Greenville, SC Expanding Recycling Program   City Approves $3 million for Carts and Trucks

The Greenville City Council unanimously approved an operating budget for the coming year.  Plans to improve the city's sanitation and recycling service are included in the budget.

The city says more than $3 million will go towards purchasing new trash bins and new larger 90-gallon recycling bins for Greenville's 18,000 single-family homes within city limits. The funds will also go towards purchasing new automated sanitation trucks.  The equipment will be purchased in July and rolled out four to six months after that, according to Mike Murphy, Greenville's Director of Public Works.

Residents will be able to recycle cans, plastic, bottles and paper in one bin.  Officials hope by making recycling easier, more residents will participate. Right now, the city estimates only a 48% participation rate.

"The biggest complaint I hear is large cardboard or yogurt containers, or different types of plastics," said City Councilwoman Amy Ryberg-Doyle.  She said the new system will increase the amount of plastic the city can accept.  "We will be taking them all. People do not need to separate them and more importantly they don't need to be separated on the truck."

 

EPA Releases Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report indicates the 2013 National Recycling Rate Was 34.3%

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures 2013, an annual report on municipal solid waste generation.  According to the report, Americans generated generated 254 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2013.  Of the 254 million tons, 87.18 million tons was recycled or composted. The recovery rate for recycling fell slightly to 34.3% in 2013 from 2012's 34.5%.

• Per capita MSW generation was at 4.40 pounds per person per day.  The recycling rate in 2013 (including composting) was 1.51 pounds per person per day.  This is 1.12 pounds per person per day for recycling and 0.39 pounds per person per day for composting
•  The plastics recycling rate rose to 9.2% in 2013 from 8.8% in 2012.
• The paper and paperboard recycling rate fell to 63.3% from the 2012 rate of 64.6%.
• The glass recycling rate fell slightly from 27.7% in 2012 to 27.3% in 2013.
• The Selected Consumer Electronics recovery rate increased to 40.4% up from 30.6% in 2012.

According to the Executive Summary, as the new name for their annual report suggests, EPA is thinking beyond waste. They are transitioning from focusing on waste management to focusing on Sustainable Materials Management. SMM refers to the use and reuse of materials in the most productive and sustainable way across their entire life cycle.  Viewing materials through an SMM lens changes how we think about our resources for a better tomorrow. Our policy is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rethink. 

 

SC Agencies Form Carpet Recovery Coalition SC DOC and SC DHEC Partner to Maximize Economic and Environmental Benefits of Carpet Recovery

The SC Department of Commerce's Recycling Market Development program and DHEC's Recycling office have partnered to develop a Carpet Recovery Coalition as well as resources such as brochures, maps and website information to spur carpet recycling in SC. In 2015, 10 sites are up and running with one municipality and nine counties operating collection centers for either carpet, carpet padding, or both, and this is up from 2013 when only two local governments were recycling carpet.

• The SC carpet recycling industry employs about 1,280 workers.
• Ford is using recycled nylon plastic extracted from carpets for underhood parts in some of its most popular vehicles. Wellman Plastics Recycling in Johnsonville, SC, is a local carpet recycler that supplies recycled plastic resin to Ford.
• SC was recognized by the Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) in 2015 for its carpet recycling market development activities.

SERDC Food Recovery Summit - Register Now! Charleston Event to Focus on Prevention & Recovery of Food Discards

CRA Member Spotlight Brian Moore - City of Concord, NC

For 20 years, Brian worked for a North Carolina city in the solid waste and recycling field without the supportive network of the CRA.  After becoming involved with CRA, he realizes what he's been missing.  When he went to work for the City of Concord two years ago, he was able to attend the CRA conference for the first time. He loved everything; the choices to attend any number of useful educational sessions and learning about the latest trends and tools used in the business of recycling and waste reduction   What he loved most was the networking with fellow recyclers and meeting and learning from the exhibitors. His only regret was not being able to attend multiple sessions at once.

Brian knew he wanted to share this with his supervisors and staff.  They too could benefit greatly by the training and networking opportunities.   The CRA conference training was especially effective regarding essential leadership traits and effective communication helping them to gain the commitment and cooperation of their employees. As you can tell Brian is pumped about the CRA and its mission...not just to conserve resources by advancing recycling and waste reduction, but also bringing people together to learn from each other.

This year Brian is actively volunteering on CRA committees and also wants to share his successful Mobile 311 program with the membership. The project involves technology that includes a mapping & scheduling system with real time updates allowing for efficient pick-ups for the Concord residents. Citizens are happy because they no longer have to call in to schedule bulky item pickups. This new Mobile 311 system has allowed for reduced collection and labor costs. Cost savings estimated in excess of $169,000 were realized in 2014 with additional savings in avoided collection contract increases in 2014 as well. This system has also resulted in an increased level of service for the citizens of the City of Concord.

CRA Board of Directors

President Amanda Kain Catawba County Vice President Harris DeLoach III Sonoco Recycling Secretary Amanda Fairley Waste Management Treasurer Wes Westbrooks BMW Manufacturing Board Development Chair Michael Talbert Mecklenburg County

Chad Beane Moore County Public Works Lynn Bestul New Hanover County Anne Blindt Albemarle Regional SW Authority Patrick Darrow Goodwill Industries John Demary Pitt County Solid Waste & Recycling

Paul Hanna MetalTech Systems Brett Henderson PowerHouse Recycling Tonya Randell Moore Recycling Associates Rusty Smith Santee Cooper Karen Terry-Johnson Pratt Recycling