MATERIAL MATTERS
APRIL 2021 NEWSLETTER
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Member Spotlight on
CALL2RECYCLE
Batteries power our daily lives – from cellphones and laptops to toys and power tools – but the freedom to go unplugged comes with a responsibility. Properly recycling batteries at their end of life is an easy habit to adopt that prevents potentially hazardous materials from entering the waste stream and protects against fires that can be caused by trashed batteries.
Funded by more than 200 battery and battery product manufacturers, Call2Recycle, the United States’ largest consumer battery stewardship and recycling program, has established over 15,000 collection locations across the U.S. that accept batteries for recycling, including The Home Depot, Lowe’s and Staples, as well as municipal household waste facilities.
There is no cost to consumers to recycle rechargeable batteries, including Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Nickel Zinc (Ni-Zn), Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion), and Small Sealed Lead Acid (SSLA/Pb), as well as cellphones. However, unlike the rechargeable battery program, there is currently no national free solution for the recycling of single-use batteries (AA, AAA, C- and D-cell, 9v, etc.). You can visit call2recycle.org to find a rechargeable battery drop-off location near you or check with your local waste management agency or community recycling center to determine whether they accept batteries and if they accept rechargeable, single-use or both. If you can’t find an option for single-use batteries, consider purchasing an at-home recycling box at www.call2recycle.org/store.
After batteries are collected, they are sent to qualified sorters where they are sorted and weighed by type and chemistry. Based on their chemistry, the batteries are then broken down into raw components that can be reused for other purposes or products and valuable metals, like aluminum, zinc, lead and iron, can be recovered.
When it comes to batteries, it’s pretty simple. Don’t throw them in the garbage or in your curbside recycling bin. They can AND should be recycled. It not only helps protect the environment but also keeps people and property safe. Visit call2recycle.org to learn more.
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Members of the Illinois Recycling Association enjoy the benefit of spotlighting their Business, Government, Educational Institution or Non-Profit entity in a future Newsletter. If you would like to be featured, please send an email to info@illinoisrecycles.org.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS WEDNESDAY APRIL 21, 2021 10:30am CT
MMAC WEBINAR
Materials Management
Advisory Committee
Presenters -
James Jennings, IEPA
Kay McKeen, SCARCE
Walter Willis, SWALCO
A comprehensive review of information about our recycling and composting infrastructure, measurement methods, educational outreach and success has been underway for over a year. A report with recommendations to the Governor for possible changes to the laws our industry has worked within for over three decades will be released.
Be the first to hear the draft report and comment!
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR
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Legislative Update
The House and Senate have been busy with a wide array of bills. The IRA has been following many that touch on waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting. Here is a list of bills that we are currently on record of supporting and we invite our individual members to support them as well.
- HB 1866 – Construction and Demolition
- HB 1899 - Paint Stewardship
- SB 263 – Construction and Demolition
- SB 345 – Carpet Stewardship Act
- SB 1164 - Paint Stewardship
- SB 1915 – Procurement - Single Use Plastic Reduction
- SB 2259 – Income Tax Credit
There are many more bills. We listed them in last month's newsletter. To look up a bill, please visit https://www.ilga.gov/
Information on Filing a Witness Slip
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Identification: If you are representing an organization as an employee, include the name in the “firm/business” field. If you are not representing an organization as an employee, add “self.“
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Representation: If you are representing a group, organization or business, also add the name here. Make sure you have permission to do this! Otherwise, type “self” or “n/a.”
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Position: If you support the bill, select “proponent.”
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Testimony: Choose “record of appearance only,” agree to the terms then click “create slip.”
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Confirmation: Once your witness slip is submitted, you’ll see a confirmation message and receive an email.
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2021 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
ALERT
Please join now to keep your name in the Member Directory on the IRF website. Only 2021 member names will remain in the directory past 5/1/2021.
- About 1000 people access the IRF/IRA website each month.
- They are looking for recycling information and could be looking for you.
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Please join so your information displays in the IRF Member Directory.
All business, institution, government and non-profit members will receive two voting memberships with two separate employees listed on our website as well as an IRF logo for your website. This ensures customers will find you on our website. It also shows your support of recycling, reuse and waste reduction on a statewide basis. You will automatically become a member of the NRC and be eligible for a discount on Resource Recycling Magazine. Discounts are offered to all members for all IRF presentations, tours and workshops.
- $175 Institutional/Non-Profit/Government
- $275 Business (100 or less employees)
- $400 Corporate (over 100 employees)
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Click Here to see all membership levels and JOIN TODAY!
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WELCOME TO 2021 NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS SINCE FEBRUARY 2021
Thank you for supporting the Illinois Recycling Foundation
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ARCOA Group
Brohn Tech LLC
Call2Recycle
City of Champaign
Cook County Environment & Sustainability
Paula Cross
Crusher Inc
Ex-Cell Kaiser
g2 revolution
GreenWay Recycling Services
State of Illinois
Illinois Eastern Community College
Illinois State University
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Independent Recycling Services
Midland Davis Corp
Midwest Compost
Moller Family Foundation
MRK Group
Mike Nowak
Village of Oak Park
Office Furniture Center
Sexton Properties
Shedd Aquarium
Steven Simpson-Black
SWANCC
West Cook County Solid Waste Agency
[Your Name Here] - Join / Renew Today
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BE PART OF A COMMITTEE
The Illinois Recycling Foundation recognizes that we have members with different needs. We want to do more to address their concerns with targeted meetings on specific topics. Please consider joining one of these committees today to be part of discussion. Email us at info@illinoisrecycles.org with your committee interest.
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C&D Recycling
Educational
Electronics Recycling
Glass Recycling
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Traditional MRF Operator
Manufacturer of Recycled Products
Organics Composting
Textile Reuse and Recycling
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We also welcome members to join our Communications Committee, Conference Committee, Events Committee and Grants Committee. Full committee descriptions are available here.
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A Note from the President
Happy Earth Month! The 51st anniversary of Earth Day is upon us and this year we find our educators presenting information on recycling and composting in virtual and in-person formats while our MRFs continue to work diligently to process residential and commercial recyclables. As our compost sites receive the first cuttings of the season with a few food scraps tossed in for good measure, we admire our electronics processors ability to reuse some of the materials, while recycling others. Our construction sectors rely on our C&D recyclers to meet the challenge of handling the array of construction and demolition materials every day of the year, which is integral to LEED certification for our most environmentally minded architects and engineers. Together, we celebrate the cacophony of materials that all of us work to use wisely and recover when we no longer can use them. Thank you for being members of our amazing industry and doing something each day to make the world a better place.
Marta Keane
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National Solid Waste and Recycling Survey
by Lisa Skumatz
A National Trash and Recycling Survey update is being conducted by Skumatz Economic Research Associates (SERA) for 2021. The data are used to track trends and latest methods in Solid Waste Management, conduct quantitative analyses to guide program refinements, and other studies, many of which are published in aggregate form (no name / individual data) in Resource Recycling. This year’s special topic includes a drill-down on contamination strategies.
As advocates in the industry, we are hoping you can help us with a survey and be entered for a drawing if you wish. Previous results were presented in a free webinar last fall and the results of this national study will also be presented at various state conferences.
In the past, the survey has typically taken 15-20 minutes. If you need to do part of it, and then hold it open – or come back in, the survey allows that. Feel free to call if you have questions or would rather complete it by phone (303 494 1178; dsouza@serainc.com). Thank you very much!
Lisa A. Skumatz, Ph.D. – Proud Chair National Recycling Coalition (NRC); Member, Recycle Colorado Board; National SWANA Policy Advisory Committee
Skumatz Economic Research Associates (SERA)
Voice: 360 261 3069
NOTE New SERA address – PO Box 1486, Silverthorne, CO, 80498
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SAVE THE DATE
FOAM RECYCLING WEBINAR
Wednesday, May 19th
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Several companies in Illinois have different approaches to recycling foam plastic. This will be an opportunity to learn more about them and what may or may not be recyclable and if they have a solution for this single-use non-curbside collected material. |
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Chopsticks Enter the Circular Economy
Since 2016, ChopValue, a Canadian company, has been taking used bamboo chopsticks from restaurants in Canada and the US, and transforming them into attractive wooden tiles which are used in a range of furniture and homewares. A simple idea, born from a passionate aversion to waste. A third of the world uses chopsticks every day! The company places collection boxes in restaurants that provide chopsticks to customers and has already given new life to more than 30 million chopsticks that would otherwise have ended up in landfills. Click to read more. |
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Future Webinars
- Let's Talk Plastic Waste Reduction and Sustainability with Shedd
- Challenges of Textile Collection
We are cooking up a few informative concepts for this summer and our annual conference so please stay turned! Remember, you can always let us know what topics you are interested in hearing us pursue. Join a committee or email us.
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CHANGE OF ADDRESS
Please update records / systems to reflect a new address for both the IRF and the IRA
ILLINOIS RECYCLING FOUNDATION
ILLINOIS RECYCLING ASSOCIATION
PO BOX 411
GENEVA IL 60134
All other contact information for both entities remains the same.
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ILLINOIS RECYCLING FOUNDATION ADDS THEIR NAME TO LETTER TO INCLUDE RECYCLING IN PROPOSED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INFRASTRUCTURE BILL
Please click here for details. Businesses and organizations are invited to add their support. |
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RECENT RECYCLING NEWS
Study Points to Role of Bottle Bills in Boosting Recycling
“The 50 States of Recycling: A State-by-State Assessment of Containers and Packaging Recycling Rates,” compares recycling rates for the most commonly used containers and packaging materials in the U.S.
MRK Group, Elgin IL Celebrating 30th Anniversary
ITAD firm, MRK Group, member of the IRF every year since 2015, renewed its R2:2013 and 14001:2015 certifications and became ISO 45001:2018 certified. MRK celebrated its 30th Anniversary in February. An Open House is scheduled for later in the year!
Ann Hughes, Director of Sales and Marketing, 801 N State St, Elgin, IL 60123 847-468-1700
Why Recycling is a Benefit to the Worldwide Economy
A blog post from member General Kinematics
Trex Introduces NexTrex Packaging Label
An official certification for brand packaging shall verify post-consumer plastics as recyclable into Trex composite decking. Click here to learn more.
The Village of Winnetka announces the Return of their Electronics Recycling Program
For hours and a list of additional items taken at the municipal drop-off, click here. |
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"Don't worry about those who talk about you behind your back. They are behind you for a reason."
Pietro Verone, Restauranteur, Villa Verone
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Illinois Recycling Foundation & Illinois Recycling Association, PO Box 411, Geneva IL 60134
708 358 0050
info@illinoisrecycles.org
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