Texas group seeks cooperation with California on container recycling

Dallas-based not-for-profit organization EarthX is bringing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and two other state officials to Texas to help California commemorate the estimated half-trillion beverage containers collected for recycling in the state.

EarthX, which was founded in 2011 to support Earth Day celebrations in Dallas, has chosen the day after Earth Day this April to welcome the California visitors. Invited to represent California are Newsom, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) leader Krystal Acierto and Mark Murray, director of Californians Against Waste.

The Dallas organization says it wants to recognize the significant achievements of California's recycling system at a ceremony at the EarthX 2024 Congress of Conferences on April 23, coinciding with the redemption of the half-trillionth beverage container in California, a testament to the state's pioneering role in recycling efforts, EarthX says.

The ceremony will be hosted by EarthX founder Trammell S. Crow at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas and will feature the presentation of the EarthxAction Circular Economy Award to the visiting Californians.

“This gesture highlights the collaborative efforts between Texas and California to advance sustainability and recycling, showcasing a united front in the push towards a circular economy,” EarthX says.

Bill Shireman, who EarthX refers to as the architect behind California's recycling system, also will be featured at the event, highlighting the potential of a circular economy to create value with less consumption and waste.

Texas hosts manufacturing infrastructure in the Houston and San Antonio regions that EarthX says has emerged as a "crucial partner" in recycling, benefiting from a profitable remanufacturing sector that has contributed to higher recycling rates over the years.

The event will serve as a platform for leaders from both states to discuss strategies for enhancing recycling efforts and promoting a circular economy.

California's recycling system, established in 1987 through bipartisan efforts, “has been at the forefront of innovation, with its California Redemption Value program and extended producer responsibility initiatives leading the way in large-scale plastic recycling,” EarthX says.