In this issue
Legislative News
2012 Coference and Exhibition
New and Renewing Members EPA Report – Comment Period Open
Web-base recycling tool for Indiana
Sponsor Spotlight – Verallia
Awards Nominations Open!
Upcoming Events
Eco-Tip:
Legislative News
The 2012 Indiana General Assembly has begun and there are two main bills of interest for the IRC. Senate Bill (SB) 210 deals with Solid Waste Management Districts (SWMDs). Indiana’s SWMDs provide recycling programs including educational programs and resources across the state. The IRC has weighed in on this bill to express concern about provisions that could weaken the SWMD’s ability to do this important work.
The second bill of interest to the IRC, SB 131, includes changes to the state electronics recycling program, specifically language that would delay manufacturer’s first non-compliance penalty date. We support the goal of the overall changes, to align reporting with manufacturer’s internal reporting times, however we have asked to remove language that would delay the first date when noncompliance penalties would kick in. This program has been very successful and we hope to ensure that any changes to the law will not be detrimental to that success.
The IRC will continue to track these bills and we will alert our membership to any opportunity to contact your legislators should the need arise. Please feel free to contact IRC Executive Director Carey Hamilton directly @ carey@indianarecycling.org with any questions.
You can also visit the Indiana General Assembly website to read the bills and learn how to contact your legislator.
IRC Conference, May 9-11, 2012
The IRC conference planning committee is hard at work putting together the 2012 IRC conference and exhibition with a goal of once again providing exceptional value for attendees and exhibitors. Our new venue, the Wyndham Hotel on Indy’s west side has a much larger space for exhibitors than we’ve had in past years. in addition, we are putting together a program with top-notch speakers adressing timely issues that are important to our attendees.
Welcome newest members of the IRC!
And Thank You To Our Returning Members!
Michelle Cohen
Hoosier Beverage Association
Kathryn Watson and Jeffrey Martin
Listing in the “New & Returning Members” section is voluntary. The IRC does not share its membership list or member contact information.
EPA Policy Report Issued: Sustainable Financing for Municipal Recycling (SFMR)
Background
Municipal recycling programs serve as the backbone of sustainable materials management in the United States, delivering benefits such as job creation, conservation of resources and energy, and greenhouse gas reduction. These programs are increasingly constrainedi fnancially and rely primarily on local funding sources that are severely limited and subject to many competing demands.
Dialogue on Consumer Packaging
Packaging comprises nearly a third of the US municipal solid waste stream. Much of what municipal recycling systems collect is consumer packaging, such as bottles and cans, cartons and boxes. At the same time as municipal recycling programs are under increasing financial constraints the packaging that we are buying is increasingly complex and challenging to recycle. At the request of a number of states, in 2010 EPA convened a multi-stakeholder dialogue to explore options for a sustainable financing system for municipal recycling programs, focusing first on consumer packaging. The small stakeholder group included state and local government officials, representatives of the consumer packaged goods industry, and non-governmental environmental groups. The participants were tasked with producing a report that outlines multiple strategies for financing municipal recycling systems focused on consumer packaging.
Indianarecycles.org
Have you heard about our new website, http://www.indianarecycles.org/ – a statewide resource for Hoosiers trying to locate recycling drop-off locations in their communities?
The website, launched in March of 2011, has received more than 9,000 visits from Hoosiers!
Are you a Solid Waste Management Director? There is a portion of this website that is designed to help you collect and aggregate recycling data, generate customized reports and allow you to present it to your stakeholders.
If you are interested in learning more, email Katie@indianarecycling.org.
Sponsor Spotlight
With 13 U.S. manufacturing facilities including a world class beer bottle and food jar plant in Dunkirk, Indiana, Verallia North America (VNA) is a leading glass container manufacturer producing over 9 billion endlessly recyclable glass containers annually to satisfy the highest standards in consumer taste and purity preferences. Recycling glass containers supports a sustainable future through reduced energy consumption, air emissions, highway / waterway litter, and less need for landfill space … and by maintaining thousands of high-paying, U.S. and Indiana jobs in the energy-intensive, trade-exposed glass container industry.
From its North American Headquarters located in Muncie, Indiana, VNA purchases all the high quality recycled glass (cullet) it can, much of which comes from the 10 states that currently have bottle bills in place. VNA is committed to maintaining existing cullet supply sources while also being fully engaged in the ever-evolving, very complex debate about how best to improve recyclable commodities recovery rates… in Indiana and across the nation.
Indiana Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence
Nominations due 5 p.m. EST on Friday, April 20, 2012.
The Indiana Governor’s Awards for Environmental Excellence recognize exemplary projects across Indiana. Projects must demonstrate significant and measurable results, be innovative, comprehensive and documented.
Nominated projects/facilities must be: located in Indiana; focused on significant
environmental protection activity; able to provide at least a year of measurable and quantifiable results; innovative; voluntary; in compliance with environmental health and safety laws; and, willing to share information with others via state publications or Web sites.
Who Can Apply?
The awards are open to all Indiana facilities, state and local units of government, individuals, and technical assistance organizations that operate or support environmental protection efforts of outstanding quality. Eligible technical assistance organizations include, but are not limited to:
public entities, educational groups, trade associations, individuals, public interest and community and labor groups.
Click here for details.
AF&PA Awards, Deadline to Apply: February 10!
Each year the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) Recycling Awards recognize outstanding paper recycling efforts. Enter your business, community, or school program today for the chance to win a $2,000 cash prize, original framed artwork, and recognition in local and national media. Winners and finalists will also be featured on the paperrecycles.org website. Click here to learn more!
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