Harry Hayes has been director of Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department since 2007. | Photo courtesy of city of Houston
Harry Hayes’ journey to the top of Houston’s solid waste department in many ways began over 40 years ago, when he confronted fears about being the only Black kid in French class.
The Coastal Resources of Maine (CRM) facility in Hampden, Maine launched last year to handle mixed waste from numerous municipalities. | Screen shot from company video
Higher-than-expected costs, recycling market turbulence and other factors led to the recent shutdown of a Maine mixed-waste processing plant. Stakeholders are hoping a new operator can restart the plant, which had run for just one year.
Temple, which is located about 70 miles northwest of Austin in central Texas, first explored curbside recycling in 1998.
The community of Temple, Texas sees high participation in its weekly curbside program, which has evolved from a small collection effort in one neighborhood to a citywide single-stream service that also helps neighboring communities move their recyclables.
A new guide helps public agencies and private MRF operators craft contract language both sides find fair. | fizkes/Shutterstock
A MRF and municipality may feel their contract is fair, until a dive in commodity prices or spike in contamination leaves someone unhappy. A new report from The Recycling Partnership strives to help the parties prepare for difficult circumstances.
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Industry group SWANA is working with the federal government to supply free face coverings for the waste and recycling industry. | beton studio/Shutterstock
Coronavirus infections among workers have caused a MRF to shutter and delayed collection of recyclables elsewhere. The federal government and one state are working to provide masks and funding to help programs cope.
A research project in Ontario compared single-family and multi-family streams in medium-sized urban cities with single-family streams in rural programs. | Diana Parkhouse/Shutterstock
Officials in one area of Ontario dove deep into recycling stream composition data, producing results that informed a municipality’s new recycling contract. Continue Reading
A number of recycling industry groups have spoken out against racism in recent weeks. | Pix_Arena/Shutterstock
Recycling organizations, environmental advocacy groups and municipal programs are joining the call to oppose racism and work for systemic change.
The Des Moines, Iowa Metro Waste Authority recently approved a loan agreement to finance construction of a new MRF, which officials say could cost about $24 million. | cnetten/Shutterstock
Plans to build a new publicly funded MRF in the Des Moines, Iowa area have drawn criticism from the region’s current recycling contractor.
Keefe Harrison, who leads The Recycling Partnership. | Brian Adams Photography/Resource Recycling Conference
The Recycling Partnership is bringing together three dozen individuals from across the recycling value chain for some frank discussion about how to get more types of material consistently collected and moved to end markets.
