The always engaging Green Summit has now been rebranded as the Boulder Earth Conference. It has a killer keynote speaker lineup this year with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as well as Ryan Martens, Founder and CTO of Rally Software. I’m psyched to hear both speak. I’ll also be presenting on the topic of Millennials in the workforce.
The conference is on Wednesday, June 12th at the Boulder Theater. Tickets are just $99 and you can register here. I hope to see you there.
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I’ve been asked quite a bit recently about the major challenges now facing the U.S. recycling industry and what I think will occur now that China’s Green Fence is in place. It’s already reduced China’s importation of recycling plastics by 5.5% in the first 4 months of enactment – an enormous percent considering how much plastic waste they import.
Here is an email dialogue I had with someone on the topic that I thought it was worth posting.
Q: What is your take on the sudden halting at virtually all recyclers around the country from Accepting 3-7 plastics due to the market collapse in pricing now that China is enforcing their clean standards for plastic bales. Sounds like they just got tired of us shipping our plastics garbage across the ocean to them…. Gives plastic recycling a very bad name. Turns out it seems there is no real market for recycled plastics in the US. The majority has to be exported to be processed. Not all , but the very large majority.
My reply: It’s an unfortunate situation regarding what it does to our short-term recycling rates, but an event like this needed to occur in order to drive innovation in the recycling industry.
The current recycling industry is fragmented with varying levels of technology and no ubiquitous solution. Change must happen and it will only be driven if there’s a massive and problematic triggering event which the Green Fence could be.
When gas prices sky-rocketed in 2007 past $4/gallon (from $2.50 in 2006), consumers and companies finally realized that there needed to be a better alternative to oil. It was instrumental in driving bioplastics forward and raising awareness about composting and other important environmental initiatives because every time consumers filled up their tanks they grew frustrated with the country’s dependency on oil.
On top of that, the movie An Inconvenient Truth was released and you couldn’t open a magazine without seeing a huge article on global warming. There was mounting evidence that we were entering a problematic period of global warming that would be difficult to reverse unless action wasn’t taken soon. It created a sense of urgency around the subject more than there had ever been.
The challenge in the current recycling situation with the Green Fence is that the intricacies of recycling are not publicly visible. People throw their plastics in the blue bin and think they will be recycled regardless of resin code and shape. So most people have no idea that this major recycling issue is going on behind the scenes. There’s no publicly triggering event that impacts consumers like existed with the rising price of gas and media attention from movies and magazine articles.
The more we can do to build awareness around the problem, the more people will understand the importance of buying products with recycled materials and asking their municipalities for better recycling infrastructure. The 76 million-person Millennial generation (the largest generation alive) is full of young people who are passionate about protecting the earth and advancing social causes. If that population is educated on the issue, change will occur. It won’t be quick, but it will occur. On top of that, we live in a capitalistic society full of entrepreneurs and businesses looking for the next trend and someone will identify a way to make money by creating a good solution.
I have hope!
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Grab a box of tissues and hang on for the next 90 seconds. (I’m not kidding about the tissues. Brie, my wife, actually cried.)
This is why – Eco Products from Dan Knudson Productions on Vimeo.
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Going through DIA this week I saw the below picture on the trash cans in the main terminal restrooms.
Composting paper towels in restrooms is one of the simplest ways to launch a composting program and improve waste diversion. Think about all those paper towels that would normally end up in a landfill.
Great job Denver. I hope more airports follow your lead.
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New York City has made some major moves to get the city’s trash problem in order. I’m thoroughly impressed for a city that big to take these steps:
And last, but definitely not least, is something that I was completely blown away by when I heard the news yesterday…
NYC residents can now throw all rigid plastics (#3-7 included) into the recycling bin regardless of the shape.
NYC has partnered with SIMS Municipal Recycling on a new state-of-the-art recycling facility that can accept all plastics and all shapes.
That’s a huge freaking deal.
I thought it would be another 5-10 years before this would be a reality in a big city like New York, but I have been proven completely wrong. This is awesome and I’m psyched that NYC is leading the charge. Hopefully other cities will follow and investment will be made elsewhere in our nation’s recycling infrastructure.
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On the heels of my previous post about the need for improved recycling and sorting technology comes more news about the major issues US recyclers are now facing with the increased regulations in China on “recycled” waste the country imports.
China has formed an “Operation Green Fence” with support from China’s new President to inspect every shipment of paper and plastic waste imported into the country. They are rejecting shipments that have too much contamination, waste, or non-spec materials.
This is a major issue in the short term, but I believe it will benefit US recycling over the long term. If US recyclers don’t innovate, they will become the walking dead and so will our country’s recycling rate.
In the short term, bales of mixed #3-7 rigid plastics are under more scrutiny in China since there is higher likelihood of contamination in those bales. To my knowledge, there is currently no other robust market for US recyclers to sell #3-7 mixed bales, so the alternative is for recyclers to send them to the landfill. Major bummer.
In the long run, a shift like this theoretically should improve the recycling infrastructure in the U.S. If the Chinese market becomes a less viable market for reclaimed materials be to sold to, it should drive innovation in the U.S. by way of encouraging more recyclers to add sorting technology that helps sort #3-7 rigid plastics as well as other reclaimed materials. Ultimately, that should make each of those reclaimed resin types more valuable and legitimate for purchasers of recycled materials. However, that also hinges on needing a robust marketplace of recycled resin buyers who want to buy those types of materials.
What will drive more manufacturers and resin buyers of recycled materials is regulations and consumers who demand/require products made with recycled content.
So as a consumer, you now know your job… keep asking for products made from recycled materials.
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Nearly every week I read about a new type of plastic or other material that has been developed. When I talk to recycling companies or MRFs, generally speaking, their reaction is one of frustration by all of these new materials. They have a hard enough time as it is sorting the existing material streams. Their facilities are space-restricted and they don’t have the technology, funding, or desire to sort more materials than they currently do. They would if they could make higher margins from additional sorts, but they typically don’t receive inbound demand inquiries substantial enough to justify the cost to conduct a new sort.
There are new bioplastics being developed, bioplastic-conventional plastic blends, conventional plastics with modifying agents, and all sorts of other materials that are now ending up in consumers’ hands. Combine that with the growing desires of consumers to recycle and you end up with all sorts of crap in recycling bins.
Consumers think that if they put it in the blue bin that it will be recycled. And if it isn’t recycled, at least they tried. I don’t blame them because that line of thinking makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, usually those odd items end up in the landfill. That’s right, if the MRF can’t recycle it, they sell it to China or send it to the trash site.
That’s why recyclers hate new materials, generally speaking. It creates more crap for them to sort through. In addition, it usually creates much higher levels of contamination. That means that they end up with lower quality bales of plastics (their finished product that they sell to make money) and are subsequently paid less for those bales. That’s why they don’t like it: it’s a pain in the ass, it screws up their processes, and they risk making less money.
Well, sorry recyclers, I’m in favor of material innovation and here’s why.
Our recycling infrastructure needs help. It’s a locally-managed system which creates different rules in different cities and states. That makes it extremely difficult to find uniformity across the country. That also puts the burden on you, the MRF operators, to invest significant capital to keep up with the rapidly changing industry and market demands. You need help. You need help from the government, industry stakeholders and other parties to help fund the capital investments and drive change.
Change needs to occur for the U.S. to increase our recycling rate. Putting composting aside, we won’t get much above 30% if we don’t overhaul the recycling infrastructure of this country. Hence, my hypothesis is that more material innovation will drive more innovation in recycling infrastructure and we’ll all be better off in 10-20 years. Do you see it from a different perspective?
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Mayor Bloomberg has made two bold moves in the past few weeks. One is to propose a ban on all polystyrene foam food containers and cups in New York City. The second is to ban sugary drinks over 16 oz in size. Each decision is attempting to tackle a different problem (trash vs obesity), but they both have ramifications on consumers and the restaurant industry, an industry that employees nearly 1 in 10 people.
I agree with the decision to ban foam. In a city that has a recycling rate of merely 15% with huge trash problems, they have to do something. I vividly remember seeing huge mounds of trash outside of buildings when I lived there about 9 years ago. It’s disgusting and disturbing. While banning foam won’t solve the problem, it’s one small step in the right direction that will get people thinking about the products they use and how to go about disposing of them properly.
The second decision Mayor Bloomberg made regarding banning sugary drinks over 16 oz is a little more difficult for me to swallow, pardon the pun. I am not a soda drinker. In fact, the last soda I drank was an Orange Fanta 5 months ago. Before that, it had been 5 years since I had a soda. That doesn’t mean that I don’t drink anything containing sugar – I definitely do, just not cola.
The reason I’m having a hard time with the ban is because it doesn’t solve the problem at hand. Bloomberg is trying to curb childhood obesity. That’s his reason for doing this. There couldn’t be a better cause for us to spend our time and resources on. I am in support of finding solutions. However, I don’t think limiting the size of drinks will solve the problem, it will just be a pain in the ass for people who want to drink more than 16 oz – they’ll have to get up to refill their cup.
Childhood obesity is a systemic issue. It is caused by much more than consuming a 16 oz cola. It’s education. It relates to what kids learn (or don’t learn) in school. It relates to economics and what’s affordable for people to buy. It relates to family values. It relates to motivation. To promoting exercise. There are so many issues causing childhood obesity.
Sure, banning 16 oz drinks “containing more than 50 calories and containing sugar or another high calorie sweetener” on March 12th (yes, 2 weeks away) could cause people to think twice before drinking another soda. So maybe it will have an impact. But my hypothesis is that spending time and resources on promoting exercise, health, education, and an active lifestyle would do so much more over the long run.
My suggestion to Mayor Bloomberg is to impose a tax on sugary drinks instead of reducing the available sizes that people can buy. Tack an extra $2 on every sugary drink and put that money into obesity awareness activities. Get something out of the deal that you can put to good use. Put that money into implementing health classes into your schools.
The other aspect of these two decisions is that the public debates surrounding them are occurring at the same time and colliding upon restaurant owners. Believe it or not, but those are big changes for some restaurants. I’d love to see this spur innovation. Maybe some low calorie, more natural soda alternatives will be developed.
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Coming off a week at the US Composting Council Conference in Orlando and a board meeting for the Biodegradable Products Institute, I’m now even more convinced of the important role composting MUST play in our future. And I mean everywhere, not just in green communities like Boulder, San Fran and Seattle. Composting will be everywhere in the next 10-15 years, so if you don’t yet compost in your backyard or through a curbside collection program, you will in the future. Composting is where recycling was 20 years ago and it’s going to grow at 2X the rate that recycling did.
According to the EPA, as much as 30% of the methane gas released from landfills come from discarded food. Composting is an immediate solution to that, not to mention the issue of our shrinking landfill space. We’re spoiled here in Boulder in that we have a curbside collection program that picks up our organics waste every other week. My family nearly fills our 32 gallon cart with organics to be “recycled.” We have a 3-gallon kitchen compost bin that we fill with orange rinds, banana peels, paper towels, and food scraps and then we empty it into the 32 gallon cart. It’s simple. Every time I travel and I don’t have composting available, such as last week, it pains me to throw food scraps in the garbage. Boulder does it right. A bunch of other communities now do it right as well.
As of December 2011, there were over 150 communities across 16 different states that had organics collection programs (i.e. curbside compost programs). That number grew by over 50% from the previous 2 years. BioCycle published an informative article a year ago on the status of curbside composting programs with details by state and they are publishing an updated one this spring. It will be interesting to see the growth over the past year. Of note, Vermont recently passed a bill that will make it illegal by 2020 to throw food waste into a landfill. They are building their composting infrastructure to achieve that goal and I hope other states follow suit.
Major grocery chains are jumping on board as well. In fact, they are driving the composting infrastructure build-out on a national scale Walmart has an 80% waste diversion rate and composting is a big part of that. They’ve built a national composting infrastructure to take the food waste from their stores. Other supermarkets are following suit. Weis Markets in Pennsylvania spurred the opening of 5 new composting facilities in PA over the past 18 months. Impressive influence. Apparently Target is also looking to include composting as part of their recent waste hauling bid process for all of their stores.
It makes sense for grocery stores to compost. As much as 45% of food in developed countries gets wasted. I was shocked when I heard that statistic. But it’s true. Think about the food that is wasted on plates and then think about how much food is wasted from spoilage at grocery stores or during transit. It’s staggering. And with food weighing as much as it does, dumping it in the trash causes grocery stores to pay more for their trash hauling than they should (they are charged by the pound usually). So composting helps save them money since composting is cheaper than landfilling. Walmart has saved $231 million through their waste diversion efforts. Not bad.
Colleges, universities, corporate campuses, stadiums, hospitals, restaurants, and other institutions are also joining the movement. They are all pushing to reduce their waste bills and also reduce their impact on the environment. The infrastructure is coming along nicely, so curbside programs in cities will be close to follow. Get ready.
For more information, Steve Mojo, the Executive Director of the Biodegradable Products Institute wrote a great article on composting. The article talks about the role of compostable products and how they help aid in the composting movement. It’s a great read so check it out. Steve is an instrumental force in leading change in this ever-important public issue. Stay tuned.
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Eco-Products is primary sponsor of a website and webisode series called Behind the Barriers. Both the site and the webisode series are based on one of the top Cyclo-cross racers in the world – Jeremy Powers, or J-Pow as insiders call him.
If you’re like me, you don’t have any idea what Cyclo-cross is except that it probably has something to do with biking. It involves riding a road bike on off-road terrain, getting off your bike and carrying it over obstacles (i.e. “barriers”), and outmaneuvering dozens of other competitors in an all-out, grueling race. It’s one of the fastest growing sports in the world with a huge following in Europe. Jeremy Powers, the guy whose site we sponsor, is the #1 Cyclo-cross racer in North America.
We had the pleasure of having J-Pow on site in our office to film one of his episodes. Rather than sit on camera talking about cups and plates and things, we decided to have a little fun with him. We created a day-filled interview process in which we made him answer customer service calls, design a new product, present his idea to our entire company, and, oh yeah, he had to race me on an adult-sized Big Wheels. I won, but I think he gave it to me.
It was a blast having him on site. Checkout the video. It will give you a flair of what it’s like to interview and work at Eco-Products.
Behind THE Barriers Season 3 Special Presentation from Behind THE Barriers on Vimeo.
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Hi, I'm Luke Vernon, COO of Eco-Products, a Boulder transplant and an Eco-Patriot.
