SHINING A MEMBER SPOTLIGHT ON

HELPING HANDS / CLOTHING BIN USA

Helping Hands is a Textile Collection company focused on reuse and recycling and a new member of IRA. They provide bins and collection service, paying host sites for the materials they collect. Often the funds provide assistance for non-profit efforts or are used to offset the cost of other recycling services. They were founded in 1999 as a for-profit company and currently operate in nine states, employing 100 people, with their headquarters in the Chicagoland area. To learn more, visit their website at https://www.clothingbinusa.com/about .

 

Members of the Illinois Recycling Association enjoy the benefit of spotlighting their Business, Government, Educational Institution or Non-Profit entity in a future Newsletter. If you would like to be featured, please send an email to [email protected]

Watch for an exciting event announcement soon. It has been over 10 years since we've toured a steel mill. NUCOR is the largest recycler in the country and the IRA will be touring their facility in Bourbonnais at the end of March. Space will be limited so, when the date is announced, it is suggested that you reply quickly. Members, of course, will benefit from a discounted event fee so if you are not a member, join now (see below).

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

National Legislation

The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020 was introduced by Senator Tom Udall and Representative Alan Lowenthal. The ambitious legislation intends to reduce single-use plastic waste and production by:

We hope to learn how this legislation will work on the ground level. WE WANT to HEAR from you. What are your concerns. This is exactly why being a member of the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) is an important benefit. Not only can we speak for our members but so can NRC.

Illinois Legislation

The deadline for submittals was Friday, February 14 and we are told that several bills of interest to our members have been entered. Some are developing behind the scenes and will appear shortly, but are held in place by legislators in shell format. Here are some that we will be watching and learning more about:

Chicago and Oak Park to Introduce Legislation to Ban Plastics

IRA Member Village of Oak Park is involved in an effort to reduce single-use plastic by banning restaurants from offering straws, utensils, carry-out containers or cups that are not recyclable nor truly reusable. There is a provision to allow straws by request. The Environment and Energy Commission is specifically recommending a ban on all polystyrene foam items.     https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-park/ct-oak-styrofoam-ban-tl-0213-20200212-dzjjltxrgzcfhgdpmdtnwqanrq-story.html .

Recycling Best Practices

Contamination of recyclables is a serious issue. Most of the MRFs in Illinois that provide sorting of curbside collected materials allow liquid containers known as Cartons. The Carton Council has gone to great lengths to assist in grants for recovery and also assists with end markets when asked. However, no MRFs allow frozen food containers used for ice cream and also commonly called cartons. The public finds this confusing and educational efforts are needed. Social media reach is a great way to address this because a picture speaks 1,000 words!

THE WOMAN WHO WANTS TO REINVENT RECYCLING

According to an article in The Hill, Meghan Stasz is the vice president of packaging and sustainability for the Consumer Brands Association, which represents the companies that make just about every shelf-stable product in grocery stores. She’s kicking off a yearlong process to rewrite the rules for recycling, the initial steps of a moonshot effort to redesign the market for recycled goods, organizing a coalition of other food and beverage retail groups around what they’re calling the American Recycling Roadmap. Fundamentally, the group is hoping to standardize and harmonize the recycling system: making what’s recyclable in San Francisco the same as in St. Louis or Savannah, Ga. Click Here For The Complete Article

IRA Commentary Note: Curbside recycling evolved and items were taken that had viable markets. No one just took items without markets. China’s acceptance of highly contaminated materials made items with few markets appear viable to a large number of MRFs. A push to involve manufacturers in the cost of recovery is an unmentioned reason the Consumer Brands Association wants to become involved. They should also be involved in development of products that are truly recoverable and recyclable - and, dare we say it, have recycled content in them!

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"I have had a lot of success with failure."

Thomas Edison