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Upcoming Webinars
December 17: 2:00 -2:30 pm ET
Most, if not every rigid paper container Sonoco makes is recyclable, but they are not being recycled. Their structure, which includes a paper body and metal ends, is designed to go through the sorting process at a MRF, where magnets capture the product and it can then go into the steel stream.
In this webinar you’ll learn how this iconic, recyclable package can help you reduce landfill waste, expand your financial opportunity and help communities, consumers and companies meet their sustainability goals.
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Upcoming Webinars
January 12: 2:00 pm ET
Moving the conversation about alternative recycling technologies from speculation to reality, and its role relative to traditional recycling programs and post-consumer resins, is the goal of this webinar.
January 13: 2:00 pm ET
hosted by NERC
This training webinar will provide purchasing officials, decision-makers, and recycling advocates with information
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ISRI adds vice president of sustainability
Cheryl Coleman formerly worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,.and joins the 2021 SERDC Board of Directors
Posted December 1, 2020 on RecyclingToday.com
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has announced it has hired Cheryl Coleman as vice president of sustainability. She will oversee the development and execution of an integrated strategy addressing the priorities of the segments of the recycling industry (plastics, paper and packaging) most directly affecting the residential recycling stream. ISRI says Coleman also will lead the strategic planning and execution of the association’s new recyclability protocol and other sustainable development initiatives on behalf of ISRI and its members.
Coleman comes to ISRI from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where she served as the director of the Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division. While at the EPA, Coleman led efforts to improve the U.S. recycling system, reduce food loss and waste and promote the beneficial use of industrial materials. Prior to her tenure at EPA, she was the director for compliance and enforcement for materials and wastes at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
“ISRI is elated to have Cheryl join our team,” President Robin Wiener says. “Her experience within the EPA at the forefront of efforts to further advance U.S. recycling make her keenly positioned to take the lead in sustainability efforts for the betterment of the recycling industry.
“As the voice of the recycling industry, ISRI is constantly looking for ways to better serve our members and recycling as a whole,” Wiener continues. “The creation of the vice president of sustainability position provides us with an opportunity to not only build on ISRI’s existing work in the areas of residential recycling and consumer packaging but to reach new heights.”
“I am excited about this new opportunity because recycling is essential to sustainably managing our resources by providing feedstock to manufacturing and helping ensure resources will be available for current and future generations,” Coleman says.
ISRI is a member of SERDC
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2020 MRF Summit Discusses Challenges, Opportunities in Recycling |
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Posted December 15, 2020 on waste360.com
Government, industry, and nonprofit solid waste pros recently convened at a two-day Materials Recovery (MRF) Summit to discuss challenges and opportunities in recycling; to speak of strategies to fight contamination and capture more quality materials; and they told of how those strategies are working.
The summit was hosted by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), and the presenters were Peter Wright, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Land and Emergency Management; Sarah Peery from Ohio Senator Rob Portman’s office; Pete Keller, Republic Services; Adam Ortiz, Montgomery County Maryland’s Department of Environmental Protection; and Kanika Greenlee, Atlanta Department of Public Works. Craig Wittig, The Recycling Partnership was a moderator.
SWANA Executive Director and CEO David Biderman kicked off the virtual event, stating that while the recycling rate has declined to 32% nationally there are reasons for optimism. The value of material coming out of MRFs has recently risen substantially; many companies are making formal pledges to recycle; and some companies and local governments are reporting declining contamination rates.
700,000 jobs are created by the recycling industry and approximately $5.5 billion in tax revenue. Then there are the obvious environmental benefits such as waste prevention, and reduced emissions when less energy is required. Just the same, about $9 billion of recycling material is thrown out yearly, Peery said. She went on to explain some of the problems and potential solutions.
ISRI , US EPA and The Recycling Partnership are members of SERDC
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Recycled glass end user starts up in Georgia |
Posted December 8, 2020 on resoucre-recycling.com
A new U.S. bottle plant that will use recycled glass has begun firing up its furnaces.
According to Glass International, the Arglass Yamamura bottle production facility in Valdosta, Ga, has started heating up its furnaces in preparation for opening. Announced last year, the project will create the first new glass bottle factory in the U.S. in a generation.
The company’s CEO previously told Resource Recycling the facility will use recycled cullet.
Estimated to cost $123 million, the plant will have a capacity to produce about 100,000 metric tons of bottles per year. Arglass Yamamura is a joint venture between Japanese bottle maker Nihon Yamamura Glass Co. and Cambium Arglass, a privately held investment company.
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Prices climb higher for post-consumer plastic bales |
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Posted December 16, 2020 on resoucre-recycling.com/plastics
As the year comes to a close, the price of natural high-density polyethylene bales notched another record. Color HDPE also continues to climb.
The national average price of natural high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bales is now 63.75 cents per pound, compared with 62.97 cents last month and 59.34 cents one year ago. This month’s pricing represents yet another all-time high.
The national average price of color HDPE is up again. This grade is now trading at 17.06 cents per pound, up from 16.41 cents last month. Some regions are still paying around 20 cents a pound.
The national average price of post-consumer PET beverage bottles and jars moved up marginally again this month. The price is currently at 6.55 cents per pound, compared to 6.30 cents per pound this time last month. This compares with 10.32 cents per pound one year ago.
The national average price of polypropylene materials moved up again and is now at 7.00 cents per pound, compared with 5.47 cents last month and 7.06 cents one year ago.
The national average price of Grade A film is up another 6%. It is now at 9.44 cents, compared to 8.88 cents per pound last month. This also surpasses the 8.69 cents per pound this time last year.
Grade B film remains at 3.56 cents per pound, and Grade C film is unchanged at 0.81 cents.
These prices are as reported on the Secondary Materials Pricing (SMP) Index. This pricing represents what is being paid for post-consumer recyclable materials in a sorted, baled format, picked up at most major recycling centers. .
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Congress gives recycling infrastructure potential boost with Save Our Seas 2.0 passage |
Posted December 8, 2020 on wastedive.com
Both chambers of Congress recently passed the final version of the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act (S.1982) and it now awaits President Trump's signature. Multiple sources anticipate Trump will sign it.
The bill aims to reduce, remove and prevent plastic waste in the environment, especially waterways, through clean-up efforts and investments in plastic recycling infrastructure.
The bill would provide $55 million in funding each year through 2025 for improving "local post-consumer materials management," including municipal recycling programs. Funding would also be available for local waste management authorities.
An additional $10 million per year (through 2025) would be available to local governments and nonprofits via grants for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, and "trash-free waters" programs such as anti-litter initiatives and ordinance enforcement. A "genius prize" would be established for innovations that tackle marine debris.
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