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

“Access, demand and awareness. Those are the three critical pieces and they all happen to exist for film."

—Steve Russell, vice president of plastics at American Chemistry Council, in an interview with Plastics News regarding the 2015 film recovery rate. Plastic film recycling grew by 3% to at least 1.2 billion pounds in 2015, marking recovery growth for the 11th consecutive year.

"Donors love to do the right thing, but they also do a lot of stuff out of ease ... The for-profit world has found [a] niche in the nonprofit lifeline."

— Robert Stutts, director at The Salvation Army USA southern territory, in an interview with Cincinnati.com regarding Cincinnati's decision to partner with Simple Recycling for curbside textile recycling. While the effort could divert approximately 1,000 tons of textiles from the landfill, there is pushback from nonprofits in the region that depend on the supply. 

“Go take it head on. Engage it. Own it. Accept the fact that you’ve become a problem on these other folks and come up with a plan to fix it."

— Bernie Sheff, vice president of biogas engineering at ES Engineering Services, in an interview with Waste Dive regarding odor mitigation at organics processing facilities. Sheff pointed out that a key to dealing with odor issues is to educate the community directly about the importance of having such facilities. 

"Workers’ rights, community health and zero waste are three pillars of a sustainable and equitable solid waste management system."

— Rachel Spector, director of environmental justice at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, in a Teamsters Joint Council 16 press release regarding Sims Recycling joining the union. The vote to unionize followed weeks of contentious debates and workers' threats to strike.

"Why should the city be prohibited from servicing its citizens? ... (Recycling) is going to become not just an ask. It will eventually be a demand."

— Sustainability consultant Colin Tetreault in an interview with AZ Central regarding expanding recycling in Phoenix. AZ Central investigated why certain Phoenix residents don't have access to curbside recycling and spoke with various environmental advocates looking for this to change.

"Having spent the last year getting under the skin of household food waste, we have reali[z]ed that this kind of behavioral change won’t happen overnight."

— Paul Crewe, head of sustainability, energy, engineering and environment for Sainsbury’s, in an interview with The Guardian regarding the chain's food reduction efforts. Sainsbury's decided to drop its goal of halving food waste by 2030 after realizing the goal was more difficult to attain than expected.