SWANA urges the industry to support recycling

In preparation of Earth Day April 22, the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) sent out a notice detailing the importance of continued support of North American recycling initiatives.

“Local governments should not turn off recycling in 2019 because it’s not profitable,” SWANA CEO and Executive Director David Biderman says. “Recycling systems and programs protect public health and the environment and need to be supported by sustainable funding structures. Revenue from selling recovered material is important but should not always be the sole source of funding.” 

SWANA is working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and leaders across North America to develop a framework to improve America’s recycling infrastructure. Over the past year, this group has advocated for increased public education to help reduce contamination and increase the value of recyclables. This working group has also celebrated the announcement of expansions at more than a dozen paper mills and several plastic processing facilities in the Southeast that have sparked domestic demand and helped reduce reliance on exports to foreign markets.

“Working with EPA, our members and other recycling stakeholders, we are committed to helping communities throughout North America make recycling systems more resilient,” Biderman says. “Earth Day marks an opportunity to remind all Americans about that need and also the need to recycle properly.” 

SWANA will continue to emphasize the importance of recycling correctly and has worked with others in the industry to create and distribute educational materials to help reduce contamination. 

“Being involved in advancing the SWANA Recycling Task Force has been extremely beneficial to ensure, as an industry, we all move towards more standardized, educational messaging both locally in Fort Worth, Texas, as well as nationally across North America,” Robert Smouse, city of Fort Worth assistant director of solid waste services, says. “Focusing on recycling right will help reduce contamination, wish-cycling and operational program costs while increasing the value and quality of our recycled materials and ensuring the continued success of our recycling industry.

This year, SWANA is celebrating Earth Day with a variety of tools to engage the public. Media kits with infographics, social media graphics and a video to help spread awareness on Earth Day are available online. Additionally, SWANA invites interested parties to join @SWANA for a Twitter Live event 1:30 p.m. EST April 17 as agency representatives Biderman and SWANA Safety Manager Jesse Maxwell discuss the changing nature of recycling.