In case you missed it: Thoughtful, newsworthy comments from industry professionals, consumers and policymakers.

"We know we can create a lot of jobs. We know that. So why aren't we doing that and how can we help make that happen?"

— The National Recycling Coalition (NRC)'s new executive director Marjorie Griek in an interview with Waste Dive regarding her plans for increasing collaboration at the organization. Griek is the NRC's first executive director in nearly a decade.

"Our economy is structured around consumption. We need to restructure it around the benefits of society."

— Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) in an interview with Waste Dive regarding "reprioritizing" society to understand the importance of recycling. Ellison discussed the political realities of zero waste commitment during a session at this week's Resource Recycling Conference.  

"It's a toxin that we must get rid of ... It's affecting our water. It's affecting our livestock and, even worse, we are ingesting this as human beings."

— Judi Wakhungu, Kenya's Cabinet secretary for the environment, in an interview with NPR regarding plastic waste. The country outlawed plastic bags this week with a maximum penalty of up to $38,000 USD or four years of prison time.

"This could go down as the worst flood disaster in U.S. history."

— J. Marshall Shepard, director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia, in an interview with The New York Times regarding the catastrophic Hurricane Harvey. While the damage across Texas and Louisiana is still unknown, it is expected that recovery and debris cleanup could take years.

“We absolutely have to be sure that Maine is a showcase and it works right. A lot is riding on it."

— Fiberight CEO Craig Stuart-Paul in an interview with Waste Dive regarding the construction of its multi-purpose facility in Maine. The project has sparked much debate over the last year, putting pressure on the Fiberight team to have a successful launch.