CRRA2019

President / Principal

Lisa Skumatz is an economist with over 38 years in solid waste research.  She has conducted program and policy research around the nation, publishing hundreds of articles on trash, recycling, organics, and reduction strategies.  Lisa is known for her quantitative analysis expertise, focusing on research that informs program decision-making by communities, states, and haulers.  Lisa has spoken at over 100 conferences, keynoted in the US and internationally, is on the board of Recycle Colorado, and previously on the Board for the NRC and Colorado SWANA. Lisa has won two nationwide lifetime achievement awards for her work in Solid Waste. 

The issue of recycling quality did not originate with China’s Green Fence or National Sword – recycled materials have been looking more and more like trash for quite some time, and U.S. mills have been complaining for well more than a decade.  But China’s actions are forcing US programs and processors to look for near- and longer-term solutions to reduce contamination and return the recycling industry to one that creates products that can be realistically be used as inputs to production. 

In this presentation, we assess different 10 solutions that have been tried in the US and overseas, specifically: dual stream, changes to glass, bag fees / bans, deleting materials, voluntary standards, two types of contracts, local market development, rejects and fines, and education.  We provide examples of each, and identify ones that represent opportunities and the fatal flaws associated with others.  We note the overarching economics of markets and the power of Gresham’s Law in narrowing realistic options.  We drill down and provide analysis and recommendations on three options that provide promise in the near term, and that local entities can undertake.  Finally, we note a host of strategies that can improve markets in the longer-run.