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November Issue of Recycling Scraps
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No time for cat naps.
It's Recycling Awareness Month!
"Bathrooms, Wraps & Gadgets" is the theme of the 2015 America Recycles Day, which takes place on and in the weeks leading into Nov. 15th, America Recycles Day. Don't have time to register? You can join over 200,000 people who have taken the "I Will Recycle" Pledge, a growing movement of citizens committed to increasing the recycling rate in America.
"Bathrooms, Wraps & Gadgets" is the theme of the 2015 America Recycles Day, which takes place on and in the weeks leading into Nov. 15th, America Recycles Day. Don't have time to register? You can join over 200,000 people who have taken the "I Will Recycle" Pledge, a growing movement of citizens committed to increasing the recycling rate in America.
Take The Pledge

New Mexico Participates in America Recycles Day Events

Nov 7th: Loma Colorado Main Library in Rio Rancho hosted a Swap-O-Rama Recycled/Upcycled Clothing Event
Nov 8th - Nov 28th: Deming Art Center hosted a November Recycle Art Show
Nov 14th: South Central Solid Waste Authority's 7th annual electronics recycling event in Las Cruces from 10:00-1:00 off of Motel Blvd at the Dona Ana County Building.  
Nov. 17th:  Santa Fe Community College is sponsoring the 5th Annual America Recycles Day Resource Fair
Nov. 20-22: Keep Santa Fe Beautiful's 17th annual Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center

Registering your America Recycles Day event or activity gives you access to the official ARD logo and downloaded materials available at http://americarecyclesday.org/toolkit/.

 
New Mexico Schools Have Recycling Pride

Friendly competition is a proven way to motivate young people toward adopting sustainable behaviors. In the 2015 Recycle-Bowl Competition, schools have an opportunity to win prizes and receive national recognition. The following NM Schools have registered to participate in Recycle-Bowl!
  • Capitan Municipal Schools
  • Chamisa Elementary School
  • Chief Manuelito Middle School
  • Gallup Central High School
  • Harrison Middle School
  • Ramah Middle/High School
  • Rio Grande School
  • Rudolfo Anaya Elementary
  • Sierra Elementary School
  • Springer High School
  • Tularosa High School

Angel Fire Builds Sustainable Recycling Program
with Kick-Start from RAID Grants
Submitted by Neal Denton.
A 2007 Recycling and Illegal Dumping (RAID) Grant for a horizontal baler and a 2009 RAID Grant for a glass pulverizer were the kick-start the Village of Angel Fire needed to build a sustainable recycling program. These items enabled this small mountain community to expand their recycling efforts to include most traditional recyclables:  aluminum, cardboard, plastic, glass, and paper.
 
Before that, the limitations of a vertical baler restricted the Village to cardboard and aluminum recycling. According to Scott Gibson, Recycling Supervisor for the Village of Angel Fire, the vertical baler required significant labor and could only handle one material at a time.

“That horizontal baler made it so we could do more and do it quicker,” Gibson said.

Since then, the community has reduced the amount of material shipped 85 miles to the landfill by approximately 70 tons a year, on average. With the use of a vertical baler, horizontal baler, skid-steer loader, glass pulverizer, and forklift, they are able to send approximately 200 tons of recycling a year to end-markets in New Mexico. Glass is used locally as road base material, median landscaping and is collected by artists.

Gibson considers the program successful because they have been able to expand the amount of material accepted and save landfill space. He attributed some of this success to sustained relations with NM end-markets that have resulted in good prices and reliable service. “The recycling business is all about relationships,” he commented.

In 2012, the Village was able to purchase dumpsters and construct a “Recycle Park” to increase convenience for Angel Fire residents and businesses who regularly fill the containers close to capacity. With only six staff members, a small budget, and a little help from RAID grants, this mountain village has been able to extend the life of the landfill, save on tip fees and hauling cost, and provide a service wanted by the community. Gibson said, “We tip our hats to NMRC. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Neal Denton is the Recycling Coordinator for New Mexico Environment Department - Solid Waste Bureau.
 

Industry Leaders Converge to Take the
Confusion Out of Plastic Recycling
Last month, a webinar titled “Does plastics recycling need to be so confusing?” highlighted an easy-to-use online tool to help communities recycle more plastics. “Plastics Recycling Terms and Tools” was introduced last year at the Resource Recycling Conference and since then, its creators have been raising awareness of the tool’s capabilities.  “The new plastics recycling terms were generated through extensive surveys and feedback from recycling professionals to get everyone speaking the same language so we can collect more of the plastics that reclaimers need,” explained Patty Moore, president and CEO of Moore Recycling. Moore Recycling and the American Chemistry Council partnered to develop the Terms & Tools resources.

Recycling educators use common terms to describe many of the recyclable fibers, but when it comes to listing acceptable and non-acceptable plastics, communities across the country use different terms to refer to the same things.

For recycling educators, Terms and Tools is even more exciting than just a list of terminology. At RecycleYourPlastics.org you will find royalty free photographs of plastics and a handy tool that helps you to design a customized program flyer, along with plastic material descriptions, plastic recycling trends data and even bale specifications.

The goals of the Term & Tools are to boost diversion rates of clean material, increase the types and amounts of plastics recycled, and help meet growing demand for recycled plastics.

According to RecycleYourPlastics.org, meaningful commodity terms support communication, not only between citizens and recycling educators, but also between programs, MRFs, and markets. Guidance from a wide range of stakeholders, including: reclaimers, recycling coordinators, trade associations, and MRFs make the Plastics Recycling Terms and Tools a very effective and inclusive resource.
Watch Terms and Tools Video

The Market Place
Recycling News From New Mexico

TedX ABQ hires local company to manage recycling, food waste and trash at recent event and achieves a 95% diversion rate...Read More


NMRC travels to Angel Fire to present "Growing Recycling Businesses in New Mexico," a project funded by USDA Rural Development in an effort to spur economic development through recycling and reuse businesses...Read More






 
Recycling News from The Nation
 

Keep America Beautiful, in partnership with the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) and other partners, will host a Congressional briefing for ARD on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The purpose of the briefing is to provide information to Members of Congress and staff about the state of recycling, the business of recycling, its many benefits, and the importance of engaging individuals to recycle.  ...Read More

Seventy-five recycling industry stakeholders gathered in Michigan to generate ideas for doubling the state's lagging recycling rate. The brainstorming session helped push forward a statewide competition aimed at generating plans for boosting recycling.... Read More

 
Did you know that your purchases from Amazon can help NMRC provide valuable technical assistance and recycling education? It's true! You can choose to help NMRC each time you make a purchase using Amazon Smile.
Click here to get started: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/85-0413563

 
Copyright © *2015* *New Mexico Recycling Coalition*, All rights reserved.


Our mailing address is:
PO Box 24364, Santa Fe, NM 87502

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