By Melanie Condon
NCSL’s 2015 Legislative Summit is looking to the future in a number of different ways.
On Monday, pre-conference attendees will learn about how the sharing economy, including such ventures as Uber and Zipcar, is shaping the future of transportation. On Wednesday, Summit attendees will hear from leading industry experts and a futurist on big trends and big opportunities for states in the coming years.
The Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee is in good company as it explores the future of recycling during the committee lunch at 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Today, recycling is much more than just separating your cans from your newspapers. The paper industry has shaped the future of our environment through using recovered products, and, with the number of devices our society uses today, policies related to electronic waste can be out of date almost as soon as they are introduced.
The American Forest and Paper Association (AF&PA) and the Consumer Electronics Association have teamed up to sponsor this lunch to discuss the trends in e-waste and the paper recovery industry and help us understand what the future of recycling will mean for our states.
According to AF&PA, the value of recovered paper exports totaled $3.1 billion in 2014. Paper recovery has created a dynamic marketplace that allows recovered fiber to find its highest-value end use, and in turn helps encourage more recycling.
During the lunch, Jan Cleiland, recovered fiber manager at Kapstone Paper and Packaging Corp. will discuss how resource recovery saves landfill space, extends fiber supply and allows her industry to reuse paper products to make new products.
Cleiland will make the case that voluntary systems allow the success of recovery for paper and paper-based packaging and how certain government policies could disrupt these successes.
From papers to PDFs, Allison Schumacher from the Consumer Electronics Association, will then provide insight into the future of electronic waste and particularly cathode ray tube (CRT) devices (think old, bulky televisions).
Although CRTs rarely show up in the American marketplace, a number of Americans still have these old devices collecting dust in their basements. This is causing quite a headache for recycling industries on how to properly collect and recycle such items.
Schumacher will inform the group about the challenges and potential options for consumers and recyclers alike. We are lucky enough to have a third expert, CEO of PC Rebuilders and Recyclers Willie Cade, who will provide a unique recycling industry perspective to Schumacher’s presentation.
Gazing into my crystal ball, I can see this is going to be an educational and thought-provoking session. Thank you again to the American Forest and Paper Association and the Consumer Electronics Association for sponsoring the lunch.
Melanie Condon is policy specialist for the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee in the Washington, D.C. office.
Email Melanie.