Richard Gertman has worked in the materials management field since 1970, and currently is the owner of a small consulting firm, For Sustainability Too.  Over his career he has worked for a non-profit recycling organization, the CA Solid Waste Management Board, Davis Waste Removal Company, the City of San Jose Office of Environmental Management, and Environmental Planning Consultants.  This variety of employment experience helps him understand the needs of all of the parties involved in sustainable materials management.

Richard implemented the first city-wide multi-material curbside collection recycling program in California in 1974, and the first municipal yard waste composting program in 1981 in Davis California; he implemented the first big-city residential curbside recycling collection program in the US in the City of San Jose in 1985; the two=stream wet-dry residential collection systems in Portola Valley and Woodside in 2002; the San Jose city-wide commercial wet-dry collection system in 2012; and the source separated residential food waste collection program in Sunnyvale in 2016.  He has published on a wide variety of topics and presented at many conferences.  He co-authored the "Single Stream Recycling Best Practices Manual" with Susan Kinsella of Conservatree, in 2006.