In case you missed it: Thoughtful, newsworthy comments from industry professionals, consumers, and legislators.
"I don't think you can hide under the mantle of over-regulation of business when you have both the mob interests and environmental harm being done."
— New Jersey Sen. Ray Lesniak to NJ.com regarding a proposed bill to increase background checks for solid waste employees like recyclers, consultants, and brokers. The bill is being pushed after an investigation revealed local "dirt brokers" forged paperwork to illegally dump debris and soil across the state.
"It's glaringly staring at you ... You can't miss it in the trees, you can't miss it in the garbage cans, and if you drop it on the floor, you see it all over Chinatown. That is littering."
— Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation in New York, to NBC News regarding plastic bags. NBC took a look at how an upcoming 5-cent fee on plastic bags will affect residents and businesses in the city, specifically in Chinatown.
"Recycling is a critical part of how we make the most of the earth's limited resources ... But when it comes to meeting the diverse needs of our communities, there’s no 'one size fits all.'"
— Craig Cookson, American Chemistry Council (ACC) senior director of recycling and energy recovery, to Recycling Today on mixed waste processing technologies. ACC put out a report showing how mixed waste processing facilities have room to grow in economic performance.
"With proven management and a talented team of employees, I am confident that New Waste Connections is well positioned for continued growth and success."
— James Forese, non-executive chairman of the Progressive Waste Board of Directors, on the company's completed merge with Waste Connections US, Inc. New Waste Connections is now the third-largest waste service provider in North America.
"We were bringing individuals into the equation where an individual could make a difference and we thought crowdfunding is an interesting way to do that."
— Impact Bioenergy president Jan Allen to Biomass Energy on the company's plan to deploy a community-supported biocycling initiative to collect food waste and cut truck emissions. The campaign raised over $36,000 with over 300 backers last fall.
"I’ve just been so frustrated. I’ve been doing this five years and I haven’t drawn a paycheck yet."
— ReFoamIt LLC owner David Sherman to Plastics News on his polystyrene foam recycling company going out of business. Sherman's company had been affected by low commodity prices for some time, but a recent building issue was the final straw for the business.