Dive Brief:
- The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) joined forces to announce comprehensive guidelines created to improve standards and protocols for municipal recycling programs.
- NWRA and SWANA formed the Joint Advisory on Designing Contracts for Processing of Manual Recyclables.
- The guidelines address challenges facing both public and private recyclers.
Dive Insight:
The guidelines were created in a year-long process that merged private industry subject matter experts with local government agencies to tackle the need for consistent standards in regard to recycling service contracts.
The committee developed standards aimed at helping municipalities and private business confront the changing landscape of residential recycling and price fluctuations in global commodities markets.
John H. Skinner, SWANA executive director and CEO said, “The potential changes in the quantity and composition of collected wastes combined with variability in prices for recyclable commodities create considerable uncertainties in today’s recycling markets. It is very important for contracts for recycling services to anticipate the changes and reflect an appropriate sharing of risks and rewards between contracting municipalities and service providers.”
Just last week, SWANA announced that David Biderman will join the association as its next CEO and executive director, leaving NWRA after 18 years.
