In case you missed it: Thoughtful, newsworthy comments from industry professionals, consumers, and legislators.
"The narrow-mindedness when it comes to determining where this trash goes is beyond me at this point."
— Antonio Reynoso, chair of the New York City Council's sanitation committee, on the city's organics recycling plans. Reynoso, along with three other members of the Council, wrote a letter to Mayor de Blasio asking him to hold approval on recycling contracts until more disposal sites are identified.
"To make the policy work, you have to make it convenient for people. You need incentives and you need penalties."
— Wu Sheng-chung, director-general of Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) waste management department, to The Wall Street Journal on the country's 55% diversion rate. Sheng-chung explained that a pay-as-you-throw program, public shaming, and mobile apps have all allowed the country to reach recycling success.
"You shouldn’t vote for this ... If you want to roll the dice with people’s lives, go ahead."
— Dom Vedora, Geneva, NY city supervisor, to Finger Lakes Times on the city's decision to allow Sunday activity on Casella's Ontario County Landfill. Casella agreed to allow use of quiet back-up alarms to keep the noise down for Sunday construction, which Vedora is concerned will create a safety hazard.
"Companies and local governments need to provide appropriate compensation to attract qualified applicants."
— SWANA CEO David Biderman to Waste360 on the industry's increasing need for refuse truck drivers. Chris Doherty of NWRA told Waste360 there will be 49,330 new jobs for collection drivers by 2022.
"Just as public disclosure of their kitchens' sanitary conditions encourages restaurant owners to improve food safety, OSHA expects that public disclosure of work injury data will encourage employers to increase their efforts to prevent work-related injuries and illnesses."
— OSHA in a press statement on the agency's new rule for indivdiual waste collection companies to report injury details on OSHA on an annual basis. These details will then be made available to the public.
"We need to redefine what waste is ... We can eliminate packaging for food tomorrow, but what happens? Food waste goes way up. Are you upset about the size of packaging when you order something through an e-commerce channel? ... That's another form of waste, but at the end of the day if you get something through e-commerce that's damaged, you care most about that."
— Dr. Ronald Cotterman, vice president of sustainability at Sealed Air, on the importance of developing a system when implementing the circular economy into business models. Cotterman explained that every "action" in waste reduction has a "reaction," so it's crucial to keep the entire system in mind when creating change.