It's that special time of year for recycling nerds everywhere! CRA welcomes presentation proposals for the 2022 Conference, covering all recycling disciplines and topics from both the public and private sectors. Do you have innovative methods, technologies, or program ideas to advance material recovery or waste reduction? Do you have a successful program that others could learn from and integrate into their programs? Now is the time to submit your idea! Papers that propose interactive hands on education or product/technology demonstrations will also be considered. For the list of topics of interest and full info:

U.S. senators last week heard about how stronger end-market demand, state support for materials recovery, technology advancements and more can strengthen the U.S. recycling system.

Legislators on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works convened the hearing in light of the high-profile challenges facing recycling over the past few years and the growing focus on creating a “circular economy” for the future.

“The issues with China taking – or more recently, not taking – our recycling materials and the issues with supply lines laid bare by the pandemic made clear we need to do more of the material processing and manufacturing right here in America,” said Sen. Shelley Capito, R-W.Va., the ranking member on the committee. The hearing, titled “The Circular Economy as a Concept for Creating a More Sustainable Future,” was led by Sen. Capito and Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., both members of the Senate Recycling Caucus.

Did you miss the webinar or the social media campaign, no worries just check out the recording here! Learn about a variety of green options including waste reduction, recycling, and composting and how you could implement them in your events. Now that event planners must rethink safety protocols, it’s a good time to also rethink how to reduce our waste. You can also still share the social media campaign by sharing our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or download the whole tool-kit below or by clicking on the infographic!

Nominate yourself or a deserving person or program for a national Award!  They'll be glad you did it, we promise.  The National Recycling Coalition announces the “Call for Nominations” for the 2021 Awards – with awards presented at the National Recycling Congress, to be held virtually on November 3-4, 2021. The NRC Awards seek to recognize the best of the best in recycling, organics, or reduction. Check out full information and the process for nominations on the NRC 2021 Awards Application.

Questions? Email skumatz@serainc.com or 360-261-3069

The Carolina Plastics Recycling Coalition will host a ½ day webinar on November 10th from 9am – 1pm. Join other companies to hear about and discuss new innovations in the plastic recycling industry. Speakers will present about facility expansions, new end markets, and policies affecting the industry. Presenters will update attendees on the state of plastics markets and what the industry can expect for the foreseeable future. 

The agenda includes: The State of Plastic Recycling, Expansions to Plastic Recycling Capacity, Emerging Plastic Recycling Markets, Policy Drivers for Plastics Recycling

Visit CPRC for more info and registration

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit, awards platinum, gold, silver or bronze STARS medals to colleges throughout the country based on their eco-friendly practices. Furman University is the only SC institution of higher learning to earn a gold medal. Clemson University, College of Charleston and the University of South Carolina all received silver medals.

The awards, STARS, stands for Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System. Colleges receive points for conducting sustainability research, banning single-use plastics, teaching students about the environment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, erecting energy-efficient buildings, reducing water waste and more.

This month CRA Connect was abuzz with some great peer-to-peer questions and answers. Make sure your membership is up-to-date so you can have full access to our online community and platform!  Search the directory for contacts and potential customers and download member contact info more easily than ever, tag and be tagged in discussions, ask and answer questions, and access our resources libraries on CRA Connect! If your membership is current, just log in using your username and password for CRA’s registration site. If you have lapsed you will not be able to log in to the site until you renew. If you would like to view the public forum and you're not a member or are lapsed, please reach out to us about participating in the public forum, but we encourage you to join so you can access the whole site. 

Learn the latest trends on managing challenging materials, be part of critical policy and legislative discussions, and meet up with others in the field who are working on reduction, reuse, recycling and zero waste efforts at two upcoming NRC conferences: 2021 [Virtual] National Recycling Congress November 3-4 and the 2021 National Zero Waste Conference, December 8-9. You do not want to miss these! Sign-up for both days for $175; the single day price is $150. There are also discounts for NRC members, Groups, Advocates and Students. Presentation recordings will be available for free on-demand playback by registrants.

Visit NRC for more info and registration

Savannah, GA officials are in talks about a new way to recycle glass that it’s currently burying in a landfill. The are talking about a new solution with Glass WRX SC, a South Carolina company that seeks to recycle glass into air and water filtration systems, road surfaces and prefabricated interior walls. The city stopped recycling glass more than five years ago after running out of users willing to accept the bulky material. It’s a common problem nationwide. Savannah still finds new users for paper, plastic and metals that it collects from all-in-one recycling bins.

In 2020, about 25% of what the city collected from recycling bins, including about 1,000 tons of glass, were buried in the city landfill. Some of that was because materials were too contaminated for further use. “We can take a product that we’re throwing away today, make some revenue off of it, and do right by our environment and extend the life of our landfill all at the same time,” Alderman Nick Palumbo said.

Visit AP News for the full story

Visit YBMJ for the full details and how to get involved