Spence has spent his career in start-ups ranging from software companies and state-of-the-art materials recovery facilities (MRFs) to food-grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) manufacturing facilities. He has always sought to use data to improve the recycling system, earning him a Waste360 “40 under 40” award in 2017 for several applications he created for the recycling and hauling operations at Athens Services in Los Angeles. He later embarked on the launch of rPlanet Earth, where he led teams that manufacture food-grade packaging from recycled PET as the Operations Manager. As Director of MRF Advancement at The Recycling Partnership, Spence combines his expertise in recycling processes with software to bring new ideas to community recycling programs.