NERC was one of the primary organizations that developed the Recycling Investment Forum (RIF) as a strategy to stimulate the development of businesses processing or manufacturing products from recycled materials. The Northeast RIFs featured select firms making formal presentations to a diverse investor audience. From 1996–1999, 43 recycling firms seeking equity presented their business plans to a total of 93 investors at the Forums. As a result of the Forums, 35% of the presenting businesses received a total of $20.14 million. These investments created or retained a total of 221 jobs, and increased the amount of recycled materials used in processing or manufacturing new products by 181,291 tons/year. Primary sponsors of the Forums included: EPA Regions I, II, and III. Additional sponsors included: the New York State Office of Recycling Market Development, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Chelsea Center for Recycling and Economic Development, Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, National Recycling Coalition, American Plastics Council, Steel Recycling Institute, Pennsylvania Private Investors Group, Con Edison, and Price Waterhouse, LLP.

The key NERC staff for this project was Mary Ann Remolador. For more information about NERC's current projects, contact Mariane Medeiros, Senior Project Manager.

Recycling Business Financing Seminars - Grant

Recycling business owners, like most entrepreneurs, often do not fully understand the range of financing options available to them. To help recycling businesses obtain financing and to find the best businesses to participate in the Northeast Recycling Investment Forum, NERC sponsored a series of eight Recycling Finance Seminars in Fall 1997 and Fall 1998. The 1997 Seminars were conducted by the Wharton School Small Business Development Center, and the 1998 Seminars were presented by financial consultant William Kraft. Funding for the Seminars was provided by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Jobs Through Recycling Initiative.



The key NERC staff for this project was Mary Ann Remolador. For more information about NERC's current projects, contact Mariane Medeiros, Senior Project Manager.