PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Mary Ann Remolador, maryann@nerc.org
Date: March 3, 2021

Northeast Recycling Council Invites Industry & Public Sectors to Develop Glass Model Legislation

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), a non-profit organization working with the 11 Northeast states on recycling market development issues, is convening a Work Group to develop model legislation for minimum post-consumer recycled content requirements for glass beverage and food containers, and fiberglass insulation. 

The goals for developing the model legislation are to:

• Develop markets for post-consumer glass containers.
• Increase the use of post-consumer glass containers in the manufacture of new beverage and food containers and fiberglass insulation.

"Glass is a highly recyclable material, and states consistently hear from stakeholders that markets for post-consumer glass must be strengthened to help develop more demand for this feedstock," said Chris Nelson, Supervising Environmental Analyst of the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.  "Post-consumer recycled content standards for new glass products will help to create more robust markets for glass recovered through recycling programs."

NERC’s intent for the Work Group is to bring together (virtually) a broad group of impacted stakeholders from industry and public sectors to achieve a positive outcome.  The Work Group co-chairs are Chris Nelson, Supervising Environmental Analyst of the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection; and Stephen Burm, Director of State Government Affairs, Anheuser-Busch with technical assistance from Ed Ferguson, Director of Sustainability, Anheuser-Busch.

“At Anheuser-Busch, we have a longstanding history of environmental stewardship and have committed to 100% of our packaging being made from majority recycled content or be returnable by 2025,” said Ed Ferguson, Director of Sustainability at Anheuser-Busch. “Through this work group, we look forward to working alongside all parties within the packaging and recycling supply chain to identify and build scalable solutions to help achieve this goal and set a model for others within the industry.”

The following are the identified stakeholders for the Work Group:

• Brands
• Glass Container Manufacturers
• Fiberglass Insulation Manufacturers
• Glass Recyclers/Beneficiators
• Industry Associations
• Distributors/Retailers
• Haulers/Material Recycling Facility Operators
• State Environmental Agencies
• State Recycling Organizations
• Environmental Advocacy Groups

The first Work Group meeting is scheduled for April 8 at 1:30 p.m. (eastern). If you would like to join the Work Group to develop the model legislation, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director, prior to April 8.