Special Thanks to Our 2022 Sponsors!

Relaunch of NC Recycling Markets Directory

Check Out the New Features and Fresh Look

The Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service (DEACS) Recycling Program has launched an updated version of the interactive North Carolina Recycling Markets Directory. The directory, which now features a mapping function, complements the work of RBAC by connecting generators with nearby recyclers to keep materials out of the landfill and advance the state’s circular economy.

Access the NC Recycling Markets Directory

CRA Call for Presentations is Now Open!

Submit Ideas for the 2023 CRA Conference in Wilmington, NC

Calling all recycling nerds! It's that special time of year to submit presentation ideas for the 2023 CRA Conference & Trade Show at the Wilmington Convention Center covering all recycling disciplines and topics from both the public and private sectors! This is a great opportunity to speak to hundreds of recycling professionals in the Carolinas. Success stories as well as innovative programs, methods, and technologies to advance material recovery or waste reduction, are preferred. Presentations that include interactive hands on education or product/technology demonstrations are a plus! Please submit your ideas by Tuesday September 27th.

Grant Funding for PET Recycling

Recycling Partnership Greases the Plastic Recycling Wheel

The Recycling Partnership’s PET Recycling Coalition is offering grant funding to material recovery facilities, secondary sortation facilities, or PET reclaimers for projects that will establish long-term, sustainable increased PET capture, strengthened recycling viability for pigmented/opaque PET, broadened acceptance of PET non-bottle rigids in community recycling collection programs, and/or improved alignment of rPET with end market needs.

Find more information and apply at The Recycling Partnership

Financing for Aluminum Can Recovery Equipment

We CAN Get More CANS but We CAN'T Think of Any Other Puns!

Three US organizations are providing financing to allow recyclers to lease aluminum can recovery equipment, which enables them to implement sorting best practices. Recent tests conducted at three US-based MRFs show that between 7 and 37 cans are missorted every minute. The average annual revenue loss is estimated to be around US $71,940 (EUR €68,245) using a five-year average of can scrap prices. If the three MRFs included in the test were to install additional equipment that captured all the cans at the points tested, they could recover 22 million more cans ever year. This scrap is said to be worth over US $350,000 and provide enough energy savings to power nearly 1000 US homes for a full year.

Read the full story from Recycling International

Glass Recycling to Improve in NC Communities

Support of Foundation Grants to Aid in Collection, Efficiency & Recovery

Glass recycling will continue to improve for residents in select cities and counties in North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. So far in 2022, the Glass Recycling Foundation has awarded almost $70,000 in grants to support equipment, education, and pilot project activities that improve glass recycling. The Glass Recycling Foundation is a non-profit organization established to provide and raise funds for localized and targeted assistance that addresses gaps in the glass recycling supply chain across the United States. Pinehurst, Moore County and Pitt County are recipients.

Read the full story at Waste Advantage

Dynamic Recycling Duo: Cape Fear Brewers & UNCW

Wilmington's Newest Recycling Program

It's time to make a toast to the recycling warriors of Wilmington! The great minds of Cape Fear's Craft Brewing Alliance and UNCW Recycling Dept have come together to create a recycling initiative that will address the disposal of waste products commonly used in local craft beer production. The initiative began when Carmen Keene, an intern with Mad Mole Brewing Company, contacted UNCW to discuss the the prospect of recycling woven polypropylene bags and pallet shrink wrap used to transport malted grain.

“They will take our malt bags at the Recycling Depot drop off location and use their facility to bale, store, and ship them to a vendor,” Keene said. “The vendor will pick up this specific type of plastic and recycle it into reusable materials. All we must do is transport the bags and shrink wrap from our breweries to UNCW’s Recycling Depot on campus.”

We are beyond excited to see these types of collaborative efforts happening in the Carolinas and we cannot wait to see this program thrive!

Read the full story at WWAY3

Keepin' the Dream Alive: GEB Goes to Blythewood

Green Energy Biofuel Revives Student Interest in Biodiesel Education

As school bells begin to ring once again this school year, co-founder of Green Energy Biofuel, and CRA sponsor, BioJoe Renwick and fellow Citadel alumni Will Epps, a Blythewood High School teacher, are helping to spark the interest of students by preparing them for the energy economy of tomorrow.

The Bengal Biodiesel Lab at Blythewood High School in South Carolina opened its doors March 18, National Biodiesel Day, for the world to see. Just the second of its kind in the country, the program is preparing high-schoolers for university-level research, internships and careers in renewable fuels, organic chemistry and beyond. Renwick’s goal all along has been to help train high-school and college students and then, once they were “bit by the biodiesel bug,” just maybe they would come back and put their skills to use for Green Energy Biofuel and the communities in which it operates. The biodiesel course is an option for juniors and seniors taking chemistry. “They work one and a-half hours in the lab every day,” Epps says. “They get over 100 hours of lab experience throughout the semester, which is great for their résumés. It helps them get internships.”

Read the full story at Newswires

South Carolina's Pro Disposal Receives New Investor

Ironwood Capital Announces Investment in Ridgeland, South Carolina

South Carolina has an exciting new investor in the construction and demolition recycling world! Ironwood Capital has announced making an investment in Ridgeland, South Carolina-based Pro Disposal USA LLC. Ironwood says the investment, “will support Pro Disposal’s acquisition of Carolina Containers of Beaufort and Barnwell Resources (CCB),” which it calls a collection and hauling, transfer station and landfill business specializing in C&D materials.

Pro Disposal is described by Ironwood as a vertically integrated waste management service provider permitted to handle waste from initial collection to its transfer station to final disposal. The firm was founded in 2006 and serves communities near the South Carolina coast from Charleston to Hilton Head to Savannah, Georgia.

Read the full story at C&D Recycling

NRC Congress - Last Chance for Early Bird!

Join the National Recycling Coalition on November 9-10 for the 2022 [Virtual] National Recycling Congress.

Register today to take advantage of Early Bird discounts. The 2022 Congress will bring together a wide variety of practitioners and policymakers at local, state and federal levels, in organizations and business, in the areas of waste management, reuse, recycling and more. Learn more about the exciting program being developed, relevant and compelling topics, speakers and more, at the new, dedicated NRC Congress website. Check back often as schedules, sessions and networking opportunities are confirmed.

Don't Delay - Rates increase after August 31st so register today at www.NRCCongress.org

Sonoco Releases 2021-2022 Sustainability Report

2030 Commitments Renewed to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

CRA Sponsor Sonoco, who has one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, has released their 2021-22 Corporate Responsibility Report, renewing ambitious 2030 commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage. The Science Based Targets align with the Paris Climate Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming temperatures well below -2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

“We believe that we can grow our global sustainable packaging business while we work to lessen our impact on the environment,” said Howard Coker, President and CEO. “Our journey to achieve these mutually beneficial goals continued over the past year despite unprecedented head winds from supply chain disruptions, inflation and the continuing effects of the pandemic.”

Last year, Sonoco also made significant progress toward its Diversity and Inclusion goals despite a challenging labor market. Efforts to reduce environmental social and governance risks have led to Sonoco’s top ranking in Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies for the packaging sector, a mention in Barron’s 100 Most Sustainable Companies for the fourth consecutive year and a spot in Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies.

Read the full article at GlobeNewswire

Sprite Ditches Green Bottle for Better Recyclability

Keeps All the Delicious Flavor

For decades, Sprite has come in its iconic green bottle. That’s all about to change.

The Coca-Cola Company is officially getting rid of their green Sprite bottles and replacing them with clear plastic as part of “major steps to support a circular economy” for packaging, the company said in a press release posted on their website. Quoted in the company’s news release was Julian Ochoa, CEO of R3CYCLE, who is working with Coca-Cola Consolidated to enable bottle-to-bottle recycling.

“Taking colours out of bottles improves the quality of the recycled material,” Ochoa said. “When recycled, clear PET Sprite bottles can be remade into bottles, helping drive a circular economy for plastic.”

Read the full story from the Toronto Star

Early Bird Registration is Now Open!

Early bird tickets are on sale now for this year’s North Carolina Marine Debris Symposium to take place Oct 12-14 at Duke University Marine Lab on Pivers Island in Beaufort.

Coastal Carolina Riverwatch hosts the annual symposium that brings together marine debris and plastic pollution prevention stakeholders to discuss recent research, infrastructure best management practices, policy development, removal projects, and advocacy that prevents plastic pollution. Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, based in Morehead City, works to protect 320 miles of rivers and streams, 140-thousand+ acres of estuaries, and 129 miles of coastline.

Speakers on this year’s agenda include leaders from Plastic Ocean Project, Duke University Marine Lab, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Sea Grant, Duke Law and Policy Clinic, North Carolina Coastal Federation, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, and others, including industry and consumer product designers.

Click here for more information and to register!

New Member Highlights!

Join Us in Welcoming Our Newest CRA Members!

Please join us in welcoming our newest members of CRA! You can find their main contacts using the CRA Connect Directory by searching for their company name, or visit their websites linked below.

- Industrial Warehouse & Industrial Waste Control of North America, LLC

- Town of Morrisville

Don't forget to renew your membership for July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023!

Want to Join CRA? Go to our membership information page today or contact us at staff@cra-recycle.org!