In its recent “R2 Update” email, released Oct. 31, Boulder, Colorado-based SERI, the housing body for the Responsible Recycling Practices (R2) Standard, gave an update on the progress of the standard’s revision.

“The R2 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) met in Maryland earlier this month and made significant progress towards a draft of the next version of the R2 Standard,” SERI writes. “While there are still questions to be answered and changes to be made, consensus was found among stakeholders in many areas.”

The organization notes that the revised R2 Standard “will appear significantly different in its new structure” to better address the diverse business models in the industry, which include recyclers, refurbishers, collectors, ITAD (information technology asset disposition) providers and service providers that make up the global reverse logistics supply chain.

SERI writes in its update, “Many should see a more streamlined fit that focuses on the processes each organization specializes in. Data security is also a primary focus of the revision. This area, currently known as Provision 8, will be greatly expanded in the next release.”

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Brattleboro, Vermont, has presented its 2018 Environmental Sustainability Leadership Awards. The association recognized three programs in the Northeast:

• The Connecticut What’s IN, What’s OUT Campaign;
• PaintCare; and
• The village of Scarsdale, New York.

“This is the second year of NERC’s Environmental Sustainability Leadership Awards, and we were delighted by the number and quality of the nominees as well as the importance of the work they are doing,” says NERC board President Kaley Laleker, deputy director of the Land Management Administration at the Maryland Department of the Environment. “Selecting a winner was difficult, and ultimately the award committee decided to recognize a state project, a private sector initiative and a municipal program. Each of the winners has achieved significant environmental results through its work in the Northeast.”

Connecticut’s multimedia What’s IN, What’s OUT Campaign, a project of the RecycleCT Foundation, seeks to increase awareness of Connecticut’s recycling rules. (See this article in our May issue for more information.) Contributing to the development and success of this campaign were material recovery faculties (MRFs) in Connecticut, RecycleCT board members, the firms of Decker and ReCollect and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection recycling staff that kept everyone working together, NERC says. The What’s IN, What’s Out Campaign, has been engaging residents through digital and social media, generating more than 7.4 million impressions, 70,000 website visits, 104,000 RecycleCT Wizard searches and 1.9 million video views. Commissioner Robert Klee of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection accepted the award on behalf of the campaign.  

PaintCare, a program of the American Coatings Association, Washington, is a paint manufacturer stewardship program that provides end-of-life management of leftover paint. In the NERC region, PaintCare has programs in Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont. These programs conserve leftover latex and oil-based paint by offering the public convenient drop-off locations, diverting the paint from landfills and improper disposal. To date, PaintCare has processed more than 1.2 million gallons of paint in Connecticut, more than 326,000 gallons in Maine, in excess of 305,000 gallons in Rhode Island and more than 438,000 gallons in Vermont, NERC says. PaintCare provides more than 360 drop-off locations in the region, including paint stores, transfer stations and hazardous waste programs. Accepting the award on behalf of PaintCare was Marjaneh Zarrehparvar, the executive director at PaintCare.

The village of Scarsdale, New York, launched a municipal food scrap recycling program in January 2017, becoming the first municipality in Westchester County to offer such a program. Th program has been “remarkably successful,” NERC says, and has quickly expanded to 10 additional municipalities in Westchester County and the lower Hudson Valley region area of New York. Since the Scarsdale program began, almost 336,000 pounds of food scraps have been recycled into compost. Weekly collections currently exceed 4 tons and continue to increase as more households register to participate. Within the first 18 months, more than 1,000 households registered, representing 18 percent of all Scarsdale households, according to NERC, which adds that Scarsdale’s food scrap recycling program is a model for other communities. The award was accepted by Michelle Sterling, Scarsdale Conservation Advisory Council; Benedict Salanitro, superintendent of Scarsdale Public Works; and Ron Schulhof, Scarsdale Conservation Advisory Council.

Compliance solutions provider Stericycle Inc., Lake Forest, Illinois, and Shred-it, Stericycle's information destruction service line, will host a National Hiring Event Nov. 7-9 at 30 locations across the country along with a virtual career fair. Stericycle says it is seeking talented, motivated individuals to fill a variety of open positions, including commercial driver’s license (CDL) and non-CDL drivers and trainees, customer care/call center support, warehouse laborers and supervisors, transportation/logistics, inside/outside sales, information technology and other professional roles.

Interested candidates can participate in on-site interviews, tour facilities and learn more about the benefits of working at Stericycle during the National Hiring Event.

Those who cannot attend an on-site event can attend a virtual career fair that will be held concurrently.

The company says job offers will be made immediately for qualified individuals who match the position requirements.

"Stericycle is a market leader in each of our core services, and the secret to our success is our people," says Brenda Frank, chief people officer for Stericycle. "We've created a unique culture focused on empowering and inspiring our team members to serve our customers, continuously improve our organization and make great things happen every day." 

Stericycle says it offers competitive pay, advanced equipment and a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid time off, medical, dental and vision coverage, 401(k) with employer match contribution, an employee stock purchase program and life insurance.

More information on Stericycle's National Hiring Event is available at https://careers.stericycle.com.

Burnham, Illinois-based Scrap Metal Services LLC (SMS) has announced that its and its mill services division, SMS Mill Services LLC, has entered into a multiyear contract at JSW Steel USA’s electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking facility in Mingo Junction, Ohio. The long-term contract will include slag removal and processing, metal recovery, drop balling and what SMS calls other miscellaneous services.

“We are excited to grow our Mill Services platform and relationship with JSW USA,” says Jeffry Gertler, CEO of SMS, “The contract between the two companies solidifies the values of both companies and their commitments to health, safety and environmental sustainability.”

Comments John Hritz, president and CEO of JSW USA, “We are pleased to expand our relationship with SMS as JSW USA furthers its vision in Ohio, along with its facilities in Texas, to become the most technologically advanced melt and manufacture entity in North America. The gamut of our vision has grown in a short period of time to improve and install three electric arc furnaces and create 1,000 new jobs in the United States.”

JSW USA, based in Baytown, Texas, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of JSW Group, a $13 billion company based in India with more than 40,000 employees worldwide. JSW describes itself as India’s largest steel producer and says it has a presence in 100 countries. JSW recently purchased the Mingo Junction steel plant and has committed to invest $500 million and create more than 500 jobs in the area.

SMS and its affiliates, including its mill services division, operate scrap processing, steel mill services, ship dismantlement and intermodal/truck/railcar dismantling facilities in the United States, Mexico, and Europe. SMS also provides scrap management, trading services, consulting and purchasing services to industrial scrap generators both domestically and internationally. The company is a supplier of ferrous and nonferrous scrap commodities to both domestic and international consumers and offers brokerage and trading services to other scrap companies.