| Date Submitted : |
February 17, 2009 |
| Topic / Subject : |
Recycling Coalition of Utah WINTER 2009 |
Message : |
Recycling Works
Quarterly Newsletter for Members of the Recycling Coalition of Utah WINTER 2009
President's Message
Scott Peppler
Provo City Public Services Director
I want to invite everyone to our second annual spring conference in St George on the 12th and 13th of March and thank our Southern Utah Recycling Coalition (SURC) for help in sponsoring the event.
I would like to thank Eric Anderson with GRX for accepting our Vice President position. I would also like to thank three new board directors, Greg Kittle with Western Metals Recycling, Susan Hayward with Waste Management and Jenifer Harris with Washington County Solid Waste and SURC.
In January, the board held a strategic planning meeting and we as a board established four committees that will help us focus our efforts this year. The four committees are Education, chaired by Larry Gibbons; Communications and Marketing, chaired by Nicole Prokop; Partnerships for Advocacy, chaired by Eric Anderson; and Removing Obstacles in Recycling, which I will chair.
As I write this message, each committee is working on it strategies and goals for this year. I expect that each committee will have an update for us at our March conference. While each member of the board is on a committee, I would hope others of you would be willing to work on one of the committees.
For many of us, the economic problems felt by much of the nation have caused us serious problems with our own recycling efforts. I hope that with this difficult times, we will continue to work together to ensure that those, with whom we live and work, will understand and share our passion to make this a better nation through our recycling efforts. I hope to see you at the Spring Conference.
If you need my attention or help in any recycling area, please feel free to contact me at speppler@provo.utah.gov or call me at 801.852.6701.
Mark your Calendar
March 12 & 13th, 2009 for RCU's next conference meeting in St. George. See related article for more information.
RCU's annual meeting is schedule for May 21, 2009. Please mark your calendars for this event. We will be electing new board members and announcing our Utah Recyclers of the Year. To nominate yourself or someone else to serve on the RCU board, go to https://utahrecycles.org/membership/board_application_form.php
To nominate someone for the Thomas A. Martin, Utah Recycler of the Year Award, please go to https://utahrecycles.org/recycler_ofthe_year_form.php
RCU's Partnerships for Advocacy Committee will be meeting this coming WED. Feb. 18th. We are going to be discussing public awareness. For those who would like to join us contact Eric Anderson @ 801-386-2533. Most likely it will be in the early afternoon.
EPA Care Grant Conference Call this Thursday
There is a conference call scheduled for Thursday Feb 19 at 12:30pm to discuss the meeting agenda, as well as to update everyone on the EPA CARE grant that a small subcommittee is putting together.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO CALL IN and share your thoughts and ideas. To join us simply call the toll free number below, enter the passcode and your there.
WHEN: Thursday Feb. 19, 12:30 to 1:30pm
Toll Free Number: 877-953-5619
Participant Passcode: 3018589#
Dex Recycling Time is Approaching!
To assist in your recycling efforts, Dex is pleased to provide promotional materials, including banners, decals and magnets to you at no charge. Contact Janell Lee at:
888-610-2800 phone
303-784-1478 fax
janell.lee@rhd.com
Coca-Cola and the NRC have partnered up to get bins out to recyclers. This program is only for members of NRC. As a member of RCU, you automatically become a member of NRC. Go to http://bingrant.org/ to stay up on any information.
Thank You to Our RCU Sponsors
RCU would like to thank XMission for their support of RCU & recycling in Utah. Xmission is the host for RCU's website.
Recent Events
RCU's November Meeting at Noahs in South Jordan
RCU Conference attendees listen in.
RCU members met at the new Noah's facility in South Jordan. Noah's is an event center which can host organizations or individuals for a number of needs and is entirely automated in its process.
RCU attendees heard from Sam Schroyer, Utah DEQ on the recent Dan Jones survey which included information on recycling. 803 people were surveyed providing a confidence level of +/- 3.5% Sam reported that 84% of the respondents currently recycle. 66% were willing to pay for electronics recycling, with 41% willing to pay at least $5 and 25% $10 and more.
Dorothy Adams with the Salt Lake County Health Dept. spoke on one the current hot topics in recycling, that being pharmacuetical recycling. Dorothy cited the fact that the number of controlled drug prescriptions have increased 154% between 1992 and 2002. Of this amount, as much as 50% of these prescriptions
are not used and need to be disposed of. Salt Lake County offers collection boxes for prescription medications at Police Departments and have been offering collection events as well.
RCU's Next Meeting,
March 12th & 13th, 2009 in St. George!
Please join us in St. George for our quarterly recycling meeting. We will have a large group from Southern Utah and the rest of Utah attending this event.
We have blocked off a number of rooms at the Courtyard Marriott in St. George which will also be the location for the events Thursday evening and Friday morning.
The address for the Courtyard is 185 South 1470 East in St. George. For directions, go to their website at:
http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/sgucy
Please call the Courtyard at 435-652-7470 to reserve your room. The rooms are $119 for two Queens or a King plus tax and are available on a first come first served basis. Rooms may be canceled up until 6:00 p.m. on March 12th. The room reservation block will expire on February 19th.
Register early. The cost of the full event for those who register by March 5th is $49 for RCU members and $65 for those not yet members of RCU. After March 5th, registration will be $58 and $79 respectively. Registration includes the networking reception and horsdourves Thursday evening, as well as a buffet breakfast the following morning. For those who can only make it Thursday evening, the cost will be $25. Friday only cost is $39 for RCU Members and $58 for those not yet members of RCU.
Registration is now open at Registration You can pay on-line with Visa or Mastercard. All registrations must be in by March 10th. If you prefer not to register on-line, please make arrangements by e-mailing me at recyclebrad@msn.com.
The agenda for each day is as follows:
The reception and Fridays meeting will be at the Courtyard Marriott. The address for the Courtyard is 185 South 1470 East in St. George. For directions, go to their website at:
http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/sgucy
Thursday, March 12th: Networking reception from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Courtyard Marriott. This will be a chance for you to come and meet fellow recyclers, vendors and other industry professionals in a social setting. The RCU and Southern Utah Boards will meet at 8:00 p.m. following the reception.
Friday, March 13th: We will gather once again at the Courtyard Marriott. We will start with a buffet breakfast at 7:45 a.m. We will then hear from a number of regional and state leaders in recycling. They will detail recycling programs and opportunities that are available right now for any business or community to get involved in. We will have a follow-up on legislation that has or will have an impact on recycling in our State.
Something new for this years event will be the southern Utah recycling awards. We will take the opportunity to recognize some of the achievements taking place in Southern Utah in recycling.
The last part of the agenda will be an opportunity for each attendee to weigh in on recycling electronically. RCU will be using Pulse Media to gather feedback and information in real time to develop some initiatives and priorities in Utah with an emphasis on Southern Utah. We will finish by 12 noon.
We look forward to your attendance. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at recyclebrad@msn.com.
RCU Scrap Metal Report
by Greg Kittle, Western Metals - RCU Board Member
As most of you have turned on your televisions for the past 3-4 months and start to watch the evening news, the message you hear continues to be the same....unemployment up, stocks down, recession, home foreclosures, retirement woes, etc.... What does all of this have in common? It's all bad news. Well, it is obviously affecting many industries and and one of those that hasn't escaped the wrath of this economic downturn is the Scrap Metal Recycling industry.
It wasn't but 8 months ago that anyone who was selling scrap metal was getting prices that were unheard of. Prices for all metal commodities were at all time highs and the wave seemed like it would ride forever. Well, around August of last year, that wave began to break and when it did, it was like a tsunami unleashing its fury. Prices began to tumble on all grades of scrap across all regions of the the U.S. and showed no signs of stability. To date, the Scrap Metal industry is in no better shape than most other industries. Prices are low, volumes are down, sales are hard to obtain and if you can get sales, credit is of great concern. We're not out of the woods yet, but if history proves itself, we will get thru this downturn like all the others our industry has gone through in previous years.
A quick snapshot of the 1Q of 2009 should show relatively flat pricing in most regions of the U.S. Export business is a little stronger, but inconsistent. The expectations are we will not see much price increase until late in '09 or even into the first part of 2010. Sales are king right now as demand at the consumer level is down and forecasts are weak for the same time period listed above.
Metals will continue to get recycled, it's just that our expectations of the recent run-up in pricing will have to be managed to more realistic levels.
RCU Southern Utah Chapter Update
Spring Conference
The southern chapter of the Recycling Coalition of Utah is gearing up our efforts to support the RCU's Annual Spring Conference in St. George March 12th and 13th.
A one page letter is available to help all of us invite government leaders, city officials, and other civic leaders to this conference. Please use this letter as best fits your needs. Print it, email it, add your name to it! E-mail Jenifer at wcsw4@hi-speed.us to get copy of the letter e-mailed to you.
If everyone is able to get this to city or county leaders in their area ..and bring at least ONE person... we can have a great showing and really begin the education process to our civic leaders.
The agenda committee for this spring conference is still planning to expand the timeframe on Thursday which will focus more specifically on Southern Utah's issues... so please let us know what would make this a "must attend"
meeting for you, your organization and local civic leaders. You are also encouraged to register as a member of RCU / Southern Utah Recycling Chapter. All of your membership fees stay in Southern Utah to help SURC further the cause of recycling for all of us. Encourage others to join too!
Any questions please contact Jenifer Harris: wcsw4@hi-speed.us or Paul Roelandt: Paul_Roelandt@nps.gov
News You Can Use
Not everyone balks at idea of working as garbage man
By Joseph M. Dougherty and Rebecca Palmer, Deseret News
Hardly anyone grows up planning to become a garbage man. And yet, it happens.
Every day across the country, thousands of men and women drive trucks that haul away our refuse.
But even more rare are those who grow up to be the head garbage men.
Oh, they go by different names waste district director, landfill manager, section manager, and in some cases, CEO but these are the guys who are in charge of the trash.
Dwayne Woolley is a civil engineer with a master's degree. The top garbage man at the Trans-Jordan Landfill didn't plan to end up at a dump, but he found a unique opportunity there to use his skills in a nuanced, thoughtful way.
To see the full story on this RCU member, go to: Dwayne Woolley
Davis County Looking at a Plasma Arc System
FARMINGTON The Davis County landfill has 14 more years of life, and the waste-to-energy plant is 22 years old.
The lives of both facilities could be extended, though, if a new technology using solid waste explored by county commissioners Tuesday is ever implemented.
A new possible direction of waste to energy called Plasma Arc Systems was explained by representatives of ISES Corporation, an engineering consultancy, The Stone Mountain, Ga., firm has many governmental and corporate clients. It evaluates many types of facilities but officials said is not affiliated with any type of garbage technology.
Rather than burning or incinerating solid waste, it would be placed in special containers that can handle temperatures of 30,000-40,000 degrees, or 10 times the heat of the sun, said Roger Reich, the firms associate vice president.
We got involved with a very large entity, a client from the Washington, D.C. area, that has a serious problem with solid waste disposal, and creation of electricity, Reich said.
Currently, there are no such plasma systems in operation in the nation, although one is nearing completion in Ottawa, Ont., and others have been operational in Europe and Japan for some years.
The only thing we want to do is determine if this is the right solution, he said. Our landfills are getting very full, no one wants new ones in their backyard, and the permitting process is difficult.
Beyond that, a divorce from fossil fuels is in process across the country.
We (burn plant) generate steam for use at Hill AFB, said County Commissioner John Petroff, who is also chair of the Wasatch Integrated Waste Systems board of trustees.
That extends to gasses from the landfill and some energy produced via green waste recycling.
About 50 percent of recycling occurs through burn plant waste and 10 percent from green waste and the landfill.
Some 125,000 tons of garbage are burned at the burn plant per year and nearly 140,000 tons are buried in the landfill.
For the full story go to: Davis County
Alpine Company To Move
FAYETTEVILLE - A Swedish metal-cutting product debuted on a local tool and die maker's machine in Fayetteville last week as part of an effort to recruit "green" businesses from Sweden.
A company called Acticut International plans to move its three-person U.S. headquarters from Alpine, Utah, this year to Northwest Arkansas. The Falkenberg, Sweden-based business seeks to increase sales for a product that has no global competition, its inventor said recently.
For the rest of the story, go to: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/252507/
RCU would like to thank all of our great sponsors for their support of RCU and Recycling in Utah!
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