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.

VP of Industry Collaboration

After a decade of directing and producing editorial content for Resource Recycling, Inc. and its affiliated publications and conferences, Dylan brought his vast recycling knowledge and industry connections to The Partnership. The point person for innovation and cross-industry collaboration, Dylan works to support a robust and vibrant recycling industry. When he isn’t indulging his hobby of recycling container photography he can be found with his family and an assortment of domestic animals at their home in Portland, OR. Drop Dylan a line and he’ll drop some knowledge about what’s up in the recycling industry and how it affects you.

In this session, de Thomas will give an industry-wide update on how every stakeholder in the recycling industry is responding to the after-effects of China’s Scrap Ban. His research on how the North American circular economy is taking advantage of the market downturn in order to better utilize domestic recyclables will enlighten audience members and shed a silver lining on the extended market downturn. Highlights of the presentation will include details and updates on the announced capacity expansion by stakeholders across the country, where that expansion is going, and which companies will be implementing new facilities in the coming years – as well as giving an update on what materials are going overseas and where they’re ending up.dge.

President

Ms. Collins has been the President of the Container Recycling Institute since 2009. She leads the Institute’s research projects and works with environmental organizations, businesses, and governments around the world to educate on the benefits of packaging recycling. Prior to CRI, Ms. Collins was a consultant.  She. has served on the Boards of the CRRA and NRC, and has degrees in Manufacturing Engineering and an MBA.

Ms. Collins has testified before eleven state legislatures and has been heard on National Public Radio, BBC radio, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Resource Recycling, and others.

Markets

We've all heard about how contamination is affecting the availability of recycling markets in the United States. But what is the overall cost of contamination, and what can be done to reduce those costs? In 2018, the Container Recycling Institute lauched a new, sweeping series of research projects to look at the cost of contamination through the lens of a deep dive into the handling of each material type. We have examined material handling from the moment the recyclables leave the consumers' hands to the point where manufacturing facilities make them into new products, carefully tallying material losses and costs along the way. Our early estimates are that we collectively waste at least $500 million each year just from having to clean contaminants out of otherwise usable recyclables. Overall, we've previously estimated that at least 25% of the weight of items placed in curbside recycling bins are never made into usable products. This widespread, high rate of contamination has resulted in a tremendous amount of inefficiences, lost economic potential (including a loss of U.S. competitiveness vis-a-vis manufacturers in other countries), and environmental externalitites. This session will divulge the "hows" and "whys" of more efficient recycling, and will give attendees a much deeper understanding of the post-MRF stages of recycling. The hope is to redesign the front end of recycling, in order to dramatically improve recycling's overall output and results.