October 13, 2020
When the default practice of exporting US recyclables, primarily to China, finally fell through (largely due to contamination), the shortcomings in the domestic recycling infrastructure were laid bare. To retain its all-important relevance, every step of the recycling process—from curbside pickup to the manufacturing of new products using recycled materials—would have to greatly improve. Otherwise, the consequences of landfilling instead will have dire consequences, for the environment, public health, and the economy.
Few recycling organizations have been as diligent about improving the recycling experience on a local basis as NERC Advisory Member The Recycling Partnership. The organization’s focus on local programs “has served more than 1,400 communities and counting with best-in-class tools, data, resources and technical support helped place more than 700,000 recycling carts, reached 74 million American households, and helped companies and communities invest more than $57 million in recycling infrastructure,” it states. Its focus on reducing contamination in curbside recycling bins has led to dramatic improvement in many communities.
But the Partnership involves itself in every aspect of the recycling process, and it’s fitting that a recent report, entitled Guide to Community MRF Contracts, examines the legal relationships between communities and the next stop in the process after curbside, the Material Recovery Facility (MRF).
“The best MRF processing contract is one that clearly recognizes and protects the interests of both sides and that results in an agreement that both sides would consider fair,” the report states. “This guidance document is designed to help public recycling programs and MRFs develop transparent, balanced recycling processing contracts that allow each party to navigate volatile market conditions and an ever-changing landscape of consumer packaging.”
Such contracts gain even more importance when one realizes, as the Partnership points out, that 80% of domestic MRFs are privately owned. Thus, the Guide “walks through the 11 most important elements of a MRF Contract including: processing fees, revenue sharing, material value determination, acceptable materials mix determination, material audits, material contamination/quality, MRF performance, rejected loads and residue disposal, education and outreach support, contingencies, and reporting and communication.”
Throughout the Guide, case studies of successful contracts and Frequently Asked Questions provide individualized examples that communities and MRFs can access as templates for their own agreements. In addition, the Partnership states, “The Appendix to the report includes examples of ‘real world’ MRF contract language, drawing from existing MRF contracts in communities around the U.S. that can be used as guidance for communities to address many of the key components of contracts in the report.”
A modest blog cannot do justice to the exhaustive level of detail provided by The Recycling Partnership in this report. Suffice it to say that Guide to Community MRF Contracts is essential reading for communities and MRFs alike. Understanding and implementing the report’s insights will undoubtedly bring an enhanced level of trust to the contractual process while ensuring that the financial requirements of all parties are successfully met.
By Robert Kropp, NERC Office Manager
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