In case you missed it: Thoughtful, newsworthy comments from industry professionals, consumers, and legislators.
"We're not going to be the prisoners of history. We're going to change the course of history."
— Secretary of State John Kerry during the 2016 Our Ocean Conference this week in Washington, DC. Secretary Kerry hosted the event for global leaders to come together and discuss challenges facing our oceans — including marine pollution — and solutions that can mitigate such challenges.
"We can turn your bottles back into oil. We can burn it to make energy. Or we can put it into a landfill. There’s a green spectrum. And a cost spectrum. The most green is the most expensive."
— Waste Management CEO David Steiner in an interview with Forbes regarding the cost of recycling and how it is affecting the company's business. In a separate interview with CNBC, Steiner noted that the industry is currently in a "recycling recession."
"With a world population ballooning to 9 billion people by 2050, there needs to be much smarter ways to use, and reuse, the planet’s limited resources, like energy, food, water, and raw materials."
— Fortune writer Katie Fehrenbacher in a post titled "Why the Circular Economy Matters," noting why it's important for consumers and businesses alike to begin prioritizing a closed-loop system of using and reusing goods.
"I think the message in this community is if you want to be green, think purple."
—EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy to Kansas City Business Journal regarding glass recycler Ripple Glass and its purple collection bins. Since launching in Kansas City, MO in 2009, Ripple Glass has quadrupled the area's glass recycling rate.
"When there's no competition for repair, guess what manufacturers do? They price their repair to be a reason to buy a new one ... It's not nefarious, it's just obvious."
— Gay Gordon-Byrne, executive director of The Repair Association, to Waste Dive regarding electronics manufacturers' lack of interest in giving consumers the right to repair their devices, despite the benefits it could have for recyclers and consumers.
"Our impact in Missouri goes far beyond recycling and waste solutions."
— Jeff Kintzle, area president of Republic Services, in a press release regarding the company's study that touts an $187M economic impact from operations in Missouri. Kintzle notes that while Republic is doing its part to boost the state's economy, it's in-turn working to boost the quality of life.