Environmentalists. Every Day. America's Solid Waste Industry

The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) today announced a new policy on product stewardship, expressing the recycling and solid waste industry’s position that product stewardship may increase the safe management of some products, in particular those with toxic constituents such as mercury. Product stewardship laws require manufacturers to be responsible for end-of-life management of their products. These laws aim to increase recycling while also establishing a new way to fund recycling programs. Thirty-two states currently have product stewardship laws, most of which cover mercury-containing and electronics products. Some newer laws cover harder to recycle materials such as paint and carpet. Read full release here.

NSWMA’s Chaz Miller wrote a paper titled “From Birth to Rebirth: Will Product Stewardship Save Resources?” and gave a presentation about it at a recent summit organized by the American Bar Association’s Environment, Energy and Resources section. An ABA panel subsequently selected his paper as the best paper presented at the summit. Anyone interested in reading a copy should request one at mediaroom@envasns.org.

This week, the U.S. Senate passed Senate Resolution 251, a resolution expressing support for improvement in the collection, processing, and consumption of recyclable materials throughout the United States. Bruce J. Parker, NSWMA’s President and CEO stated, “It is appropriate during the week in which we observe America Recycles Day that the Senate has demonstrated its commitment to the critical importance of recycling. America’s solid waste services industry is proud to have built America’s recycling infrastructure during the last several decades. We join the Senate in a commitment to continuing to grow the amount of materials recycled, so the Americans can conserve materials, reduce energy consumption and save money.”

The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA), certain members and non-members filed suit against the City of Dallas today in U.S. District Court to stop implementation of flow control. Read release providing details about filing here.

NSWMA has updated its Research Bulletin entitled “Just Compensation and Hauler Displacement.” Download this paper here.

Download the Fall issue of the EIA’s WASTE INDUSTRY NEWS now here now.

NSWMA’s Connecticut Chapter launched new website (www.CTrecyclingandtrashfacts.com) today, containing lots of information about new waste and recycling rules and reporting requirements in the state. Visit the new site here.

NSWMA in early September filed an amicus brief in the Court of Appeal for the State of California supporting Potrero Hills Landfill and Solano County in their legal battle over Solano County’s Measure E. Several organizations, including the Sierra Club, filed lawsuits seeking enforcement of Measure E in 2009 as part of their strategy to block the expansion of the Potrero Hills Landfill. Believing the Measure is unconstitutional, Solano County has not enforced the measure for at least 19 years. This continues NSWMA’s long history of fighting similar laws. For decades, NSWMA has opposed and successfully challenged such laws in counties and localities throughout the country. Read full release here.

On Tuesday, August 2, Senator Thomas R. Carper of Delaware and Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, co-chairs of the Senate Recycling Caucus, introduced S. 251, a resolution supporting improvement in the collection, processing and use of recyclable materials throughout the United States.  The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) joins groups such as the National Recycling Coalition, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, associations representing manufacturers of recycled content products such as the steel and aluminum industries and many state recycling organizations in endorsing this resolution. See full release here.

The Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA) and the National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA), worked together to develop viable, in-use construction and demolition (C&D) wood fuel specifications. The specifications are based on industry experience, permit requirements for boilers using C&D wood as a fuel stock and regulatory requirements governing the use of this material. The specifications provide real world guidance on what works in the marketplace for C&D wood fuel buyers (boiler owners and operators) and sellers (C&D wood processors). Read full announcement here.