By Adam Gendell, Associate Director Sustainable Packaging Coalition, GreenBlue & SWEEP Steering Committee Member “China Fallout Continues” reads a newsletter subject line that just popped in my inbox – yet another headline addressing China’s import ban on foreign waste that has dominated recent news in the waste and recycling industry circles. It’s safe to say that everyone […]
Category: Blogs, News, Resources
The Best We Can Do?
By Duncan Watson, Assistant Public Works Director, City of Keene; President, Board of Trustees, Northeast Resource Recovery Association; Member, SWEEP Steering Committee* I was watching a show on television recently about the Hubble telescope. After they fixed the lens that had a microscopic defect, the heavens that we had heretofore been blind to suddenly came […]
China’s Import Policy Changes will make Recycling Stronger
Susan Robinson, Sr. Public Affairs Director at WM and SWEEP Co-Chair 危机 “WHEN WRITTEN IN CHINESE, THE WORD ‘CRISIS’ IS COMPOSED OF TWO CHARACTERS. ONE REPRESENTS DANGER AND THE OTHER REPRESENTS OPPORTUNITY” —John F. Kennedy When I first started working in the recycling industry many decades ago, the municipality I worked […]
Exclusive Waste Franchises Promote High Standards and Protect Community Interests
By Michael Mignano, Senior Research Analyst, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Municipalities across the US have outsourced waste collection to private companies with varying success. According to a guide published by In the Public Interest (ITPI), numerous problems can arise from poorly crafted contracts including, “disputes over pricing and billing…prolonged labor disruptions and uncollected garbage – […]
City Ordinances and Policies of Successful Zero Waste Communities
By Bob Gedert, SWEEP Steering Committee Member and President of the National Recycling Coalition As the number of communities embracing Zero Waste grows to more than two hundred within the United States, a pattern can be observed from the programs that have achieved success. As new communities consider the bold step forward toward enhancing their […]
China’s Import Ban is a “Sputnik” Moment for Global Recycling
By Rob Watson, Chief Science Officer, EcoHub LLC; Founder & Co-Chair SWEEP Steering Committee China’s announcement on Tuesday July 18th that it was banning the import of mixed paper and plastic, effective January 1, 2018, fundamentally changes the structure and dynamic of the global recovered paper and plastic scrap commodities market. In a press statement […]
It’s Possible to Change the World, No Matter Where You Are
By Duncan Watson, Assistant Public Works Director, City of Keene, NH & Member SWEEP Steering Committee A running joke circulated during my graduate school days that prompted critical thinking on complex issues- Question: “how many students does it take to screw in a light bulb?” Answer: “None because you can never reach consensus.” Such is […]
Should We Recycle Everything? What is the Value System of Recycling?
Susan Robinson, Sr Public Affairs Director at WM and SWEEP Co-Chair From the earliest days of recycling we’ve seen a healthy conversation among cities, recyclers and product manufacturers over which materials to include in curbside recycling programs. Perspectives vary, and the vastly different types of curbside programs attest to the varied market conditions and priorities […]
Don’t Forget About the Workers Who Process Your Trash and Recycling
By Michael Mignano, Senior Research Analyst, International Brotherhood of Teamsters The June 2015 report, “Sustainable and Safe Recycling: Protecting Workers Who Protect the Planet,” revealed the unique and sometimes fatal hazards that recycling workers face on the job. The study detailed 17 recycling worker deaths between 2011 and 2013 and examined the high rate of […]
The Federal Budget Should Support Expansion of America’s Recycling Infrastructure
By Bob Gedert, President, National Recycling Coalition; Senior Recycling Consultant, RRS; SWEEP Steering Committee Member In the President’s proposed fiscal 2018 budget, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) annual budget allocation is proposed to be cut by one third, with the elimination of over 50 programs and 3,200 jobs. Two of the programs proposed to be […]