Environmentalists. Every Day. America's Solid Waste Industry

While competing in the Miss America contest as the representative of the District of Columbia, Jennifer Corey is publicly promoting stricter recycling laws and funds for advancements in recycling technologies. She has a long history with recycling. Her grandfather started a family garbage and recycling company before he graduated high school in order to support his family. That family company grew into one of the largest waste removal companies in New York. Her father and uncles still work in the garbage and recycling industry today. Jennifer is a twenty-two year-old cum laude graduate of American University where she majored in music concentrating in vocal performance and minored in criminal justice. She is employed with the Washington National Opera in the Placido Domingo Apprentice Program in the Education and Community Programs Department. Jen will be competing for the title of Miss America on January 30, 2010 on TLC.

Advanced Disposal Services purchased Sumrall Recycling Services, the State of Mississippi’s largest multi-material recycler.  Sumrall Recycling has customers and operations across nine (9) Southeastern states (MS, GA, FL, AL, TN, KY, AR, LA & MO) including Fortune 500 industrial and commercial companies, military bases, and cities and counties throughout the service area. The asset purchase included company-owned Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF’s) in Sumrall and Flowood, MS, Summerdale, AL as well as a MRF operating contract in Franklin, TN.  Fifty employees transitioned with the sale of the company as well as multiple trucks, containers, balers, conveyors, grinders, and other processing equipment.

Republic Services has published a new sustainability report. “The sustainability report was an opportunity to identify and discuss what we already do to protect the environment and to set a course to do more,” CEO James E. O’Connor said. “Being green is not just a philosophy at Republic. We’ve been doing it for years.” The report is available at www.republicservices.com/sustainability.

NSWMA’s Bruce Parker was interviewed by Zach Shtogren Big Think’s senior editor.  It is an interesting exchange about environmental issues related to the solid waste industry.

This online guide includes detailed information about the e-waste programs offered by a variety of electronics manufacturers and retailers.

The host of Green Earth Radio Patty Kovaks interviewed Waste Management Int’l VP Lynn Brown regarding Waste Managment’s dedication to environmental issues, their approach to landfills, plans for recycling and goals for public education. This interview may be downloaded from the Green Earth Radio archive.

Four Michigan State University students produced an award-winning YouTube video that encourages people to recycle glass. The video took first place in the Glass Packaging Institute’s Recycle Glass Day video competition.

In a NBC Evening News segment by NBC chief environmental reporter Anne Thompson called “Downtown Gives Red Light to Going Green,” NBC looked at the collapsing value of recycled materials, caused by the global economic crisis. NBC News anchor Brian Williams asked, “What happens when our recycled stuff loses its value?” Watch the segment on the NBC News site here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#28118786

In separate stories today, The New York Times and the Associated Press published news about the negative impact that the global financial crisis and recession has had on markets for recycled materials. The articles describe how municipalities, nonprofit groups and companies are being hit with additional costs. The articles discuss how the U.S. recycling infrastructure could be jeopardized if markets for recycled materials don’t soon recover.

President Bush highlighted the importance of recycling with a proclamation recognizing America Recycles Day. The full text of the proclamation is available here.