clients right now
I have clients in different industries
because the waste
recycling industry touches every industry
so I have clients in the high tech industry right now I
I service public contracts
so school districts um
I'm really working a lot with school districts
because of my experience
with being a teacher in the past
and working with students
I understand how to work with
you know multiple stakeholders at different levels
so I'm really a
passionate about putting
money back in the general fund for school districts
because that's taxpayers dollars
and nobody wants to see your
your taxpayers dollars being thrown away in the trash
literally right
so I'm really passionate
about working with school districts
so if you're listening in and you sit on a board
give your girl a call at Smart Waste
and we wanna be able to help
put 10 to 20% back in the general fund on a
on an annual basis and these are our track
records that we've been able to do
with our clients
we also work with property management companies
that have multiple tenants in it
because a lot of times
they don't have the time to go out and outreach
and educate the tenants on the right
you know process or the right way to compost or what
the new regulation is
and what kind of bags I'm supposed to put in the bins
or what I'm not allowed to put a bag in the bin
or whatever the case may be
every city is different also yeah
every city is different we also work with our vendors
so some of our clients are also some of our haulers
and some of our vendors
and I want to make it clear that smart waste
is not a processor we're not a garbage hauler
you're not gonna see a smart waste
truck coming to your facility
and picking up material
we are a vendor management company
and a zero waste facilitation company
one of our unique differentiators
is that we are R2V3 certified
and that we are waste technology agnostic
this allows us to be able to position ourselves
to test waste technologies
whether it's hardware or software
for application purposes for our clients
so if our clients have we
we can have one client that has 50 locations okay
think of food service business think of a you know
maybe like a Googanheimer or a Bon Appetit
or a Sizzler or a McDonald's right
like one customer multiple locations
imagine having one customer multiple locations
and then
3 to four different garbage bills for each location
right and then you gotta report and track on each
one of them and then each one of them have a different
reporting mechanism and how they get back
that's a lot of tracking
that's a lot of follow up that needs to happen
and we've been testing technologies where we can say
hey to our customers we found this application
this will really save you time
energy and money and this is how
and this is how much money it's gonna save you
after this much time
if you implement this type of technology
but that is not the same for every type of business
right right
we work with construction companies
to implement a zero waste plan
so the reason why we wanna do that is
so we can save them money during the construction site
plus it's a requirement for
construction companies to have a waste management plan
and and
and also
to receive the bond money back after the bills
after the building's already done
to prove that they did what they say
they were gonna do
what whatever requirements are in that jurisdiction
so we wanna make it easy for these types of businesses
that are generating waste
we'll even pick up your e waste
you know we'll pick that up
we'll send a one of our R2
v 3 certified vendors
to come out and pick up your material
and our job in this is to verify
what happens to your material
and report back to you that's our job
and also to give you recommendations
on which vendors you should be using
based on our research
and based on our experience in working with them
in the industry yeah
so you're helping them with the reporting also
like absolutely yeah
oh yeah
so I don't know what R2 v two is
can you explain what R2V2 is
so R2V3 is certification
that is around recovery of clean tech materials
so uh
electronic waste consumer electronics servers batteries
lithium ion batteries any type of universal waste
so the it goes from this hierarchy of rethink
reduce repair reuse right
then recycle and part of that is
because one of the things that you mentioned earlier
we too around the precious materials
and some of these
more toxic chemicals that might be made in
and built in and used in consumer electronics
we all know mercury is hazardous to our health right
these are in every printer by the way okay
so we want to make sure that it's properly recovered
and then our customers like for example
Sony PlayStation they're ISO 14 and one
they have reporting requirements
to work with companies that have this status
which is this R2 v 3 status
because they're ISO 14 and one
well we come in and verify
hey yes
this recyclers is R2 yes
this recyclers facility we did visit them
we went and visited this
them to verify the process of what's happening
to their materials and you know
high tech companies are a focus of ours
because we want to recover
these high value commodities
which there's you know
there's profit sharing
there's a lot of ITAD businesses out there
right that what I do asset
you know recovery
that's what they're calling
you know asset recovery and
and I'm all for that we're not a competitor with them
because we're here to do the
look at the whole picture
not just one commodity right right
this is really fascinating
like I can see why you love waste
like it is like it is the most uncelebrated thing
but it could make such a huge difference in
you know helping meeting their sustainability goals
or reducing cost doing business in a better way
not having mercury in our landfill or whatever
improving health so
so love that you you said about improving health
because most people don't realize that
waste is a health and safety mandate
so waste recovery sanitation right
it's a mandate it's a health and safety mandate
so waste is part of keeping people healthy and clean
I think about for places in
you know the Bay Area
um San Jose
San Francisco Oakland
I think about some of the cities that are
and some of the areas in those cities
that are really worn down
that are really filled with trash of people littering
and I think about for me
I think that a clean city makes me feel safer
I agree I agree
right so at Smart Waste
we also want to keep people safe
and make them feel safe in their communities
and at their workplace imagine going to work
and seeing all the trash filed up and bugs everywhere
and rats everywhere and all that kind of stuff
you wouldn't want to keep showing up
one of the other reasons why I love it so much
you too is because no one else wants to deal with it
and guarantees me work
ha ha
good strategy
you know I
I love this and also
I'm not thinking about the audience
and the founders in the audience are
people who want to start a company
you know what would you tell them
like what would you share with them
based on your journey as a founder
you know partnerships are important
and picking your partners are important
so I will say that is something that's really
really important unfortunately
not only did I have the unfortunate experience
of not having the best experience with my partners
right I mentioned Ronnie who's an amazing partner
but I also had another partner
and in this experience
I Learned a lot about what people's like
integrity is and what they tell you it is
and then what it really is
and you know you
doing a little bit more
on who you decide to do business with
long term and really
like seeing if their character
matches who they say they are
it it is
it has hindered me to be quite transparent in
and made me have you know
a little doubts in times in man
did I make the right choice
is this is this gonna you know
come back and bite me in the ass right
but you see this a lot in business
so I'm not beating myself up about it right
we don't always make the best choices or you you know
you don't know what you don't know
until you find it out and then now you know
right about people in general
but I also am very much a resilient forgiving
tolerant person so I you know
pick my head up and move forward
the other thing I would say about
if you were interested in starting a business is
it's a two things everyone wants to be the boss
until they realize
how much discipline it takes to be the boss
nobody tells me to get up and go to work every day
nobody tells me what to do what my schedule is
I have to decide that
my motivation comes in internally
from internal and my and I drive myself
so if founders thinking that it's gonna change
like all of a sudden
you're gonna have this magic dust of motivation
that's just gonna be sprinkled on you every day
you're gonna have a harsh reality that
that's not how it works
that you have to be so committed to doing it
regardless of how you feel
there's some days that I don't wanna do my job
and that's because I don't wanna do it
not because I don't love it
not because
because I'm a human being just like everyone else
I don't wanna go to work today
everyone feels like that right
that does not mean that I lack passion
lack that we all have days like that
but I still have to go and being that I know no
I'm not gonna get in trouble
nobody's gonna fire me right right
so I was I just wanna reiterate that like
everyone wants to be the boss also
everyone wants to be the boss
until you realize you get paid last
or you might not get paid this month
everyone wants to be the boss though
remember that like I no
so I just wanna like emphasize that not to discourage
but just to mentally prepare people
mentally prepare that this path might look like
it's all cause entrepreneurs online there
you know we show you what we look like at a conference
in our Sunday's best right
like we show you
we show you all the good things online
now this type of conversation
I'm telling you not not the good things as well right
mm hmm it's like there's days when we're like man
how I I have to pause a contract I can't I
I don't know how we're gonna make this work
and then something happens or you get a yes right
so there's that the other thing that I'm gonna say is
is that there's never a right time to start
so just start it
start and make little progress every day
whether it's an inch or a millimeter
and I really mean that
because that compounded over a year is success
absolutely and that's what I've been working on
with the jobs that I don't like to do
is I'm telling myself
I'm gonna get a little progress on this today
I'm gonna get a little progress on this today
and you know what Reetu
a little progress has come a long way
it gets done eventually
I understand that feeling
well this has been really
really fun talking to you
any anything else you would like to share
with the audience yes
I always have something to share hahaha
well I'm
I'm just gonna say that
I just wanna advocate for my business in smart waste
and if your business is has goals around circularity
and has goals around zero waste
and you're interested
in learning more about how we could work together
I definitely want you to reach out to me
I noticed that in our industry
it's really heavy around communication and education
and I'm thankful for my experience
to be able to
continue to educate people around the waste industry
and the importance around recycling and
and reusables and repair and things like this
so if you're interested in learning more about that
please reach out to me
cause definitely I love talking trash
as you know Reetu
follow me and connect with me on Instagram Sarah E
Fuentes Smart Waste USA on Instagram and on LinkedIn
and also women in cleantech and sustainability
thank you thank you so much Sarah
one last question
I always ask my guest to leave one word for my guest
what what would be that
one word that you would wanna leave the guests with
oh I mean the audience yes
I'm gonna say conviction
and I'm gonna say
I am a very passionate and convicted person
and it comes off when I'm talking with you
and talking with people
about the things that I'm passionate
and convicted about
and that's really what sells people on me
is my passion and my conviction
find out what that is for you
what are you convicted about
what are you passionate about
my love for trash is unfailing
today at the gym I was walking out the gym
and I found this little thing on the ground
I thought I didn't I didn't know what it was
I picked it up and it was a cookie for Crocs
you know those little charms
yeah I found a cookie charm okay
now that to me was the biggest
coolest thing because I love chocolate chip cookies
it was trash magic right there in my face
so I just have to say that
that's why I'm so passionate about it
because it pops up on me
and gives me little gifts of joy all the time right
put it on my Crocs today
I love that conviction I love that word
so on that note I thank you so much
Sarah for being a guest
and thank you to the audience for listening
alright until next time
bye 3 2