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CRA Call for Presentations is Now Open!
Submit Ideas for the 2024 CRA Conference in Cherokee, NC
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CRA’s 34th Annual Conference & Trade Show Call for Presentations & Session Ideas is now open! Whether just an ember of an idea, or a fully organized presentation, your ideas are what make the CRA Conference burn bright! This is a great opportunity to engage with hundreds of recycling professionals in the Carolinas at the Cherokee Convention Center from April 8-11, 2024.
CRA is planning a Corporate Sustainability Track and are prioritizing the following topics:
- Business Recycling & Waste Reduction
- Business Skill Development (sales, contract negotiations, customer relations, etc.)
- Circular Economy Development
- Corporate Sustainability, Zero Waste, ESG in Action
Additional topics of interest welcome including (but not limited to):
- General Topics: Reuse Success Stories, Environmentally Preferred Procurement, Market Development, Ocean Plastic, Trends in Packaging Sustainability
- Local Government and Private Sector Recycling and Waste Reduction: Collections, Enforcement, Education and Outreach, Waste Diversion and Waste Reduction Programs, Marketing and Communications, Technology Innovations, Contamination Solutions, Contract Negotiations
- Special Waste Collection (i.e. C&D, Food, Electronics, Solar Panels, Disaster Debris, Batteries, HHW, etc.)
- Organics Recycling & Food Waste Reduction
- Material Processing: Material Recovery Facility Success Stories; Trends in Processing Technology & Processing Solutions, Market Trends, Construction and Demolition Recycling
- Relating Climate Change to Waste Reduction & Recycling, Recycling & Sustainable Development Goals, Citizen & Community Activism for Recycling, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Local and State Policy Success Stories to Model
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 Friday, September 22!
|  | Submit your presentation proposal or a session idea that you'd like to see included in the program by clicking the green button above! | |
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CRA Member Joe Suleyman Wins Pelican Award
New Hanover County Native Honored by NC Coastal Federation
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New Hanover County’s recycling and solid waste director Joe Suleyman was recognized by the North Carolina Coastal Federation in August with a Pelican Award which highlighted his ongoing commitment to environmental stewardship. The award, presented at the 2023 Taste of the Coast Celebration, celebrated several initiatives Suleyman has established in recent years to encourage responsible waste disposal and recycling efforts, including oyster shell recycling, the HazWagon program and the wastewater treatment process associated with the county’s landfill. Congratulations, Joe!
Read more at WilmingtonBiz
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Cone Denim Recycling Guarantees are Back, Baby!
Greensboro's Cone Denim Establishes Certified Supply Chain of Recycled Cotton
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Founded in 1891 in Greensboro, NC, Cone Denim is an iconic supplier of denim and is setting the bar high in textile sustainability. Cone has established a certified supply chain for recycled cotton in Mexico. The company’s certification now includes a closed-loop process for recycled cotton, providing customers with verification and documentation of recycled cotton used in the manufacturing of their fabrics in the Western Hemisphere.
Cone Denim is committed to sustainable innovation and they have used post-industrial waste in its denim for over 25 years. At their mill in Parras, Mexico, they have the capability of producing up to 50% post-industrial waste (PIW) cotton in its denim fabric constructions, and their mill in China can offer up to 100% PIW recycled cotton. They went a step further by also having their fiber supplier certified. Cone Denim president Steve Maggard was quoted saying, “The demand for recycled cotton continues to grow and with this increased demand, we recognize the value for our customers to have third-party verification of the recycled content used in denim made by Cone.”
Read more at Innovation in Textiles
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It's All Foam and Games in High Point
NC City Uses Grant to Install Foam Densifier
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High Point received wonderful Summer news as the city now has a new way to recycle foam! The city received a $50,000 grant from the Foodservice Packaging Institute’s Foam Recycling Coalition (FRC) that enables the city’s 117,000 residents to recycle materials such as polystyrene cups, plates, bowls, clamshells, egg cartons and meat trays, as well as block packaging foam. High Point’s public information office will inform residents about the addition of foam polystyrene recycling via communications, including posters, printed materials and the city’s website and social media. The MRF offers tours, information booths and educational programming that will include messaging on recycling polystyrene foam.
Read more at FPI
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Edenton is Bringing Back Recycling ASAP
Don't Call it a Comeback, Recycling is Here to Stay
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Edenton plans to restart curbside recycling in October or as soon as possible. The move comes after three years of sending all the town’s trash, including recyclables, to local landfills. Despite the program ending, Edenton officials did not give up on the idea of recycling. Town Council established a Mayor’s Task Force on Recycling that has been working quietly behind the scenes to find ways to reestablish a program that makes financial sense. Edenton’s new recycling program will accept cardboard, paper, aluminum, and plastic, but not glass. The town plans to publicize the change by distributing door hangers and fliers, and stickers with instructions will be placed on recycling bins. October is the target date for implementing the recycling program, assuming the recycling trailer is delivered on time and promotional materials can be distributed.
Read more at Daily Advance
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SC Lt. Gov Wins 2023 Recycling Impact Award
ISRI Awards Pamela Evette with Recycling Award
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The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) awarded South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette with the 2023 Recycling Impact Award this August at the National Lieutenant Governors Association's (NLGA) 2023 annual meeting in Des Moines, Iowa. The Recycling Impact Award is presented annually by ISRI in partnership with the NLGA, honoring a lieutenant governor demonstrating leadership in recycling, resource conservation, and sustainability in the U.S.
"This award serves as a collective reminder that every instance of recycling, regardless of its scale, truly impacts our communities and the pride we hold for them. Industries in our state count on recycled plastics this isn't just an environmental issue but also a business issue," said Lt. Gov. Pamela S. Evette. "I look forward to continuing to lead the charge against litter in South Carolina and hope this inspires others to take part in a recycling initiative in their community."
Read more at Recycling Product News
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Brunswick County Welcomes Paper Cup Recycling
Expanded Curbside Recycling Program Increases Recycling for 57,000 Households
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Good news, Brunswick County! Over 57,000 households can now place clean and empty paper cups in recycling bins for curbside collection. The county is the third community in North Carolina to join a growing trend of communities expanding curbside recycling programs to include paper cups. This expansion is made possible through a partnership with the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI), a leading industry association working to increase recovery of foodservice packaging. As a result of this initiative, residents throughout the county are now able to recycle paper cups, in addition to the foodservice packaging items that were already accepted, such as pizza boxes, paper bags, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) cups and containers, and aluminum foil food packaging. Recovered paper will be supplied to the Sonoco paper mill in Hartsville, South Carolina, where it will be converted into new products, including tubes and cores for paper, textiles, specialty films and other wound products, as well as uncoated recycled paperboard.
Read more at Brunswick County
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Uniform Behavior: Honda Revs Up Textile Recycling Triple Action to Zero is Driving Force of New Initiative from Honda | |
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A new uniform recycling initiative is sweeping the American Honda Company. This exciting new effort is designed to convert discarded uniforms into a sound-absorbing insulation material used in Honda and Acura vehicles and is a part of Honda's “Triple Action to Zero” approach that focuses on resource circulation to make new products from 100 percent sustainable materials by 2050. In the program, discarded uniforms are collected from its facilities in Alabama, Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio then shredded into fibers and repurposed as insulation components in newly assembled vehicles.
"To achieve our Triple Zero goal of 100 percent sustainable material use, we need to take every possible opportunity to recycle materials at end of life for reuse in our products, thereby minimizing our utilization of virgin materials. By maximizing end-of-life material recycling, we are giving our uniforms a second life in Honda and Acura vehicles," says Negar Gilsinger, manager of resource circulation for American Honda Motor.
Read more at Waste Today
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Register for the NC Marine Debris Symposium!
Spots are Filling Up Quickly, Register Now!
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Join Lisa Rider and her team of coastal heroes at Coastal Carolina Riverwatch (CCR) for the the 11th Annual North Carolina Marine Debris Symposium! NC MDS is an annual event that provides a collaborative forum for the exchange of information on recent research, infrastructure best management practices, policy development, removal projects, and advocacy that prevents plastic pollution. CCRW will welcome Dr. Imari Walker-Franklin as the keynote speaker for the 2023 NC Marine Debris Symposium. In 2021, Dr. Walker-Franklin completed her PhD at Duke University investigating the release, transformation, and effects of polymer-associated chemicals within aquatic environments. The NC MDS will be held October 11-13 at the Duke University Laboratory in Beaufort, NC.
Click here for more info on the NC MDS
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The Glass Recycling Coalition Wants Your Feedback
Participate in the 2023 GRC's Survey to Advance Glass Recycling
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The Glass Recycling Coalition is gathering responses to their 2023 glass recycling survey and they would love to hear from you! They are hoping to gather information from haulers, MRFs, community program managers, recycling coordinators, glass processors, end users, and manufacturers to weigh in on glass recovery efforts. The survey collects aggregate data on the types of glass collection programs, motivation for glass recycling, and challenges in community programs.
If you would like to participate in the survey, please click here.
Click here for info on the Glass Recycling Coalition's Survey
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CRA Committees & Councils Need You
Don't Forget to Sign Up Using Our Online Interest Form
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CRA has 7 committees and 5 councils that need your voice and help. Bonus, you get to make new friends, add some muscle to your resume, and be part of the magic. What are you waiting for? | |
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Membership Renewal Time is Here!
BOLO for your Renewal Email
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Be On the Look Out (BOLO) for your membership renewal in an email inbox near you! Your membership is vital to the Carolina Recycling Association and to the success of the recycling community as a whole. Be sure to renew your membership on time to take advantage of all of our great member benefits. Your benefits include: Discounts on CRA conference registration, annual professional headshot updates at the Conference, eligibility to run for our board of directors, the right to vote in annual elections and membership meetings, discounts for other events, full access to CRA’s membership directory, priority registration, members-only special activities, and more!
Have questions? Go to our membership information page today or contact us at staff@cra-recycle.org!
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Please send all correspondence, membership payments, and event registration to:
Carolina Recycling Association
PO Box 1296
Greenville, SC 29602
Carolina Recycling Association | 877.972.0007 | www.cra-recycle.org
© 2023 Carolina Recycling Association. All Rights Reserved
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