PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Mary Ann Remolador, maryann@nerc.org
Date: September 22, 2020
Northeast Glass Forum All About Recycled Glass Markets
Markets for recycled non-bottle bill glass was the focus of the Northeast Recycling Council’s Northeast Glass Forum. The virtual Forum was held on Sept 1 - 2 and attracted more than 150 attendees from 25 states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian Provinces.
Scott Defife, President of the Glass Packaging Institute kicked off the Forum with a Keynote Address about the state of glass markets in the US and how different communities are bolstering their glass recycling collection programs. Megan Pryor of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Chair of NERC’s Glass Committee, and Jim Nordmeyer, VP, Global Sustainability of Owens-Illinois, followed Defife with presentations about the importance of recycling glass and the recycled glass hierarchy.
The Forum continued with Patrick Grasso, Principal of Urban Mining NE; Herb Northrop, Chief Operations Officer of Aero Aggregates; and Reagan Bissonnette, Executive Director of the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA), presenting alternative markets for non-bottle bill glass. The final session of the first day was about the economics of recycling, featuring Joseph Sardone, General Manager of Oak Ridge Waste & Recycling, and Matt McKinney, Major Account Manager of Waste Management-Recycle America.
The second day of the Forum began with a discussion about preparing glass for recyclers and knowing the needs of the end markets with Francois Ierfino, Director of Purchasing & Sales of 2M Resources Corp. and Laura Hennemann, VP, Marketing & Communications of Strategic Materials. A session about strategies & technologies for cleaning, handling, & transporting glass followed with Carlos Manchado Atienza, Regional Director Americas of TOMRA Sorting, Inc.; Cynthia Andela, President of Andela Products; Mark Neitzey, Director of Sales of VAN DYK Recycling Solutions, and Dan Krivit, Environmental Technical Support of Foth Infrastructure & Environment, LLC.
The Forum closed with Ava Labuzetta, Pollution Prevention Engineer, New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (P2I), leading a discussion about strategies for moving glass recycling forward in the northeast.
If you missed the Forum and are interested in purchasing access to the session recordings and presentations, contact Robert Kropp, NERC’s Bookkeeper, at 802-254-3636.