July 31, 2018 – Peachtree City, GA
Crowne Plaza Atlanta SW
Register Here
JOIN US FOR THE SECOND WORKSHOP IN THE SERIES
Recycled materials and trash should look very different from each other, but for years they have been converging in the U.S. China has not been the creator of today’s crisis in the industry – U.S. mills have been complaining for years – but China’s recent embargo of U.S. recycling imports is shining a mirror on our recycling industry and providing a clear signal that we can no longer pretend diversion of waste into a recycling bin is recycling.
Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) can produce quality materials out of both single stream and dual stream inputs, but not when 20+% of the input “recyclable” stream, in some cases, are not recyclables. A combination of “wishful recycling” and insufficient enforcement of quality is proving very damaging to the industry – abysmal and volatile markets, a dirty product that is not a reliable “commodity”, closed plants, and programs that are hurting economically.
We cannot continue to act and behave as if business as usual will offer a solution to today’s issues. We must fundamentally shift how we speak to the public, how we collect and process our recyclables, and what our end markets accept and utilize to truly recycle.
Look for our next workshops coming to the Midwest this fall.
