North Carolina Releases Recycling Jobs Study
A study released by the North Carolina Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance’s Recycling Business Assistance Center shows that growth continues among recycling business in the state.
According to the study, North Carolina supports 14,490 private-sector recycling-related jobs, an increase of 13.4 percent since 2003. The study also found that the annual payroll of recycling businesses in North Carolina exceeds $376 million dollars. Additionally, 45 percent of recycling businesses surveyed anticipate creating more jobs during the next two years. Of the business surveyed, 39 percent report manufacturing a product using recycled material.
The study is a follow-up to previous studies conducted in 1994, 2000 and 2004. North Carolina-based recycling businesses listed in the state’s free, online Recycling Markets Directory (www.p2pays.org/dmrm/start.aspx) received an invitation to participate in the 2008 Recycling Business employment study update. Additional recycling employment data from the N.C. Employment Security Commission and Harris Infosource was included in the study for recycling-related businesses not listed in the Recycling Markets Directory.
A copy of the study can be found at www.p2pays.org/ref/46/45998.pdf.
Greenstar Adds Commercial Single-Stream Recycling in Pennsylvania
Houston-based Greenstar North America, a private processor of recyclables (See "Wearing of the Green," from the June 2008 issue of Recycling Today), is rolling out commercial single-stream services in Pennsylvania.
The company also has rebranded its Recycle Management Co. (RMC) operations with the Greenstar name. Greenstar acquired RMC of Pittsburgh in March 2007.
"Commercial single-stream service provides a much more convenient system for recovering recyclables at offices, malls, universities and similar locations," says Steve Ragiel, CEO of Greenstar North America. "The convenience of single stream leads to significant increases in the recovery of valuable recyclables from the waste stream."
Greenstar’s Pennsylvania operations include three material recovery facilities (MRFs) in Pittsburgh-Neville Island, Carnegie and Northampton-Allentown and four residential/commercial transfer stations in Donora, Ellwood City, Pittsburgh and Scottdale.
Greenstar also recently acquired Global Recycling, a dual-stream MRF in Monmouth County, N.J., and American Recycling Co., Kensington, Conn.
California and Pennsylvania Approve Thermostat Recycling Laws
California and Pennsylvania have joined four other states in approving comprehensive laws enforcing the proper collection and recycling of mercury-containing thermostats.
These new state laws are based on model state legislation developed by the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), Boston, with input from thermostat manufacturers, heating and cooling contractors and wholesalers, retailers, environmental groups and government officials. PSI’s model shares responsibility for safe thermostat recycling among all these groups, according to a press release from the organization.
Many thermostats currently in use contain mercury. Although no mercury is released when these products are intact, when disposed of improperly, they can release mercury into the environment. While sales of mercury-containing thermostats are declining as manufacturers shift production to non-mercury digital thermostats, an estimated 50 million mercury-containing thermostats remain in homes throughout the United States.
Maine enacted the first comprehensive thermostat law in 2006, which PSI mediated with government, industry and environmental stakeholders. That law was followed by PSI’s development of a more inclusive model that was used to approve subsequent legislation in Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont.
PSI is helping states develop a common methodology to set baselines for thermostat recovery and to measure progress. Maine and Vermont include performance goals for thermostat recycling in their laws, as well as financial incentives for contractors and homeowners to encourage recycling. California and Iowa’s thermostat laws require their state environmental agencies to develop the performance goals.
A comparison of state laws governing mercury thermostat recycling is available at www.productstewardship.us/associations/6596/files/State_Thermostat_Legislative_Comparison_10-17-2008.pdf.
Explore the December 2008 Issue
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