Recycling Scraps
April 5, 2010

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NMRC Partners with Keep America Beautiful, Recycling Organization of North America and National Recycling Coalition

NMRC Board of Directors voted to partner with both Keep America Beauitful (KAB), join the Recycling Organization of North America (RONA) and maintain affiliate status with the National Recycling Coalition at the March 25th Board Meeting in Santa Fe. Both the nonprofits recently reached out to State Recycling Organizations (SRO) across the nation seeking partners for their recycling initiatives.

Keep America Beautiful

Keep America Beautiful has invited state recycling organizations that aren´t already a member of its coalition to join a new recycling partnership. "The administrative arrangement we are offering is the formation of a KAB Recycling Partnership that will provide regular opportunities for communication and action," KAB President and CEO Matthew McKenna wrote in a letter sent out in March.

NMRC accepted Keep America Beautiful's proposal to serve as a State Recycling Partner. This does not make NMRC an affiliate of KAB and individual members of NMRC do not become members of KAB. Collaboration may include development and implementation of recycling programs locally, regionally, and nationally. The parties will adhere to the guiding principles stipulated below.

1. The parties have common interest in enhancing recycling and materials recovery in the United States and will voluntarily collaborate, when mutually beneficial, in recycling projects and programs.
2. Neither KAB nor an SRO/RRO relinquishes any independence of action regarding its own policies, programs, or other actions undertaken in the interests of its members. 
3. KAB, without explicit consent of the member or members, will not represent any SRO on any matter.  An individual SRO will not represent KAB on any matter without the explicit consent of KAB.
4. KAB State Recycling Partners may join other national organizations, including national recycling organizations.  KAB may collaborate with other organizations within the area of interest of a KAB Recycling Partner, including state and local recycling organizations.
5. The parties will collaborate  with  KAB Recycling Partners and KAB Affiliates on all KAB recycling projects and programs.

1. Provide an administrative home and the associated infrastructure support for Recycling Partners.  A senior KAB staff person will serve as the primary contact between the Partners and KAB.
2. Provide support for the group of recycling partners in the form or hosting meetings, conference calls, electronic communications, web-based services, and other administrative activities.
3. Assist in ensuring collaboration and building alliances among KAB Recycling Partners.  KAB program sponsors, KAB Affiliates, and other program participants.
4. Provide opportunities for direct participation by the Recycling Partners in the development, design, implementation, and branding on KAB-sponsored projects and programs.
5. Provide a forum for the exchange of best management practices among program managers.
6. Provide a forum for the exchange of public policy approaches for enhancing recycling in the U.S.
7. Provide networking opportunities with other recycling organizations, KAB affiliates, and other recycling stakeholders at KAB conferences and other events.
8. Provide assistance in building relations with KAB affiliates in support of mutual interests.
9. Provide education and advocacy at the national level on the role of recycling in a sustainable environment and economy.
10. Expend all dues collected from Recycling Partners for direct support services to the Partners.

1. Advise and assist KAB staff on the development, expansion, and implementation of recycling programs.
2. Assist KAB in the delivery or implementation of a recycling program on a national as well as state-by-state basis.
3. Provide participants for work groups, committees, and other organizations for purposes of designing new programs or establishing guidelines for program delivery.
4. Provide participants to serve as trainers and advisors to other members and audiences on effective recycling programs.
5. Advise KAB of key or emerging policy issues and assist KAB in identifying the interests of the recycling community on those issues.
6. Collaborate  with State and local KAB affiliates in implementing recycling programs.
7. On a schedule established with the KAB staff contact, convene as often as needed with other Recycling Partners to successfully carry out common interests in recycling projects and programs.

Recycling Organization of North America

The Recycling Organization of North America (RONA) has been created as an alliance of like-minded organizations that share the common goal of sustaining and enhancing recycling and wate reduction throughout North America. RONA aspires to further develop and enhance recyclng programs and the recyclng industry by providing the networking, educational, technical and advocacy support that is best facilitated by a national or continental organization.

RONA recognizes that recycling is both an industry and a cause and the community is a diverse one motivated by varied forces. While a basic organizational structure for RONA has been proposed, the details of board representation, membershop, policy specifics, and other organizational issues have not been finalized. This is because founding members ralize that working together to develop these specifics will lead to a stronger, more agile and functional organization. With this in mind, the underlying principles of this new organization are based on:

• Inclusiveness
• Transparent and open governance
• Equitable representation
• Collaboration
• Fiscal responsibility
• A unified national voice

RONA is a member-based organization that will include state,provincial, tribal or reginal recycling organizations, other professionals or non-profit organizatoins or associations interested in recycling, councils, government and quasi-government agencies.

Proposed Member Services (Year One Priorities)

1. Annual Conference - RONA intends to affiliate with another organization to hold a national conference in the Fall 2010.
2. Advocacy - The organization facilitate and assist coalitions, committees or councils with affiliated and like-minded organizations to influence policy makers at both the local and national level. RONA member organizations will remain autonomous associations to determine their own particular advocacy positions while RONA hopes to provide a national voice to advocate for the big-picture issues on which all members can agree.
3. Magazines - Member discounts and free subscriptions to major recycling and composting trade journals.
4. Bi Monthly News Letter to Executive Directors and organizational leaders covering organizational, board and staff development assistance such as:
   • Membership recruitment and retention
   • Conference organizing
   • Effective training
   • Event planning and contracting
   • Fundraising
   • Publication production
   • Website development and upkeep
   • Electronic communications
   • Other related organizational issues
5. Provide other tools for recycling organization executives on:
• Board management and development
• Nonprofit management
• Provide speakers bureau for conferences and training
6. Job Board - Promote job openings, and people looking for jobs in recycling, composting and other sustainable development employment opportunities.
7. Collegiate Recycling Council Support - Initiaitives like RecycleMania and professional training for collegiate recycling professionals will be facilitated or supported.
8. Recycling Business Council - A council for recycling businesses and others undertaking sustainble business practices will facilitate the sharing of resources, expertise and industry trends such as quality needs and new innovative technologies.
9. Listservs - RONA will organize interactive listservs for members to join by categories of interest as well as an announcement listserv to send to all members of affiliated organizations for promoting their events.
10. Free web hosting on wind powered servers for all RONA members compliments of The Mobius Network, LLC

NMRC joins tne Colorado Association for Recycling and the Northeast Recycling Council, among others as members of this fledging organization. NMRC chose to support such a newly formed organization to help build a strong coalition throughout North America and participate in a forum to share knowledge and experience with others. Learn more at www.recyclingorganizations.org

National Recycling Coalition

The NRC is in the process of reorganizing following discussion of filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The organization is working with its debtors to reach payment terms. NMRC remains an affiliate of the struggling organization with the hopes that they can successfully reorganize.

As you know, the 2010 NM Recycling Conference will take place June 22-23 at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The Early Bird Rate full conference registration rate of $250 for NMRC Members and $350 for NMRC Non-Members is good through June 1st. Please sign up today to take advantage of the Early Bird rate and be a part of the state's premier recycling education forum.   

NMRC is able to offer free conference attendance and one night stay in the adjacent DoubleTree Hotel Albuquerque to 20 representatives from rural communities (one person per community - representative should be either the community’s recycling or solid waste operator) through a USDA Utilities Program grant.  If you are a representative of a rural community that would like to utilize this scholarship (<10,000 residents), please note this on your registration form. The 20 free slots will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis and the scholarships are going fast so if you’re a rural community, planning on utilizing a scholarship, please let us know asap.

To learn more and register online, please visit  http://www.recyclenewmexico.com/conference10.htm

Exhibitors can also register and learn more by clicking on the link above. 

Thank you to our Generous Sponsors:

Keep New Mexico Beautiful

CDM Consulting

Natural Evolutions

Gordon Environmental

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The Story of Bottled Water

Annie Leonard and The Story of Stuff Project, together with five sustainability advocacy organizations, have produced a new video, The Story of Bottled Water, recently released on March 22nd, World Water Day.

The Story of Bottled Water is a short (7 minute) behind-the-scenes look at the bottled water business that examines how we have been duped into buying half a billion bottles a week of what is essentially tap water, but at a price that is approximately two thousand times higher. Worse yet, the mountains of plastic bottles generated as waste tower higher, though less majestically, than the snow-capped peaks on the water bottle labels.

Watch  The Story of Bottled Water free on the web. While you’re at it, you can also watch The Story of Stuff and The Story of Cap and Trade.

Update your state certification or learn about the wild world of composting by taking the 3-day composting course hosting by NMRC in partnership with the New Mexico Environment Department: Solid Waste Bureau. The class is slated for April 20-22 in Ruidoso, which is always a nice time of year to visit.

You can register for the 2010 EPA Resource Conservation Challenge Web Academy Solid Waste Management and Recycling Education Series on the web at:

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/rcc/web-academy/index.htm

April 15:  Rural Recycling - Bridging the Gaps

May 20:  Social Marketing - Changing Behavior in Your Community

June 17:  Multi-Family Dwellings Recycling

July 15:  Recycling & Market Development of Unique Materials

August 19:  Food Waste/Organics Reduction & Recycling

September 16:  Greening University Campuses

October 21:  Sustainable Materials Management                                    

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Save the Date for Resource Recycling Conference

The World of Recycling will be in San Antonio October 26th-27th
Come to the inaugural Resource Recycling Conference at the Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio, Texas and gain valuable tools for your recycling operations and see the latest innovations in materials processing equipment and service offerings - all under one roof.

For more information or to register, please visit www.rrconference.com

The MRF of Tomorrow

From March Resource Recycling by Nathiel Egosi, P.E. and David Weitzman

The materials recovery facility (MRF) of tomorrow is a product of over two decades of continuing development in technology and an ever-increasing sophistication of management techniques. The evolution of technology, from primitive facilities for baling multi-source-separated grades to
today’s modern single-steam facilities capable of processing in excess of 100,000 tons per year, is, in itself, an interesting history worthy of a work much longer than this article.

However, what we have learned from that history is that the programs, processes and business of recycling residential- and commercially-generated recyclables has continued to become more and more complex, while, at the same time, growing immensely. Though there is little reason to believe that direction will change after considering all the factors, what can we glean from today’s trends to project the future?

View the full article at http://www.resource-recycling.com/images/e-newsletterimages/MRF0310.pdf

 The District's 5-cent bag tax generated about $150,000 during the month of January to help clean up the Anacostia River, even though residents have dramatically scaled back their use of disposable bags, according a report city officials issued Monday.
 
 In its first assessment of how the new law is working, the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue estimates that city food and grocery establishments issued about 3.3 million bags in January, which suggests a remarkable decrease. Prior to the bag tax taking effect Jan 1, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer had estimated that about 22.5 million bags were being issued per month in 2009.
 
 Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), sponsor of the bag tax bill, said the new figures show that city residents are adapting to the law far more quickly than he or other city officials had expected.
 
 "While it's difficult to project the annual results based on just the first month's experience, the report shows that residents are making great strides in reducing disposable bag use," Wells said.
 
 The tax, one of the first of its kind in the nation, is designed to change consumer behavior and limit pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Under regulations created by the D.C. Department of the Environment, bakeries, delicatessens, grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores that sell food, as well as restaurants and street vendors, liquor stores and "any business that sells food items," has to charge the tax on paper or plastic bags.
 
 A Washington Post poll conducted in January found that District residents were almost evenly split on whether they supported the tax, with 46 percent supporting it and 49 percent opposed to it. Support for the bag tax was highest in Northwest Washington, where about six in 10 residents supported it.
 
 District officials had estimated that the tax would generate about $10 million during the next four years for environmental initiatives. The money will be sent to the newly created Anacostia River Cleanup Fund, which will spend it on various projects.
 
 But in January, the tax only generated $149,432, suggesting that the bag tax might fall short of revenue projections.
 
 According to Wells, large retailers in the city have reported that disposable bag usage has dropped by more than half since the tax went into effect.
 
 "I'm thrilled with these results," Wells said. "Not only are we reducing the number of disposable bags entering our environment, but we also have new resources flowing in to help with the cleanup of the Anacostia River."

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Paper Recovery Hits All Time High

From Resource Recycling

The American Forest & Paper Association announced recently that, of the more than 78.9 million tons of paper and paperboard consumed in the U.S. in 2009, a record-high 63.4 percent of that material — over 50 million tons — was recovered for recycling, a 9.9-percent increase over 2008's recovery rate of 57.7 percent. The 63.4-percent recovery rate exceeds the paper industry's 60-percent goal three years ahead of schedule.

A number declining, however, was the tonnage not generated last year, as the 78.9 million tons of paper and paperboard consumed domestically was 12.2 percent less than the 89.8 million tons consumed in 2008, and 20.8 percent less than the 99.6 million tons generated five years ago. In fact, the tonnage generated last year, most notably affected by the ongoing recession, was the lowest recorded figure in almost two decades.