More than 100 government and corporate recycling leaders convened in Chattanooga, Tenn. to assess where the recycling industry stands in terms of data collection and analysis, and to generate recommendations on what new measurement steps need to be taken.
Six East Coast states experienced seven waste and recycling deaths in only the first week and a half of 2018, according to an industry group.
Waste and recycling haulers had slightly fewer fatal workplace injuries in 2016 than the year earlier, according to figures from the federal government.
A research paper on individual steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has precipitated a host of mainstream media stories, many of which aren’t kind to recycling.
When it comes to the way states measure materials diversion, it’s less apples to oranges and more apples to 49 different types of fruit. That makes it difficult to comprehensively assess the industry.
Jessica Branom-Zwick, Cascadia Consulting Services
Similar to the material stream itself, the industry is undergoing a shift – one in which basic diversion rates no longer suffice to tell the story about program effectiveness.
Keith Ellison speaks at the 2017 Resource Recycling Conference.
In a rousing speech to recycling leaders, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison explained how pushing forward on materials diversion will lead to a higher quality of life for everyone.
Last year, America’s most populous state notched a 44 percent recycling rate, down from 47 percent in 2015 and 50 percent in 2014, according to government figures.
Global packaging producer Sonoco recycled the equivalent of 57 percent of the packaging it placed on the market last year.