CRI ED speaks at Waste Expo conference in May
Waste Expo has served the solid waste industry for forty years, and the 2008 conference covered the latest trends and topics in the solid waste and recycling industry. The National Solid Waste Management Association, Waste Expo’s principal sponsor, invited CRI’s Executive Director Betty McLaughlin to speak at one of the workshop sessions. Billed as, “Bottle Bills: Pro or Con,” the session was moderated by nationally recognized recycling expert Jerry Powell, editor of Resource Recycling. Also on the panel, representing the anti-bottle bill view was Judith Thorman, Washington lobbyist for the America Beverage Association.
Prior to the presentation, Betty reached out to Judith to see if there were areas of common ground that might set the stage for a productive, if spirited discussion. Unfortunately, time did not permit meeting prior to the Waste Expo presentation, but we hope that there will be future opportunities to discuss some of ABA’s concerns, particularly as they relate to the economics of materials recovery through container deposit systems.
Thirteen workshops were held simultaneously, so participants had a variety of options to choose to attend. CRI’s presentation, renamed, “Bottle Bills: Pro or Con, or Pro-Conservation?” was followed by ABA’s discussing deposits and other alternatives. Interestingly, ABA cited their recent research finding about one-third of ABA member beverages—soft drinks, water, and other nonalcoholic, non-carbonated beverages – are consumed away from home. While we don’t know the methodology used to calculate this percentage, it is reasonable to assume that this would be a minimum number, since ABA supports curbside collection for beverage containers. Regardless, one-third of the 156.6 billion ABA-member containers used in 2006 equals over 52 billion, a staggering number that stands no chance of being recycled at the curb. ABA’s numbers demonstrate that deposits are needed to fill the breach.
We look forward to continuing these discussions and finding common ground with the beverage industry as we all agree that “zero waste” for beverage containers is more than just an admirable goal, it is infinitely doable. Recycling 100% of beverage containers used in the US each year will save natural resources, greenhouse gas emissions and energy, all vital contributions to the global climate change solution.
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