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May 2017

NERC’s Advisory Members

Distinguished Benefactors

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)

Benefactors

Coca-Cola

Samsung

Waste Management

Sustaining Members

  • Advanced Drainage Systems

  • American Beverage Association

  • Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR)

  • Balcones Recycling

  • Blount Fine Foods

  • BlueTriton Brands

  • Bulk Handling Systems

  • Casella Resource Solutions

  • CLYNK

  • Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, Inc.

  • Council of State Governments/Eastern Regional Conference

  • Eco-Products

  • Fire Rover, LLC

  • GDB International

  • Glass Packaging Institute

  • Henkel

  • Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI)

  • International Bottled Water Association

  • Keep America Beautiful

  • Keurig Dr. Pepper

  • MRM

  • Nestle USA

  • NEWMOA

  • PaintCare

  • Plastics Industry Association

  • Re-TRAC

  • Recycling Partnership

  • Republic Services

  • Reverse Logistics Group

  • Revolution

  • Serlin Haley

  • Sonoco

  • Strategic Materials

  • Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC)

  • TOMRA

  • US Composting Council (USCC)

A list of all the logos of our Sustaining Members can be found under Advisory Members

NEW & RENEWING MEMBERSHIPS

New Sustaining Member

Renewing Sustaining Member

Renewing Supporting Member

NERC NEWS

NEWLY POSTED

STATE NEWS

CONNECTICUT

MASSACHUSETTS

ADVISORY MEMBER UPDATES

OF GENERAL INTEREST

NEW & RENEWING MEMBERSHIPS

Membership is key to NERC's regional and national commitment to sustainable materials management. We are delighted to thank renewing  Sustaining Member the Steel Recycling Institute, and Supporting Member the National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER).

To see a complete listing of NERC's Members and Supporters, as well as the benefits of membership, visit the NERC Advisory Membership web page.

The broad spectrum of interests represented by NERC's Advisory Members, Individual Supporters, and Board Members and their willingness to participate significantly contribute to the unique and important role that NERC plays in recycling in the region.

For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, Executive Director. 

NERC NEWS

NERC Participating in NH & VT Gives - Day of Donation & Support - June 6 - 8 - We're Dreaming Big!

Have you dreamed of making history? Of course, we all have. And now we have a chance to be a part of both New Hampshire & Vermont's day of giving - an opportunity to support causes in which we truly believe and help nonprofit organizations connect to the larger community.

NH Gives Logo 2017Vermont Gives logo 2017

We need your help! Please join NERC's campaign and help us reach of our goal of $5,000. You  don't have to live in New Hampshire or Vermont to participate.  We need you to tell your friends and family members about the important work that NERC does and ask them to join us in helping to make a difference.

Get ready to give!

Questions? If you have any questions or would like more information, let us know by contacting Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director. Thank you in advance for your generosity to NERC!

Are You Interested in Presenting at NERC’s Fall Conference?

The Northeast Recycling Council's Fall Conference and 30th Anniversary celebration will take place on November 13 – 14th at the Lord Jeffery Inn in Amherst, Massachusetts. NERC is seeking individual presentations and session descriptions from potential presenters. Those who are interested in presenting at NERC's Conference, before a diverse audience of government, industry, non-profits, and consultants working in sustainable materials management, are encouraged to submit individual presentation and session descriptions.

The Conference theme will be learning from our past while moving into the future of sustainable materials management. The topics to be presented at the Conference will include, but are not limited to:

  • Infrastructure changes for reuse, recycling, and organics management in the Northeast and the U.S. over the past 30 years. What have we learned?
  • The state of recycling markets—paper, plastics, metals, glass, organics, textiles, tires, C&D, carpet, etc. Where are we now?
  • Sustainable Materials Management (SMM):
    • What's happening - innovative sustainable materials management strategies (SMM) being implemented.
    • What have we accomplished - studies documenting the economic impact of sustainable materials management in the U.S., including jobs created and revenues generated.
    • What difference has it made - impacts of SMM on diversion rates, recycling rates, and climate change.
    • Young professionals' contribution to SMM.
    • Extended Producer Responsibility’s role in SMM's future.
  • Potential impact of federal budget on Northeast states' recycling programs.
  • Other session ideas will also be considered.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

PRESENTATION OR SESSION DESCRIPTION – 100 words or less

PROPOSED SPEAKER(S) – name, title, email address, and phone number

SPEAKER QUALIFICATIONS FOR MAKING PRESENTATION – 50 words or less

SUBMISSION DEADLINE – May 15, 2017

SEND SUBMISSIONS TO - Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director & Events Organizer. Feel free to call with questions at 802-254-3636.

Join the Celebrations by Sponsoring NERC’s 30th Anniversary & Fall Conference!

Please consider joining Casella Resource Solutions—30th Anniversary Platinum Sponsor— and Re-TRAC Connect—Fall Conference Bronze Sponsor— in sponsoring NERC’s Fall 2017 Conference and 30th Anniversary.  During 2017, extensive publicity about NERC's 30th Anniversary has been planned, and industry is being offered two unique opportunities to highlight its support; as a 30th Anniversary Sponsor and as a Fall Conference Sponsor.  In addition to sharing in NERC’s celebration of this significant accomplishment, 30th Anniversary Sponsors will be acknowledged for their support for a full one-year period. 

The Fall Conference Sponsorship provides an opportunity to support NERC's work during the two days of this individual event. Your Conference sponsorship will be acknowledged in all event marketing materials and on NERC's website. 

For more information, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director & Event Organizer.

NERC’s 30th Anniversary Celebration Exhibitor Opportunity

Businesses are being offered a unique opportunity to be a special exhibitor at NERC’s 30th Anniversary celebration, November 13 - 14, at the Lord Jeffery Inn, Amherst, Massachusetts. 

Exhibitor Benefits

  • You receive one free conference registration.
  • You are provided with one exhibit table with electricity available (includes a 6' x 3' exhibit space)
  • You are recognized on the conference attendance list as well as in the opening plenary session of the conference.
  • You are invited to donate a product as a door prize, gaining even more visibility and recognition for your company.
  • And, you are encouraged to include a “30-year” theme in your exhibit.

The exhibit tables will be located in a room adjoining the conference presentation space. 

Conference refreshment breaks will take place in the exhibit area. In this way, exhibitors are guaranteed maximum direct exposure to all attendees.

Following are exhibit space details:

  • Exhibitor Fee — $1,000 (Includes one table for one staff person including conference registration. Additional staff need to register separately.)
  • Floor Area — 6’ x 3’; table and electricity are available, if needed.

A Memo of Understanding must be signed by all exhibitors and emailed to Mary Ann Remolador at the time of registering for the event.

For more information, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director & Event Organizer.

NERC YouTube Channel Now Available

Slowly but surely, NERC is populating its new YouTube Channel.  YouTube-logoBe sure to take a look and subscribe.  We're going to be putting webinar recordings here as well as other videos.  For more information, contact Athena Lee Bradley, Projects Manager.

Looking Back, Thinking Forward, Part 1

In 2012, NERC celebrated its silver anniversary. The NERC Blog was established that year, so as part of the celebration “memories of NERC’s past” article contributions were posted. This year, as NERC celebrates its 30th Anniversary, staff thought it would be nice to share reflections offered during our last “big” anniversary.

Shelley Dresser, NERC's founder and first Executive Director, offered some interesting notes on NERC's early history, including why NERC’s office ended up in Brattleboro!

“NERC was conceived at the Solid Waste Conference at the Penta Hotel in New York, during a conversation I had with Bernard Melewski, Counsel, New York State Commission on Solid Waste. As a garbage barge floated around NYC on a 112 day expedition, attempting to find a home for trash it was carrying, it became clear that a solution oriented approach to solid waste management was necessary. With Maurice Hinchey, a legislator from New York and the chairman of the Council of State Governments environment committee, I had all the support I needed to begin this endeavor.

Jaako mug“NERC's name went through several iterations, from "Solid Waste Advisory Team" to "Recycling Advisory Team" to the "Northeast Recycling Council." It was difficult to find the right acronym. The early chairs of NERC were Victor Bell (from Rhode Island), Mary Shield (from New Jersey), Janice Edwards (from New York), and Will Ferretti (from New York). The focus of NERC was to develop demand and markets for recycled material.

“NERC is physically based in Vermont because I moved NERC from the Eastern Regional Conference of the Council of State Governments office in NYC with the blessing of the Director, Alan Sokolow, to my home in East Dover, Vermont in 1989. In essence, I telecommuted. NERC is one year older than my eldest child. NERC moved to Brattleboro in 1991, as it became clear that we needed more staff and an office. By 1992, four years after NERC's conception, we had a half-a-million-dollar budget and growing numbers of staff including Connie Salter, Michael Alexander, and Susan Olmstead…”

Connie Saulter, NERC's second Executive Director, noted the importance of the “…dedicated number of individuals and agencies who maintained a strong vision of the importance of a public/private partnership toward solid waste/recycling initiatives.”

She added, “NERC's greatest strengths were and remain the people that are involved in its programs. What has made NERC so effective over the years is its ability to bring people together to share information on recycling. NERC had State members openly sharing information on how programs were working (or not), private sector representatives being up front on how state regulations were affecting their businesses (the good, the bad, and the costly), and always good big picture guidance from EPA, especially Cynthia Greene who has maintained her strong support all these years. One of NERC's great achievements is the ongoing coordination of pulling all these folks together for meetings, seminars, workshops, conferences and watching all this interaction bear fruit with more interaction, information sharing and coordination between all the players and stakeholders.

“NERC has served locally and regionally as a clearinghouse for sharing information – a neutral corner, as it were, where federal and state agencies and industry groups can gather to share information, build relationships, and hopefully, develop common goals and create alliances to work together towards those goals.”

Cynthia L. Greene, Manager of US EPA New England, Energy and Climate Unit first got involved with NERC as a grant project officer for NERC’s paper recycling study (early 1990s). She remarked that her fondest memories of NERC were the “… quarterly meetings and the fruitful exchange between the states, working with the Direct Marketing Association and the Post Office on recycling, the ground breaking work on determining the economic benefits of recycling, and the venture forums.”

Her insightful thoughts (in 2012) on the most “pressing issues” facing the recycling industry in the next five years—“Food waste recycling and keeping recycling as a vital environmental issue in the public's consciousness.”

Jan Ameen, the Executive Director of the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District in Massachusetts, had these thoughts on her first encounter with NERC—early in her career in the waste management field.

"... I graduated from Antioch in May 1990 and landed a job as the Vermont State Offices Recycling Coordinator in September of that year. My job was to set up recycling collections in state buildings in Waterbury, Montpelier (including the State House), correctional facilities, judicial buildings, state parks, and regional state offices.

“In 1991, I participated in NERC's Office Wastepaper Study conducted by Jaakko Poyry. Mary from Jaakko Poyry showed up in Waterbury and together we sorted through office paper from the collection program I had set up. Then we had a lovely lunch. Not surprisingly for a waste management junkie, I still have the mug she gave me for participating in the study. It sits on my desk in Greenfield (Massachusetts) and is still used. Whenever I use it, I time travel right back to that day of sorting paper at the Waterbury office complex.”

Tom Houska, with TEH Consulting in Delaware, first became involved with NERC in the early 1990's as a board member representing the Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA). His best memories of NERC were “…the meetings and the discussions (sometimes a bit heated!) about what role the states should be playing in recycling and how could NERC be most effective. Since DSWA was the only member that actually ran a recycling operation, we had to take on the role of bringing discussion back to ground level!

“…NERC's greatest strength has been to adapt to the needs of its membership. It also had the ability to find middle ground in the discussion process…the greatest achievements were the documents produced by NERC that provided basic and sound information to the region as a whole. NERC was able to bring various interests and groups together to look at trends and opportunities on a regional basis. NERC also set the standard for other regional recycling organizations to follow.”

Jeff Bednar, former NERC Board Member and Board President representing Pennsylvania, Jeffreflected  “…I look back fondly at my time with NERC and the tremendous professional growth the organization helped facilitate for my state's recycling program. NERC itself grew, taking on increasingly difficult or front-burner items, often recycling issues that no one else had addressed (or wanted to!). Lynn and Mary Ann and their staff worked tirelessly to promote NERC and to ensure NERC's contribution to the member states. The contacts and friends I met during my time with the organization I still cherish. Happily, there was always room for fun at any NERC event.

He continued, “Mostly, however, I am pleased and encouraged that the organization remains as vibrant and healthy as ever, and as a resident of one of the NERC states, I am glad that NERC continues to promote recycling in my state so we can secure all of the community benefits of a healthy recycling program.”

 (Please note: The article contains excerpts from NERC Blog articles posted during 2012; for the full articles click on the hyperlinks.)

State Electronics Challenge Receives 2017 Sustainable Purchasing Visionary Award

The Green Electronics Council (GEC), managers of the EPEAT ecolabel, recently honored 

SEC Green Electronics Challenge Awardthe State Electronics Challenge - a program of the Northeast Recycling Council - with its 2017 Sustainable Purchasing Visionary Award. The EPEAT Purchaser Award and Sustainable Purchasing Visionary Award winners were recognized at a ceremony in Washington DC, sponsored by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the premier advocacy and policy organization for the world's leading innovation companies.  

The State Electronics Challenge was awarded the Sustainable Purchasing Visionary Award for its achievements spanning almost 10 years.  Since 2008, the State Electronics Challenge has enabled state, tribal, regional, and local governments, including schools and other public entities, to purchase and manage IT products in an environmentally sound manner. 

Electronics Recycling Industry & Best Management Practices for Collecting Electronics Featured at New Hampshire Workshops

In April, NERC Executive Director Lynn Rubinstein presented two 1/2 day workshops for New Hampshire Solid Waste Operators sponsored by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.  The first, an overview of the electronics recycling industry was "sold out" with 140 participants.  The PowerPoint (which includes two YouTube videos) is available on the NERC website: Overview of the Electronics Recycling Industry.

The second workshop focused on best management practices for collecting electronics for recycling at a transfer station.  A recording of this webinar is available.

For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director.

How to Become Certified Electronics Recycler

Thanks to a project with the Consumer Electronics Association, NERC is engaged in capacity building for electronics recyclers, specifically in Nebraska, to help them to become certified. Recently, Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director, presented a webinar on behalf of the Nebraska Recycling Council that provided an overview of what it means to be certified, as well as the requirements, process, and costs. A recording of that webinar is available through YouTube.

For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director.

NERC Receives Contract to Work with Bennington County, Vermont

NERC was recently awarded a contract by Bennington County Regional Commission (BCRC) to provide training, technical assistance, and outreach. The project, to be conducted on behalf of BCRC for the Bennington County Solid Waste Alliance (BCSWA), will focus on raising awareness of the recycling, food waste diversion, and toxics requirements under Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law.

BCSWA has 13 member towns located in Southwest Vermont: Arlington, Bennington, Dorset, Glastenbury, Manchester, Pownal, Rupert, Sandgate, Searsburg, Shaftsbury, Stamford, Sunderland and Woodford. The region boasts 35,060 Residents, 25 Schools, and more than 1,700 businesses.

The contract will allow NERC to assist BCSWA in the implementation of its Solid Waste Implementation Plan (SWIP) adopted in 2015. NERC will conduct waste assessment surveys of targeted schools, businesses, and institutions, providing training, technical assistance, resource development in recycling, as well as food waste reduction, recovery, and composting, as appropriate. NERC will also outreach on the proper storage and disposal of hazardous materials.

For more information contact Athena Lee Bradley. 

Food Recovery Hierarchy in Action

At every step of our food system--growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and disposal—waste is generated. In the United States a staggering 52 million tons ends up in landfills. Moreover, this amounts to some $218 billion a year spent on food never consumed.

The Food Recovery Hierarchy prioritizes actions that can be taken to prevent and divert wasted food. Each tier of the Food Recovery Hierarchy—Source Reduction, Feed Hungry People, Feed Animals, Industrial Uses, and,     Composting—outlines different food waste management strategies.

Through its USDA funded Implementing the Food Recovery Hierarchy In Rural Vermont Communities, NERC staff is working with communities in Vermont to reduce food scraps, promote food recovery and donation options, and to divert food scraps to composting.

In March, NERC cosponsored a workshop and roundtable with Bennington County Solid Waste Alliance (BCSWA), Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (VT ANR). The event, “Materials Management – a New Way to Look at Waste,” brought together business, institution, and school representatives to learn about ways to better manage food scraps. Presenters included Michael S. Batcher from BCSWA, Celia Riechel from VT ANR, and NERC staff Athena Lee Bradley. Food donation opportunities were a hot topic for participants. Another particularly insightful discussion in sued during presentations by two hauler representatives, Trevor Mance founder and owner of TAM Waste Management Inc. and Randall Dapron, Market Area Manager at Casella Waste Systems. Collection options for food scraps, controlling odors, and of course determining costs for collection, were highlights.

Through the Food Recovery Hierarchy project, NERC is also conducting a webinar series. Its most recent webinar, Building Resiliency in Food Recovery sought to address the connections between wasted food reduction and food recovery. More than 160 people from around the country participated on the webinar.

Presenters for the webinar were:

Building Resiliency in Food Recovery, Athena Lee Bradley, Projects Manager, Northeast Recycling Council

Building Collaboration for the Food Waste Challenge, Elise Golan, Ph.D., Director for Sustainable Development, Office of the Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture

The Gleaning Project and the Importance of Law and Collaboration, Laurie Beyranevand, JD, Senior Faculty Fellow, Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, Vermont Law School

Agricultural Surplus Management and Food System Resiliency, Theresa Snow, Executive Director, Salvation Farms

NERC also had the privilege of presenting at BioCycle East Coast 2017 held in April. The presentation provided an overview of Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law and a status report from December 2016. NERC’s work through its Implementing the Food Recovery Hierarchy project, as well as its EPA Region 1 funded Creating Healthy Communities through Food Recovery & Composting in Vermont project was also overviewed.

For more information contact Athena Lee Bradley.

NEWLY POSTED

NERC Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Minutes from the most recent NERC Board of Director Meeting are now available on the website.  For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director.

STATE UPDATES

CONNECTICUT

CT DEEP, Public Officials Launch Campaign to Recycle More Plastic Bags, Wraps

Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Commissioner Rob Klee CT Commissioner Klee WRAP2017announced the campaign on February 21 at a Price Chopper store in Middletown, one of the many retail stores that accept plastic bags and wraps for recycling in storefront bins. Commissioner Klee was joined by State Senator Ted Kennedy and State Representative Mike Demicco, two of the tri-chairs of the General Assembly’s Environment Committee, who spoke about the importance of increasing plastics recycling.

(Photo: DEEP Commissioner Rob Klee and Sherill Baldwin, DEEP’s CT WRAP Coordinator)

“When plastic bags or wraps are put in curbside bins, it makes recycling more difficult, time consuming, and expensive, which winds up costing all of us more money,” Commissioner Klee noted. “Recycling plastic bags and wraps at participating retailers diverts materials from the landfill and creates useful new products. This supports the state goal of diverting 60 percent of our trash from the waste steam by 2024.”

The WRAP (Wrap Recycling Action Project) campaign in Connecticut is an innovative public/private partnership that promotes recycling of plastic “film” beyond bags. The partnership is comprised of public officials, municipalities, recycling officials, retailers and grocers such as Price Chopper, the American Chemistry Council, Trex, which makes recycled plastic lumber products, and other recycling advocates. Clean and dry and plastic bags and wraps placed in storefront recycling bins, get recycled into products such as new grocery bags, benches, and decking. 

A recent survey of Connecticut residents found that only half are aware that certain plastic items should be brought to grocery or retail stores to ensure proper recycling. Residents can learn where and what to recycle at the official WRAP Plastic Film Recycling page.

DEEP encourages more municipalities and retailers to join the CT WRAP initiative.  For more information contact Sherill Baldwin.

MASSACHUSETTS

MassDEP Recycling Business Development Grant Deadline June 30, 2017

The deadline for MassDEP’s Recycling Business Development Grants (RBDG) is June 30, by 5:00 p.m.  The RBDG program is intended to help Massachusetts recycling processors and manufacturers create sustainable markets for eligible materials, and to add value to municipal and business recycling efforts. Selected applicants will receive grant awards of between $50,000 and $400,000.

MassDEP will evaluate each applicant's capabilities and experience, the extent to which the proposed project fosters stronger local recycling markets, the technical feasibility of the investment, the applicant’s financial match, and the likelihood of success and continued sustainability of the investment after the grant. MassDEP may require a site visit and/or interview with the top ranked applicants as part of the evaluation. 

Visit the MassDEP RBDG webpage for more information about eligibility and material requirements, and a link to the application.

RecyclingWorks in MA—New Best Management Practices Published

Over the course of 2016, RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts, which is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and is delivered under contract to MassDEP by the Center for EcoTechnology, engaged stakeholders to develop two sets of best management practices. The final documents are now available on the RecyclingWorks website:

Both sets of best management practices are considered living documents. To provide feedback on these guidelines, please contact RecyclingWorks. 

MassDEP Announces Best Practices for Municipalities Developing Private Hauler Regulations

In response to frequent requests for assistance from municipal officials who want to expand recycling access to residents and commercial entities not served by their municipal program, MassDEP, in collaboration with municipal officials and the hauling community, has developed Best Practices for Municipalities Developing Private Hauler Regulations.  

Both municipal officials and the hauling community are looking for consistent messages related to solid waste management.  Of particular interest to municipal officials is the need to “level the playing field” so that all entities handling solid waste in a municipality comply with the Waste Bans (310 CMR 19.017) and follow the same set of rules.  For the hauling community, inconsistent municipal hauler regulations make it difficult for them to keep track of the specific requirements for each of the communities in which they do business.  To make a finer point, to date, 164 municipalities across the Commonwealth have adopted private hauler regulations – each is as unique in the specifics as the municipality itself, with differing requirements, standards and penalties. Haulers have also been vocal about the importance of requiring mandatory recycling for all waste generators.  For these reasons, MassDEP invested in developing a guidance document that could be used by municipalities looking to either improve existing, or adopt new private hauler regulations.   

MassDEP hired DSM Environmental to review examples of private hauler regulations from across the Commonwealth, and to work with MassDEP’s Municipal Assistance Coordinators to draft a model.  Municipal representatives, haulers and other stakeholders were invited to attend two public meetings held last fall to review the draft. More than 120 stakeholders attended these meetings and many provided constructive comments.  Subsequent meetings were held with stakeholders to further refine the model Best Practices for Municipalities Developing Private Hauler Regulations. 

The document contains sample language that can be adopted as is, edited, or used in conjunction with city or town specific language to best address the circumstances in each municipality. Additional information, including optional regulatory language that may be important to some municipalities, such as unit-based pricing, provision of recycling containers, food waste collection services, or other recycling incentives, was also developed.  A sample Permit Application and Annual Reporting Form are included. The complete package can be found on MassDEP’s Implementing Mandatory Recycling & Private Hauler Regulations webpage. 

MassDEP encourages municipal officials to review the guidelines and adopt or update private hauler regulations that meet their municipality’s goals.  Without hauler regulations, many commercial and residential generators are not offered or provided recycling services.  By bundling recycling and trash hauling services, and adopting mandatory recycling for all generators, municipalities can increase access to recycling.  As these key provisions of the best practices document are adopted, MassDEP expects to see greater consistency across municipalities with respect to clear operating guidelines for private haulers and accessible recycling services to all residents and commercial entities. 

Further incentive to adopt a hauler regulation is found through MassDEP’s Sustainable Materials Recovery Grant Program.  Dependent on the number of households served through the municipal trash program, municipalities that adopt the general language of the regulation are eligible to earn between $700 and $20,000 in Recycling Dividends Program funding.

Advisory Member updates

The 2017 APR Plastics Recycling Web Seminar Education Series

Recycling Rigid Plastics Beyond Bottles: Resources to Encourage MRFs and Municipalities to Expand Collection

Since 2009 APR has conducted a survey to evaluate each state's largest municipality's residential plastics collection programs. Of those 51 cities (Washington DC is included in the survey) only 5 remain with bottles only collection programs. The growing trend continues to be: Recycling Rigid Plastics Beyond Bottles.

The APR strives to expand the recycling of plastic material through the development of resources to support state and local solid waste management and recycling officials to enhance their collection programs, increase the amount of material collected by those programs, and add value to the bottom line. The webinars below will provide an overview of each of the toolkits resources to support recycling rigid plastics beyond bottles including: Success Stories, Market Information, Education, Flowcharts and Videos, Remanufacturing Information, and Frequently Asked Questions.

The APR Design® Guide & The How2Recycle® Label: A Partnership to Expand and Improve Plastics Recycling

Tuesday, September 19th 2017 @ 1:00 pm EST

How2Recycle® is a consumer based standardized labeling system that provides specific instructions to consumers, directly on packaging, regarding whether or not a container is recyclable, not yet recyclable, or if the consumer should check if their local collection programs accept the material.

Each How2Recycle® label is based on the most current recyclability data available, as well as critical technical insights from Association of Plastic Recyclers and the APR Design® Guide for Plastics Recyclability. This webinar will provide an overview outlining how brand companies can acquire the label for their products, how the program defines recyclable, and how APR and The How2Recycle® are working together to expand the effort to include more products into this valuable consumer education labeling system.

2016 National Postconsumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Rate Report Overview

Tuesday, November 7th 2017 @ 1:00 pm EST

The 2016 National Postconsumer Plastics Bottle Recycling Rate Report, a collaborative effort of APR and The American Chemistry Council (ACC), quantifies the amount of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) bottles collected for recycling, as well as the rate of recycling of those bottles. This study also includes postconsumer recycling values and comments for polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This webinar will serve as an Executive Summary, featuring data and analyses from the report. It will also include data from the Report on Postconsumer PET Container Recycling Activity in 2016, a collaborative effort of APR and The National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). Both reports will be available on the APR website once publicly released.

The Ultimate Guide to Writing a Mandatory Recycling Ordinance - Webinar May 3

re-trac webinar announcement

ISRI Members Can Help Protect Themselves with Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA) Reasonable Care Compliance Program Reports

The 2017 ordering period for Facility Reports through the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries’ (ISRI) Superfund Recycling Equity Act (SREA) Reasonable Care Compliance Program is now open. This year’s ordering season began on April 3, and runs through May 31. ISRI members can order most reports at the subsidized cost of $35.

Federal Superfund law, and many states laws, can hold scrap processors and brokers who have shipped materials to consumers’ facilities liable for cleanup costs where the initial polluter is bankrupt or otherwise unable to pay for cleanup costs. In fact, Superfund liability costs can reach the millions of dollars and put companies out of business if they do not protect themselves. Under SREA, by showing “reasonable care,” recyclers can employ a valid defense to a claim for Superfund liability.

SREA requires every processor and broker to conduct due diligence before recyclable materials are shipped to consuming operations. This involves, among other things, making sure all of your consumers’ facilities are in environmental compliance.

ISRI members have the benefit of participating in the SREA Reasonable Care Compliance Program to assist them with the defense of a Superfund liability claim. ISRI’s SREA program offers its members the opportunity to order reports on consuming facilities which include:

  • Publicly available, comprehensive environmental compliance information compiled from more than 1,200 federal, state, and local databases;
  • FOIA requests;
  • Facility questionnaires; and
  • Supporting back-up data.

For additional details, visit the SREA Reasonable Care Compliance Program page of the ISRI website.

ISRI Announces EcoStrate as the Recipient of the 2017 Design for Recycling Award

The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries has selected EcoStrate SFS, Inc., as the 2017 Design for Recycling® (DFR) Award winner, recognizing the company’s ability to create composite plastic products from 100% post-consumer, high-polymer content scrap materials that are difficult to recycle. The DFR Award is ISRI’s most prestigious award given annually to the most innovative contribution to products designed with recycling in mind. It recognizes proactive steps made by manufacturers that have actively incorporated DFR principles into products and processes.

Through the development of a new process, EcoStrate is able to manufacture traffic signs, indoor/ADA signs, flooring, and other surface materials from polymer content derived from used electronics, textiles, and various other scrap. Prior to use by EcoStrate, many of these materials were entering the waste stream due to non-compatibility with recycling technologies. Through this new manufacturing process, EcoStrate has created the ability to pull new materials into the recycling stream. Furthermore, each of the products EcoStrate produces is recyclable.

The revolutionary process developed by EcoStrate has the potential to open new markets not just for plastics recyclers, but for those who handle electronics, textiles, and other commodities. This serves as prime example of how manufacturers and recycling industry can work together to expand sustainable manufacturing and recycling.

The award was presented to EcoStrate on April 27, during the 2017 ISRI Convention and Exposition in New Orleans.

ISRI began presenting the award more than 10 years ago. Previous winners include Samsung, LG Electronics, Dell, Inc., Cascades Fine Papers Group, Hewlett-Packard, The Herman Miller Company, and Wind Simplicity.

Of General Interest

Observations from Volunteering at a Food Bank

Food donation programs are one of the best ways to eliminate food waste. After all, they take edible food and feed the hungry instead of letting the food get thrown away. But as I learned a week ago, these are complex operations dependent on volunteers to do much of the heavy lifting.

I had joined my fellow board members of the Maryland Recycling Network for a volunteer shift at the Maryland Food Bank. In its 35th year of operation, this food bank is experiencing a surge in food donations. In fact, food contributions doubled from 2012 to 2015 and in 2016, the Food Bank distributed 41,000,000 meals through its 1,250 distribution partners. These partners are the local community groups that directly distribute food to individuals in their community.

All food banks rely on donations of food, time and money. Food is donated by grocery stores and other donors, with semi-trailer trucks arriving daily at the warehouse full of pallets of edible foods. After delivery, volunteers are essential for sorting and packing the food. In 2016 volunteers donated 35,000 hours of time to the Maryland Food Bank, saving that organization millions in costs. As for the food donors, they get tax deductions and lower hauling costs.

After a safety orientation, we were given our assignments. We were divided into two crews. One would be sorting meat products. (They were told to “dress warm” before they came, I bet they were working in a cold storage unit). Our group was assigned to the conveyor belt. Along with another volunteer, I was given the task of unloading boxes of donated food, checking for anything that had to be rejected and putting the good stuff on a conveyor belt. The other volunteers were pulling off specific items such as beverages or canned vegetables for further distribution. Over the course of the morning my partner and I sorted through more than 100 boxes. 

To my surprise, working at a food bank was also a good lesson on the importance of good packaging in avoiding food waste. We filled several trash cans with food that could not be donated. In most cases, it was due to what I would call “package failure.” One big problem was containers whose labels had peeled off. Let’s face it, you can’t distribute mystery whatever! Another problem was paperboard boxes that were crushed or ripped, exposing their contents. (You don’t know annoying until you have picked up a box of pasta only to have it empty out all over the floor). Dented cans were also a problem, but they could be distributed if the dents were minor. 

The most frustrating instance was individual serving-sized fruit cups that had separated from their bulk containers. The cups were unlabeled because the container had the product information. We knew they were fruit and could usually guess which kind, but without labels, they had to be discarded.

Fortunately, the amount of rejects was very small. All of the rejects were frustrating, but I understand the need to ensure that only clearly identified edible food is distributed. 

The one package I saw very little of on my shift was flexible packaging. That might be because the label is printed directly on the container or it might be that they don’t dent or break easily. Of course, maybe the sample is too small to draw conclusions. Nonetheless, flexible packages were noticeable in their absence.

I’m glad our group was able to provide this volunteer activity. I left a little tired and sore, but happy to do my part. Food banks serve an incredibly important role in both eliminating waste and in feeding the hungry. But they can’t succeed at either without volunteers.

If you are interested in helping out, check the web site of your local food bank. It should have all the information you need. Volunteer. You will enjoy the experience. I plan to go back and help again. I hope to see you there.

Chaz Miller is director of policy/advocacy for the National Waste & Recycling Association in Washington, D.C.