ISRI, Keep America Beautiful host State of Recycling Forum

To celebrate the 20^th anniversary of America Recycles Day, Keep America Beautiful, Stamford, Connecticut, and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, are hosting the 2017 State of Recycling Forum in Washington, which is presented in partnership with Keurig Green Mountain. The topic for this year’s forum is Plastics: Improving Quality. Driving Demand.

Now in its third year, the State of Recycling Forum is hosted annually by Keep America Beautiful and ISRI to provide an overview of the current opportunities and challenges facing recycling in the United States, as well as addressing critical topics that impact and can be influenced by industry stakeholders, government and individuals. The forum is held in conjunction with America Recycles Day, a national initiative of Keep America Beautiful dedicated to raising awareness and advancing recycling in the U.S.

ISRI says a number of objectives have been outlined for this year’s forum, which can be seen via livestream at www.isri.org/sor#.WgxailWnGUn:

raising awareness and a deeper understanding of recycling, specifically challenges for plastics recycling, progress being made as well as opportunities and solutions for improving the quality of plastics recovered and market demand for those materials;
identifying priority actions for stakeholder collaboration to advance plastic recycling; and
raising awareness among the broader recycling stakeholder community through an online forum.

The forum will be simulcast live from 11:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. EST through ISRI's website:

11:30 a.m., Welcoming Remarks;
Noon – 1 p.m., Current State of Plastics Recycling;
1:15 – 2:15 p.m., Innovations within Plastics Recycling; and
2:15 – 3:15 p.m., Engaging Consumers in Recycling and Buying Recycled Content. 

A full agenda is available here. 

“Much is being done to capture more recyclable plastics,” says Brenda Pulley, senior vice president, recycling, Keep America Beautiful. “In celebrating the 20th anniversary of America Recycles Day, it’s a moment in time for us to look closely at the current state of the recycling infrastructure, as well as innovations being made to process and develop new markets for recycled materials, especially plastics. Keep America Beautiful is pleased to host this important forum examining the state of the industry with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, in partnership with Keurig Green Mountain.”

“We have made great strides in expanding the recycling stream through innovation, education and determination since the first America Recycles Day 20 years ago,” says Robin Wiener, president of ISRI. “Today, we face new challenges and opportunities, particularly when it comes to plastics recycling. From developing new markets to technology to process new material, there is much being done. We are proud to partner with Keep America Beautiful and other organizations to advance recycling and encourage the public to take an active role.”