NRC Convention Preview

More than 2,000 people are expected to attend, says Rebecca Mebane, NRC’s director of conferences and meetings. Attendees will be greeted with a diverse program. Sessions this year are broken down into the following categories:

*            Program design and economics

*            Optimizing materials handling and finding markets

*            Recycling policy and economics

*           Market development and buying recycled

*           Public education and outreach

*            Beyond recycling, and

*            Professional development.

HIGHLIGHTS

Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute (WRI) will deliver the convention’s keynote address. WRI is a Washington-based center for policy research that provides information and proposals for policy change with the aim of fostering environmentally sound development. Lash will discuss how recycling and waste prevention are related to such issues as climate change and sustainability.

 Other highlights include a networking breakfast, an America Recycles Day Rally, various social activities, and optional tours.

Tour sites include:

*           the McKinley Paper Mill, where paperboard and corrugated are manufactured

*           the Shidoni metal art foundry

*           Intel corporate headquarters

*           a Tomra Pacific-City of Albuquerque aluminum recycling center

*           a Green Builder Home site with a C&D debris recycling set-up

*           the Sandia National Laboratory

*           the McKinley Recycling Facility, an independent MRF

*           and the City of Albuquerque’s Intermediate Processing Facility, which handles 50 tons per day of residential recyclables.

(The Exhibitor List for the NRC Convention appears on page 74.)

PRE-CONGRESS WORKSHOPS

A number of workshops, which must be registered for in advance, are offered to attendees. Workshop titles and topics include:

            1.            College and University Recycling Council Workshop. For those interested in issues related to institutional waste management.

            2.            Recycling in Rural Communities Workshop. Designed for anyone involved in recycling in rural communities.

            3.            Financing Strategies for Recycling Businesses Workshop. Developed through the NRC’s National Financing Initiative, this workshop will present informational resources and tools designed to assist state market development officials and other business service providers in working with recycling businesses to obtain financing.

            4.            Making Source Reduction and Reuse Work in Your Community Workshop. Will focus on how local governments can establish effective source reduction programs in their communities.

            5.            Meet Your Market Workshop. Offered by the Association of Post-consumer Plastic Recyclers, this workshop for recycling coordinators will discuss how to market and get the most revenue for plastic containers most commonly collected in curbside and drop-off recycling programs.

The author is editor of Recycling Today.

Sidebar

ALBUQUERQUE HIGHLIGHTS AT A GLANCE

Attendees of the National Recycling Coalition’s convention will not be at a loss for things to do. Following are some Albuquerque highlights:

*            Historic Old Town. A traditional Spanish central plaza featuring adobe architecture that has more than 100 shops and restaurants.

*            Sandia Peak Tram. The world’s longest single span tramway, traveling 2.7 miles to Sandia Peak, offers a breathtaking 11,000             square mile panorama.

*           New Mexico Museum of Natural History. Learn how the earth formed and the dinosaurs lived.

*            Albuquerque Museum. Contains the largest collection of Spanish colonial artifacts in the United States.

*            Petroglyph National Monument. 15,000 ancient Indian rock drawings on lava formations.

*            Sandia Man Cave. Contains artifacts dating back to 23,000 B.C.

*           Scenic Turquoise Trail. Runs along the east side of the Sandia Mountains.

*            Coronado State Monument. A genuine restored sacred Indian ceremonial chamber and other ancient Pueblo ruins.

*           Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Contains exhibits of arts and crafts from New Mexico’s 19 pueblos.

*            National Atomic Museum. Learn about the development of         atomic energy.

Source: Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau.