Municipal News

NRC Officers Elected

The board of directors of the National Recycling Coalition (NRC), Alexandria, Va., www.nrc-recycle.org, has elected a new slate of officers for the upcoming fiscal year. Margretta (Meg) Morris of EnergyAnswers Corp., Albany, N.Y., has been elected president of the NRC board.

Dobbins Callahan of Collins & Aikman Floorcoverings Inc., Dalton, Ga., has been elected as NRC board chairperson. Also elected to officers positions were:

• Pete Pasterz of Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., vice president;

• Lisa Skumatz of Skumatz Economic Research Associates, Seattle, sec-
retary; and

• Bernie Brill of the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textile Association, Bethesda, Md., treasurer.
Also added to the board as members-at-large were:

• Cis Myers of CH2M Hill, Denver;

• Steve Ragiel of Waste Management Inc., Houston; and

• Cherae Bishop of Weyerhaeuser, Federal Way, Wash.

The NRC board also has entered into a two-year employment agreement with Kate Krebs as the coalition’s executive director. Krebs has served as interim executive director since October 2001, taking over for Will Ferretti, and had previously served as the coalition’s deputy director.

"NRC will be increasing its education and advocacy work this year, both on Capitol Hill and with the Bush Administration," says Morris. "Kate’s practical experience with operating recycling programs, combined with her creative, yet pragmatic approach to public policy, makes her well-suited for the executive director position."

Maine Closer to Adopting Mercury Recycling Law

Maine’s lawmakers are close to enacting a new recycling law that would mandate the removal of all mercury components from automobiles prior to recycling.

According to published reports, Bill LD-1921 has received the backing of the state legislature’s Natural Resource Committee. The committee has agreed to bring the bill up for a vote by the legislature later this year.

Chief sponsor of the legislation Sen. John Martin says the bill would require that mercury switches and components be recovered from vehicles produced since the early 1990s.

Legislators must still decide who is paying for the recycling plan, with proposals ranging from holding the automakers responsible for the removal and recycling of the mercury switches to calling for a new excise tax to fund the program.