September 2017 Newsletter

Advancing Waste Reduction and Recycling in the Carolinas Since 1989

Special Thanks to Our 2017 Sponsors!

Check out the CRA Sponsors

Registration Coming Soon!

Market Changes Got You Down? Come spend an evening with your peers, make new connections, and gather strength from numbers! You are the industry. You are the game changer. Make connections, grow your business, and build a better tomorrow by attending the 4th Annual Recycling Business Connections on December 6 in Columbia, SC. The Carolina Recycling Association, SC Department of Commerce, and NC Recycling Business Assistance Center are working together to provide a unique networking opportunity for you to make connections new & old that will help grow your business. Great sponsorship opportunities are also available for this event!

Tools Rule! Free Social Media Kit Available

The Recycling Partnership announces free toolkit for recycling coordinators

The Recycling Partnership, a CRA sponsor member (but w e're not bragging or anything), has released a comprehensive toolkit for Recycling Coordinators across the nation to use for free to help them engage with their communities on social media platforms. The media kit contains tons of Twitter and Facebook ready posts with complimentary high-quality images separated by topic. They even incorporated character limits and hashtags, y'all. Users need only go to the recycling partnerships website (link below) and register to download the zip file. From there you'll find enough posts to last you a whole year. Even if you're not a recycling coordinator, you may find some great posts for your business or organization. So, go forth and tweet!

Click here to access the Recycling Partnership Social Media Kit

GM Wins Award with Carolina-based Partners

General Montors Wins Environmental Leader Top Project of the Year

The 2017 Top Project of the Year Award went to General Motors Co. for the Do Your Part Water Bottle Recycling Initiative. General Motors collects water bottles from six of its facilities as well as the Flint community (which faced a drinking water crisis) and then funnels them into its Do Your Part project. GM designed a supply web that converts the bottles to fleece to make 2017 model year Chevrolet Equinox V-6 engine cover sound insulators, insulation for The Empowerment Plan coats for the homeless, and GM facility air filters.

Instead of delegating to one supplier, GM steered the project and brought sustainability-minded companies together. Hamtramck Recycling bails the bottles collected from six GM facilities. CleanTech Inc. washes them and converts them to flake. NC based Unifi Manufacturing recycles the flake into Repreve resin. SC based Palmetto Synthetics processes the resin to create fibers and NC based William T. Burnett & Co. processes the fibers into various forms of fleece, serving all three applications. Rogers Foam Corp. die cuts the fleece and EXO-s attaches it into the nylon cover for the Chevrolet Equinox V6 engine.

Since April 2016, GM has collected about 4 million bottles. Sourcing recycled content also led to energy conservation. On average, production of a pound of the recycled staple fiber saves enough energy to run a compact fluorescent light bulb for 22 days.

Click here for the full story at Environmental Leaders

Thank You Very Much-o Mr. Roboto

...For helping us sort recyclables better and safer

Disclaimer: Do not read this if you are afraid of robots taking over the world. The Carton


Image source: Resource Recycling Magazine

Council announced it recently deployed a system from technology startup AMP Robotics at a materials recovery facility (MRF) operated by independent waste and recycling company Dem-Con Companies in Shakopee, Minnesota, roughly 20 miles outside of Minneapolis. The robotics began operating at Dem-Con on Aug. 21 of this year. The technology used in the AMP system, as well as in recently unveiled product offerings from equipment companies Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) and ZenRobotics, leverages a type of innovation called "machine learning" that utilizes cameras and computer software to recognize the visual characteristics of materials on a recycling facility conveyor belt and then target certain items for separation. The use of artificial intelligence could also reduce MRF reliance on manual sorters, a staffing segment known for high turnover and injury rates.

Click here for the full story from Resource Recycling Magazine.

Right Time Right Now: Meet Industry Experts, Preparing for Change

It's no secret that the past few months have created a level of uncertainty about the stability of the recycling industry like no other time period. The SERDC Fall Forum is going to address this head on and how we can work together to keep recycling an integral part of our economy and the material supply chain to manufacturing in the Southeast. Session topics include: Material-Specific Market Complexities and Trends, Brand Owner Perspectives and Impacts, and Applying Resources to Opportunities Panel. Did we mention there's also a Sustainability Tour and Reception at New Belgium Brewing?

Earlybird rates through October starting at $175. Host Hotel (Hyatt Regency) rates $139. Space is limited so register today!

For more info & registration, visit SERDC.org

SWANA Announces New Zero Waste Certification

Zero Waste Principles and Practices Course

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) has announced the launch of their new Zero Waste Principles & Practices certification course, developed by the two organizations along with Kessler Consulting (KCI) over the past two years. This course will promote the integration of zero waste principles into existing management systems, practices, and policies, in order to move local systems toward developing and achieving community-specific Zero Waste goals. The Zero Waste Principles & Practices certification course contains 10 modules covering areas of public policy, programs, technology, and measurement, with lessons that include collection options, managing organics, contracts, and financing.

Click here for more information from SWANA.

Lunch, Learn, & Network Fall Line-Up

Atlas Organics Compost Facility - Table to Farm: Composting in SC

Join us for a Lunch, Learn, & Network on October 18 at the Atlas Organics Compost Facility at Twin Chimneys Landfill in Greenville County, SC to hear how Greenville County and Atlas Organics are working towards reducing food waste and cycling it back into a valuable soil amendment to promote sustainable agriculture and landscaping. The presentations will be followed by a tour of the Atlas Compost Facility and a networking lunch.

Pitt County C&D MRF - Breaking Down C&D Recycling

Join us for a Lunch, Learn, & Network on Breaking Down C&D Recycling on November 17 sponsored by Pitt County Solid Waste in Greenville, NC. NC currently has the 10th highest rate of economic growth in the nation, and that means construction and demolition debris will constitute a growing percentage of the state's waste composition. We're going to take an in-depth look at how this waste is being diverted effectively in Pitt County, NC. You might have heard that Pitt County has one of the few public C&D sorting facilities in the Carolinas and they'd like to share how they got it, how it works, and how much waste they're diverting from landfills. NC DEACS will also share a state-level perspective on C&D, including policy and program updates. The event will wrap up with an in-depth tour of the C&D MRF.

NC Groups Unveil Maps of Composting Options

New Maps Show Permitted Composters and Compost in Bulk Options

Two new North Carolina-specific maps have been created to expand the awareness of composting options in the state. NC DEACS created an updated map showing the composting facilities permitted by the N.C. Division of Waste Management and the N.C. Division of Water Resources. In addition to traditional composting facilities, the map also includes yard waste notification sites and the anaerobic digesters that process off-site materials, such as food waste, slurries and food manufacturing byproducts. Featured information includes contact information, permit number, and amount of material managed last fiscal year.

Additionally, the North Carolina Composting Council released the new NC Bulk Compost Map in June 2017, listing more than 150 retailers who sell compost by the cubic yard. The information shown includes contact information, source of compost, compost certifications and website.

View the DEACS Permitted Composters

NC Composting Council's Compost in Bulk

Save the Date!

Grant Alert! 2018 NC RBAC Grant Round Opens

Funds Available for NC Recycling Businesses and Entrepreneurs

The NC Recycling Business Assistance Center encourages you to apply for a grant if you are a recycling business in North Carolina seeking to increase or expand your recovery efforts.

Proposals are due by 5 pm on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017.

Previous grant winners are eligible to apply for 2018 grant funding
under the following conditions:
(1) the project has been completed and the contract is closed; or,
(2) the grantee has requested reimbursement for at least 90% of the grant award by Oct. 19, 2017.

View the 2018 Recycling Business Development Grant Request for Proposals