Northeast Recycling Council Spring Conference Returns to Pennsylvania for Dynamic Two-Day Discussions on Sustainable Materials Management

Angelina Ruiz • May 29, 2024

Waste Advantage Magazine

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) held its Spring Conference from April 30 – May 1 in King of Prussia, PA and offered two days of education, lively discussions, and great networking opportunities. Kicking off the first day of the event, Megan Schulz-Fontes, Executive Director of NERC talked about Earth Day’s focus this year on plastics and how the industry should use this attention from the public to educate and remind the public about the importance of reduction and reuse in addition to recycle, and showcase the amazing work that is being done on materials in addition to plastic. Recycling works best when we see reduction and reuse work together with it. The public is becoming increasingly wary of impacts on their environment and are changing their consumption behavior accordingly. She stressed that regardless of the upcoming results of the November’s election, we need to continue to focus the conversation on the RRR principles and the benefits of incorporating sustainable materials management into corporate strategy and state and municipal policy. Bringing the right people around the table is essential. Schulz-Fontes thanked everyone involved in making the event happen—the development and program manager, senior project manager, board members, committee members, advisory members, sponsors, and attendees. She announced the NERC Annual Fall Conference will be held on October 28-30 in partnership with the Center for Sustainable Materials Management at SUNY ESF in Syracuse, NY.


Day 1: Welcome Remarks and Keynote

Schulz-Fontes introduced Lawrence E. Holley, Director of Bureau of Waste Management for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, who provided the welcome remarks.


Holley thanked NERC for bringing the event back to Pennsylvania and said that the partnership is important. He talked about a study they did recently that showed organics made up most of waste stream, and that recycling processing and capacity is a challenge as collection methods are limited because of access and costs. He pointed out that while source separation has the best marketability, there is no one size fits all. Recycling education needs to be strong to complement your recycling program. He discussed how the future of recycling aligns with DEI, serving everyone while seeing the emergence of different cultures. He explained that at the Department, they have even begun to translate their resources into different languages. PA Dutch in particular is a combination of two languages, and because of this, there is a real need for these resources since there is limited access to internet and other materials. With regards to industry retention, she said that while we cannot compete with the private sector regarding pay, we need to think about how we can make employees feel valued. Holley emphasized the economic and environmental impact the industry has—everything associated with it has value. Don’t count on recycling as a true metric for your program, especially considering the changes taking place and the packaging/EPR programs being developed.


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Andela Products

By Sophie Leone • May 27, 2026
Founded by Cynthia Andela, Andela Products is a leader in Glass Recycling. Since its inception, Andela Products has expanded into designing complete systems to pulverize, clean and screen post-consumer waste glass. Andela uses cost-effective systems to transform waste glass into usable, high-value materials. Andela provides multiple applications such as a Pulverizer, Crusher, Laminated Glass, CleanGlass Cleaup Systems, and Single Stream Recycling. The variety in systems allows Andela to reach a diverse network of businesses and expand their reach. In addition to equipment, Andela has a detailed library of resources and safety information on the recycled glass market. Providing the community, and those in the industry, with details on glassphalt, sand and aggregates, glass sand as soil amendments, PCR, best practices and much more. Andela features testimonials on their websites, showcasing the prestige and easy operational use of their equipment by customers. With some customers stating, “We are incredibly satisfied with the GP-MegaMini from Andela Products — it is efficient, reliable, and its performance has exceeded our expectations” and “We appreciate the ease of ordering wear parts and value the attention and service we receive from Andela Products, it’s a true partnership”. NERC is excited to welcome Andela Products into our growing glass community. We look forward to supporting an organization committed to innovation and advancing technology while promoting education and best practices. For more information on Andela Products visit.

Q1 2026 Northeast Commodity Values Increase Despite PET’s Continuing Decline

By Megan Fontes • May 26, 2026
Aluminum, Clear Glass, and Natural HDPE See Significant Gains in Outbound Tons Marketed in 2025

Commodities market hurts county recycling revenue

By Brian Shane | OC Today-Dispatch • April 30, 2026
(May 1, 2026) Worcester County collected millions more pounds of recycling last year, but generated less revenue – and taxpayers are covering the difference. The shift reflects a sharp drop in the market for recyclable materials, which has undercut what the county can earn from selling paper, plastic and metal. County officials say they sometimes hold materials for weeks or months, waiting for a buyer, Public Works Director Dallas Baker told the county commissioners. “Cardboard still sells really well. Metals sell really well. Plastic is kind of horrible,” he said at an April 14 budget work session. “For most of the year, plastic might not sell at all – like, you have to pay somebody to come take your plastic.” The county is projecting $150,000 in recycling revenue for fiscal year 2027, against more than $1.2 million in costs – a shortfall absorbed by the county’s general fund, according to Enterprise Fund Controller Quinn Dittrich. He added that recycling revenue has declined in the last two fiscal years, falling about $80,000 in 2024 and $15,000 in 2025. Low prices for plastics are driving the decline, according to Bob Keenan, the county’s recycling manager. Vendors are offering just a few cents per pound for plastic. “There is simply no market in it,” he said. “There are warehouses and warehouses of plastic that (vendors) can’t get anybody to buy.” Other materials have also lost value, Keenan said: Corrugated cardboard has fallen from $125 a ton to as low as $60. Mixed paper has dropped from $120 a ton to $70. Aluminum sells for $1.09 by the ton through a broker, though market prices are closer to 80 cents. At the same time, recycling volume is up. Last year, the county collected 1,985 more tons of recyclables – that’s almost 4 million pounds – than in 2024. Totals for 2025 came to 12,236 tons for residential recyclables and 24,707 for commercial, according to Keenan. He noted that the county has been promoting recycling through outreach, in part by hosting 14 school field trips in the last year to its Newark processing facility. “We send them home with a lot of literature about what you can and can’t recycle,” Keenan said. “I want people to know what we do, and that we’re not throwing their recycling away.” Worcester’s revenue decline mirrors a broader trend. A March 2026 report from the Northeast Recycling Council found recycling commodity values hit a five-year low in 12 states, including Maryland and Delaware. Industry reports also show at least five U.S. plastic recycling facilities have closed since early 2025 as demand has weakened. Ocean City officials faced a similar reality years ago. The resort pulled the plug on its traditional recycling program in 2009 after determining it was too costly to maintain. In its final year, the city spent $1.2 million on recycling and brought in $200,000 in revenue, according to Public Works Director Hal Adkins. Since then, Ocean City has contracted to truck its rubbish to waste-to-energy incinerators outside Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. “It was just not sustainable,” Adkins said. “It doesn’t make money.” Read on OC Today-Dispatch.