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.

The Illinois Chapter of NSWMA developed a factsheet that NSWMA members may share with their customers. The factsheet explains the new Illinois law (Illinois Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act) that goes into effect on January 1, 2012. Download the factsheet 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.”

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.

Keep America Beautiful is launching its Recycle Bowl Competition, the first annual, nationwide, K-12 school recycling competition. You’re invited to a 30-minute webinar, where you’ll learn about the competition and how it can help your company increase recycling rates in the communities that you serve and help children learn about the importance of recycling. NSWMA members are invited to participate in this no-cost webinar session to learn about this program. A question and answer session will follow a brief presentation. Get more info 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.

On July 14, the EIA Women’s Council will present a free webinar for the members of NSWMA and WASTEC, called “Trends in Composting and Organics Recycling in the U.S.” During this session, Nora Goldstein, Editor of BioCycle Magazine will present an interesting look at composting and organics recycling trends in the U.S. She will explore high-value compost markets and provide insight to generating renewable energy from organic wastes  The session will include time for Q&A. See details and register 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.

As the leaves turn brown this fall, Cincinnati residents will have incentives to turn green when the City furthers its commitment to environmental quality and unveils an enhanced recycling program, slated to begin this October. The City officially announced today that it is partnering with waste hauler Rumpke Recycling, recycling cart manufacturer Cascade Engineering, and rewards program RecycleBank to incent the recycling process. Following a City Council vote in May, Cincinnati is moving forward with a new program that gives residents larger carts and rewards for recycling. Cincinnati is the largest Midwest city to deploy RecycleBank citywide; other Midwest areas with RecycleBank include suburbs of Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Omaha, Sioux Falls, and a pilot program in three wards of Chicago.

“The City is excited to provide this innovative new service to citizens,” Mayor Mark L. Mallory said. “People are looking for creative new ways to become more ‘green’ in their everyday lives. The larger recycling carts are going to allow people to recycle much more than they do now, and the great part is that they will be rewarded for how much they recycle.”

RecycleBank is a rewards program that motivates people to take greener actions, like household recycling, by rewarding them with points that are redeemable for rewards from local and national retailers, restaurants, pharmacies, grocers, and more. Similar to frequent flier programs, the more a community recycles, the more RecycleBank Points participating households earn. Single- or multi-family residences with Cincinnati curbside trash service are eligible to participate in the program free of charge.

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