Municipal Recycling

 

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING DRAWS INTEREST

The Connecticut Recyclers Coalition, Hartford, organized an America Recycles Day event that collected 14 tons of old televisions and obsolete computer equipment. The event, which took place on November 14, was co-sponsored by Pitney Bowes, Stamford, Conn., and Perkin-Elmer, Norwalk, Conn.

Nearly 200 people dropped off their outdated electronic equipment at a drop-off site in Stamford, Conn., according to Meg Enkler of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. The items collected were processed by Global Recycling of Staunton, Mass.

Enkler says the participation level was encouraging enough to predict that the program will almost certainly return for America Recycles Day in 1999. Noting that there was just one drop off site for the debut event, she says that “the untapped reserves of old equipment must be enormous” throughout the rest of the state.

NRC RECEIVES JOBS GRANT

The National Recycling Coalition (NRC), Alexandria, Va., has received two grants equaling $85,000 to support its Sustainable Jobs Fund. A $50,000 grant came from the Citicorp Foundation while a $35,000 grant was accepted from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

“These seed foundation funds will boost our work with the Sustainable Jobs Corporation in organizing a $15 million fund focused on investing in recycling companies that will create jobs in low-income neighborhoods,” says William Ferretti, the NRC’s executive director.

  The Sustainable Jobs Fund will provide financing in different capacities to emerging companies in the eastern U.S. The Sustainable Jobs Corp. (SJC), with offices in both North Carolina and Pennsylvania, is the fund manager.

“These grants will help us complete the capitalization of the fund, establish investment systems, begin identifying and assisting companies, and start fund operations,” says David Kirkpatrick, SJC president.

The grant announcements came shortly after the SJC had received good news regarding another funding award. The SJC will receive a $50,000 technical assistance award from the U.S. Treasury Department to further research the possibility of setting up a fund to assist recycling companies.

“The grant will allow us to more rapidly complete the research, planning, outreach, and fund raising work necessary to close on a $15 million community development fund,” says Kirkpatrick of the Treasury Dept. funding.

According to SJC chairman Rick Defieux, “the Fund will provide seed investments as low as $25,000 and continue working with companies as they expand, with follow-on investments of as much as $1 million.”

AF&PA AWARDS CITY OF LOUISVILLE

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Washington, has named Louisville, Ky. as the U.S. city with the best paper recycling program.

The city’s aggressive recycling program helped increase the paper recovery rate by more than 80% in one year, helping the AF&PA to judge it the best state/local government program in the 100,000 or more population category.

“Our team at the City of Louisville and our private sector partners earned this award through innovation and hard work, but credit ultimately goes to the citizens of Louisville, who continue to prove their commitment to paper recycling,” says Jane Ecker, special projects administrator in Louisville.

The city expanded the paper component of its curbside recycling program in 1996, adding kraft grocery bags, old magazines, direct mail, telephone directories, corrugated cardboard, and paperboard to its original old newspapers collection. A public service and communications campaign was launched at the time of expansion.

 with the theme of “Up the Volume.” Local media outlets and the Kroger grocery chain joined in the promotional effort.

In addition to increasing paper recovery by more than 80%, public participation in the program stood at 93% within the city. “What’s particularly impressive about the Louisville program is that it effectively expanded an already strong old newspaper recovery program into new grades such as old magazines, paperboard, direct mail and kraft bags,” says AF&PA president W. Henson Moore.

Washington State Sees Recycling Rate Drop Off

The state of Washington, which has earned a reputation for its attention to recycling, recorded a significant decrease in its recycling rate in 1997.

After posting recycling rates of 39.4% in 1995 and 38.8% in 1996 (as computed by the Washington Department of Ecology), the state’s rate dropped a dramatic 6.4% to 32.4% in 1997. According to the state’s findings, the amount of material recycled in Washington dropped 400,000 tons in 1997 versus the year before. Tonnage land-filled in 1997 increased a like amount.

“Washington’s decline in recycling is attributable to recycling’s lack of funding, lack of leadership and lack of focus,” says Dot Vali Newton, executive director of the Washington State Recycling Association, Tukwila, Wash.

She says that state government support for recycling education and market development has dwindled in the mid and late 1990s. For example, in 1997, the legislation that funded Washington’s only statewide recycling market development effort expired.

Newton also says that while there is still widespread public support for recycling, elected officials have let their attention drift away from the subject. “Officials need to recognize recycling’s significant contribution to protecting clean air and water, conserving natural resources, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the causes of global climate change.”

On the education front, Newton states that Washington’s prior success in becoming a leader in recycling was attributable to a commitment to educate students and adults on the merits and methods of recycling. “A full commitment to public education is the foundation for restoring the state’s national recycling leadership,” she comments.

 

January 1999
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