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April 2024 Newsletter

“It’s Not A Day, It’s A Movement.” - Earthday.org

Free NRC Webinar:  Social Media 101 for Nonprofits

Tuesday, April 30th, 11am-12pm ET

Are you working for a recycling organization or non-profit and want to make sure you’re using all of the tools available to you? Join NRC and our partner Firespring, a non-profit oriented marketing firm, for a deep dive into using social media for good. This webinar includes practical tips and tools for extending your cause and mission via social media, covering the basics of using social media for your nonprofit organization and giving you handy tips for the “big 4:” Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Join us to learn:

● The fundamentals of thought leadership

● How to determine what content to share

● Top social media platforms to help you create awareness for your organization

● 12 key metrics to measure

● 5 tips for optimizing your social media presence

The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) welcomes proposals for the 2024 National Recycling Congress on November 19, 2024. This will be a hybrid conference, organized together with our state partner, the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling (NYSAR3) whose annual conference will be held November 19- 21, 2024. The Congress will serve as a pre-conference day for NYSAR3. This will be conducted in person in Cooperstown, NY, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame (outside Albany). It will be broadcast via Whova for virtual participation throughout the nation.

The Theme for this Congress is “Climate, Circularity and Zero Waste.” We particularly seek leaders on climate protection and circularity to highlight how they work to promote reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost programs and policies as part of their initiatives.

Featured Editorial: Convenient Plastics, Inconvenient Carcinogenicity

By Marialyce Pedersen, NRC Board of Directors

My dedication to avoiding unrecyclable single-use plastic disposables myself, while encouraging (and sometimes begging) others to do likewise and pass it on, was beyond redoubled after a Fall 2023 visit to Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley,” a stretch of 184 Mississippi River watershed miles, beginning just north of New Orleans, where 378 industrial facilities are sited. Along this historic waterway, local residents, mostly black, experience cancer rates that are seven times above average (alongside other respiratory problems and lifelong health issues).  

Read More →

2024 National Recycling Coalition's Scholarship Open March 1 - June 1

This year, $3,000 will be awarded to one student to assist with their educational expenses. The recipient will also receive membership in the National Recycling Coalition as well as complimentary admission to the National Recycling Congress: November 19, 2024. Funding will be focused on advancing students' academic and professional interests in climate justice aspects of the Sustainable Materials Management industry. Examples include recycling and custodial worker safety, community development, education, policy, and climate action. Applications will be accepted March 1 - June 1, 2024. Submit questions to Campus Council Chair, Jack DeBell: debellP3@gmail.com

Learn More →

Film & Flexibles Grant Applications Due April 30th

The Recycling Partnership’s Film & Flexibles Recycling Coalition provides grants to materials recovery facilities (MRFs), reclaimers, recycling drop-off centers, and end-markets across the United States that sort, clean, sell, and/or reclaim film and flexibles derived from U.S. residential recycling programs. Film and flexibles packaging is used in food and non-food packaging and includes formats such as plastic carrier bags, shrink film, stretch film, and flexible pouches.  

The purpose of the grant program is to facilitate several distinct, yet interrelated improvements related to the circularity of film and flexible packaging in the United States: 

• Increasing the capture of film and flexibles at MRFs, secondary sortation facilities, and/or film and flexibles reclaimers by improving process efficiency and reducing yield loss 

• Increasing the number of local recycling programs accepting film and flexibles  

• Optimizing the supply of film and flexibles and improving its quality by aligning with end market needs 

• Educating the public on acceptable film and flexibles packaging recycling 

Learn More →

Check out The Carton Council’s Road to Recycling Podcast

The Carton Council is excited to share their new video podcast, “The Road to Recycling”.  “Carton Council Origin Story – Part 2: The Evolution” explores the collaborative approach behind growing carton recycling across the U.S. Members of the Carton Council leadership team, including Larine Urbina, Lynn Dyer, Carla Fantoni, and Jason Pelz, unravel the strategy behind the growth, discuss progress made, challenges encountered and future prospects in the world of carton recycling.

Stay tuned for future episodes of “The Road to Recycling” at RecycleCartons.com.  If you are interested in being a guest or have an idea for a future episode, please reach out to Carton.Recycling@Hillandknowlton.com.

Listen Now →

National News Tidbits

Two Federal Recycling Bills Re-Introduced

Two bills dealing with the nation’s recycling and composting infrastructure have been reintroduced to Congress for a second year, drawing praise from several industry organizations. The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act and the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2023 were reintroduced on bipartisan lines by Democratic Senator Tom Carper, Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Republican Senator John Boozman. Last year, both bills passed the Senate and companion legislation was introduced in the House, but failed. The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act would improve the U.S EPA’s ability to gather data on current recycling systems and explore ideas for a national composting strategy. The Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2023 would create a pilot program to improve recycling services in underserved areas using a grant system focused on hub-and-spoke projects in similar geographic areas.

Read More from Resource Recycling →

US Plastics Pact Publishes Reuse Policy Guidance

In January 2024, the US Plastics Pact released a new and useful resource: Reuse Policy Guidance! As a Pact Activator, the NRC agrees that reuse policy has an important role to play in advancing reuse innovation and implementation, and is core to a successful circular economy. The document aims to provide guidance to scale reusable packaging systems through legislation, regulation, incentives, and other government practices. NRC members are encouraged to read, circulate and support the Reuse Policy Guidance, available at:

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ISRI Rebrands as Recycled Materials Association (ReMA)

After more than 35 years as the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, ISRI today announced it is now the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA). The new name and logo were unveiled during the closing general session of ISRI2024 Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas, an event that saw record attendance from the US and more than 70 countries for the organization’s major annual meeting.

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