Ladies and Gentlemen after a long pause I have returned to bring you some insights and lessons learned during COVID-19 with my good friend Michael Csapo.  For those of you who do not know Mike, he is a stand up guy and a great asset to the Michigan recycling movement.  But most importantly he is a good friend of mine who I have the privilege of having these conversations with from time to time.    So if your enticed, please take a few moments and listen to our candid conversation around what we learned in regards to "how best to and how best not to" pivot recycling and solid waste during the last 9-weeks of COVID.    Enjoy... and if you want more conversations like this one, please leave us a comment and rating in itunes.    Cheers...  

I am excited to introduce you to a cool lady who is making a big difference in South West Michigan, she is the one and only Ms. Sarah E. Kelly. Sarah is the program manger for Calhoun County’s recycling offerings and with the help of partners, county officials and her drive has built up two Mini-MRF’s (Material Recovery Facilities). She is not only changing things in the County, but she also just wrapped up a 5+ year long commitment serving on the Michigan Recycling Coalition’s board of directors and as a part of their executive committee. Undoubtably Sarah is dedicated to making a difference! You may ask, what does a Mini-MRF look like? Well its easier to tell you what it is not.. It’s not the old standard rural recycling drop-off where you find containers in the middle of a parking lot and it’s not a fully automated recycling materials recovery facility. When you arrive you are greeted by a person, yep a real live person who helps you by inspecting and unloading your materials. As a customer of this recycling center you are informed and sent away with any unacceptable items. From there the volunteers sort the collected items into large bins which are loaded onto a semi-trailer. In our time together we covered the following topics: How the program is funded Host Agreements / Budgets How much does Calhoun receive from a single semi-trailer of recycling Some of the Resident's false beliefs Contamination Issues Manned site vs. Unmanned site Pros/Cons Oops tags at a drop off facility And more..   Quick Links: Calhoun County Recycling Recycling Partnership Michigan Recycling Coalition   Sarah's Contact Information: Ms. Sarah E. Kelly Phone: 269-969-6395 [email protected]  www.calhouncountyrecycling.com    

Stephanie Kersten-Johnston, Director of Innovation @ The Recycling Partnership Recycler Secrets was able to sit down Stephanie before she gave the keynote address at the 2019 Michigan Recycling Coalition Conference in May to talk about the Circular Economy, Recycling in the United States and how stay focused in a turbulent recycling world in light of global trends. Steph is originally from the United Kingdom, and before moving to the United States, she forged a 10-year career in the corporate world in London, working with a number of global organizations on their sustainability strategies and communications processes. Since moving to the U.S. in 2015, Steph focused her efforts more specifically on the topic of Circular Economy and interpreting complex sustainability challenges through this lens. Before joining the Partnership, Steph was Director of Sustainable Business at HEINEKEN USA, where she supported the company’s implementation of the global “Brewing a Better World” framework for the brewer’s U.S. operations. Steph is also an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University in New York, where she teaches a graduate class focused on Circular Economy. She lives in trendy Brooklyn, NY, but you’ll just as often find her and her husband exploring the United States on road bikes! Email: [email protected] Organization: The Recycling Partnership LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephiejohnno/ Columbia University: https://www.sustainability.ei.columbia.edu/faculty Books Referenced: The Future of Packaging: From Linear to Circular , by Tom Szaky 2019 Michigan Recycling Coalition Conference, Looking Back To Move Forward       

Recently we attended the Michigan Recycling Coalition's 37th Annual Recycling Conference and were able to sit down with Paul England of Pratt Industries. Paul has been a industry professional with over 40-years awesome knowledge and today he shares with us about how the fiber recycling industry is moving forward. Pratt Recycling is a subsidiary of Pratt Industries, the 5th largest corrugated packaging company in the USA and the world’s largest, privately-held 100% recycled paper and packaging company. Pratt Recycling Division is a full service recycler with 16 recycling facilities. Pratt utilizes the paper products collected in the production of its 100% recycled content paper and packaging solutions. Our mission is to create sustainable recycling solutions for our customers that maximize waste diversion, create cost savings and revenue stream for valuable recyclables previously landfilled, all the while minimizing the environmental impact by preserving natural resources for future generations. Every year Pratt diverts 2.2 million tons of waste paper, other recyclable materials and waste-to-clean energy materials from the landfill. Some items that cannot be recycled are used as fuel for Pratt’s clean energy plant which powers the paper-making process. We close the loop!    Topics Include: How Pratt utilizes “close loop” recycling Pratt's network of Materials Recovery Facility (recycle center) and how they use those to feed the paper mills Trends in the fiber recycling markets – paper and old corrugated cardboard How the global fiber markets effect the fiber industry and way How landfills are becoming the newest competitor to recyclers like Pratt due to the costs to process / tip fees for recycling Dual stream & single stream styles of curbside recycling - what functions better Changes in packaging – what was once highly recyclable manufacturing has changes into packing that is not recyclable at all Book recycling & book shredding How cardboard is becoming a difficult because of the direct to home sales via the internet affect. Some terms used here are impregnated materials aka contamination. Glass is an issue in single stream recycling because it is impregnated into cardboard, Paul explains why Pratts is building a New Paper Mill in Ohio near Dayton Ohio – This facility will process ½ million tons per year What is the last book Paul read – Red Mountain & Red Mountain Rising Associations, Trade Shows Michigan Recycling Coalition Indiana Recycling Coalition Ohio Recycling Coalition  Contact Information: Paul England // Pratt Industries [email protected]    

If you just fished the episode on glass recycling and wanted more, well we got you covered. Mike & Roger wrap it all up by talking about Aluminum cans and the trends in recycling and manufacturing.     Did you forget who our guests were or maybe you haven't listen to the glass episode yet. Let me introduce them again..  Mr. Mike Csapo is the general manager of the Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County (RRRASOC). RRRASOC is a municipal recycling authority consisting of 9 member communities in southwest Oakland County. www.rrrasoc.org Mr. Roger Cargill is the sustainable projects manager for Schupan Recycling. Schupan Recycling is the largest independent processor and marketer of used beverage containers in the country. Roger has extensive experience In public space recycling. He started his career running Michigan State University's recycling program. www.schupan.com      

Across the United States glass recycling is a hot button topic.  Over the last 24-months, there has been an increase in communities that are considering removing glass from their programs or have already stopped collecting glass.  Recycler Secrets wanted to bring you two industry experts from both sides of the street to discuss why this is happening and how we might design a better solution. Please let me introduce you to our guests... Mr. Mike Csapo is the general manager of the Resource Recovery and Recycling Authority of Southwest Oakland County (RRRASOC). RRRASOC is a municipal recycling authority consisting of 9 member communities in southwest Oakland County. www.rrrasoc.org Mr. Roger Cargill is the sustainable projects manager for Schupan Recycling. Schupan Recycling is the largest independent processor and marketer of used beverage containers in the country. Roger has extensive experience In public space recycling. He started his career running Michigan State University's recycling program. www.schupan.com During this episode you will learn about glass redemption, glass drop off, single stream glass, bottle bills, recycling education, manufacturing trends and thoughts from Csapo & Cargill on how to make glass a better recyclable material. I want to encourage you to listen to the follow-up session where the three of us talk quickly about trends in aluminum recycling including pop and beer cans.     Quick Links: Michigan Bottle Bill FAQ’s Oregon Bottle Drop Ripple Glass

Today we get really raw and really personal... It's been over 30-days since you have received a new podcast from me and it's going to likely 30-more before you receive another.   On December 11th, 2018 my youngest son passed away in an auto accident. This event has resulted in me spending the the last 31-days  searching.... However because of my faith I'm "OK" - at least as OK as anyone can really be after loosing their son.  Hug your loved ones today folks, and give as much forgiveness as you can.. and remember, only God knows when your time here on earth is going to be over. 

We are joined today by Adam Brent who operates an Organic Recycling facility aka compost facility which accepts industrial, food waste and yard waste materials in Michigan. In this podcast we discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the compost segment of material management. One impressive take away from today's interview for me was how American farmers need to amend the soil to make it stable. Adam explains how using compost as a soil amendment replaces the biotic glues in the organic mater which hold together the soil pores is missing in most farm operations.     However, Our entire conversation was not this scientific and Adam talks though many layers of the composting segment of organic materials recovery.      Topics Include: Early Challenges of a Compost Facility Compost vs. Organic Waste Recycling Inbound Feed-stocks Why Cocoa accepts pre-consumer food waste but not post-consumer food waste Are compostable plastics also known as PLA’s are bag for composters Soil Composition - How America’s farmers have destroyed the soil and how compost can fix it What does it mean to have healthy, functioning and stable soil – See Video What are the largest challenges in the compost segment of materials management Adam’s selection of books, resources, trainings, and links to help you explore composting  Books & Publications: The Omnivore’s Dilemma; Michael Pollan Soli Microbiology, Ecology and Biochemistry; Eldor Paul American Wasteland; Jonathon Bloom BioCycle Magazine Compost Science & Utilization Publication USDA – United States Dept. of Agriculture – Available Reports Table GAO – US Government Accountability Office – Report; “Food Waste: An opportunity to improve resource use” EPA - America's Food Waste Problem Associations, Trade Shows & Trainings: Soil Science Society of America American Society of Agronomy US Composting Council SWANA – Solid Waste Association of North America   MRC – Michigan Recycling Coalition NRC – National Recycling Coalition MSU- Michigan State University MSU/DEQ Compost Training Slide Deck 2015   Contact Information: Cocoa Corporation aka Cocoa Compost, Holland MI Adam Brent – Founder & CEO Email: [email protected] Toll Free (855) 933-2020 Website: www.cocoa-corp.com  #compost, #organicrecycling, #Recycling, #Recycler, #AdamBrent, #Cocoacompost, #Cocoa-Corp, #soilheath, #Americanwastelandbook, #farmer, #farmers  

In this weeks Quickie we meet Adam Brent the founder of Cocoa-Corp Compost who talks with us about how he got started in compost, why bio-plastics used in Zero Waste & Zero Landfill events are not good for compost operations like his and how transportation is key in growing compost.  Under ten minutes….Yep that’s a quickie!     Today's Quickie highlight is the US Composting Council 2019 Trade Show      

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Andy Gale the founder of Bay Area Recycling for Charities. His company is one of a small but committed group of mattress recyclers in the nation who work with municipalities, furniture stores, colleges and landfills to divert the dreaded used mattress from a lifetime waste. This is only one division of a company that Andy started in 2008 with the tag line: one man, one mission and one revolutionary idea. Today if you take a look into his organization you will find more than 20 employees and a cluster of services including refrigerator collection & recycling for the utility companies, a growing effort to provide compostable service wear to restaurants and other groups, Zero Waste event organizer and a vision to collaborate with others to solve the recycling problem in the United States. Andy has built his structure as a non-profit so it functions more like a THINK TANK driven by a board of directors than a traditional company. He believes this provides the organization the ability to shift quickly as the recycling industry needs become recognizable. Don’t delay; join us for a great interview with an awesome guy!  Topics Include: Mattress Recycling Electronics Recycling aka E-Waste Event Recycling The Difference between Zero Waste & Zero Landfill events Identifying Compostable Plastics vs. Traditional Plastics  Links: Mattress Recycling Council How to Identify Compostable Plastics Can compostable plastics be mixed with traditional plastics Why does the utility company want your old refrigerator? DTE, ComEd, EnergyStar Shop - Compostable Service Wear; Plates, Cups, Flat Wear, Etc. Zero Waste Event Containers from Clear Stream Recycling Systems   What is Pyrolysis, Video   Want to connect with Andy? Here is how… Andy Gale, Founder Bay Area Recycling for Charities LinkedIn Facebook recycling, recycler, recycle, mattress recycle, zero waste event, zero landfill event, composter, composting, pyrolysis, Michigan, mattress recycling council, Michigan recycling coalition, e-waste, electronics recycling, municipal solid waste