ISRI MRF Council to host meeting on accepted materials

ISRI MRF Council to host meeting on accepted materials
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The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has announced its MRF (material recovery facility) Council will hold a meeting Nov. 7, 2017, regarding potential new materials to be accepted at MRFs.

As part of ISRI’s Fall Board of Directors and Committee Meeting 2017, hosted Nov. 6-8 at Loews Madison Hotel in Washington, the MRF Council’s meeting will take place from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Nov. 7 at the hotel. Select brand owners and a trade association have been invited to present their rationale for the acceptance of certain materials in MRFs, ISRI says. In addition, these groups will help the recycling industry to embrace the recyclability of the materials these groups represent. These groups include Keurig Green Mountain (for inclusion of the company’s K-Cup for recycling), Foodservice Packaging Institute and Hefty Energy Bag program, a flexible film energy bag program.

“We will provide each organization some time for a brief presentation of their claims regarding the recyclability of their materials,” says ISRI’s MRF Council. “Following that session, the presenters will leave the room, and the recyclers—both ISRI members and nonmember guests—will discuss our thoughts and next steps.”

The MRF Council says the purpose of the meeting is to address two major factors leading to more items potentially being included in curbside recycling programs:

• municipalities are in a race to decrease landfill tonnage by increasing their recycling rates; and
• most brand owners and trade associations want their packaging to be viewed as earth-friendly, sustainable and recyclable.

“The combination of these two issues creates an aggressive race to piggyback new materials onto the nation’s existing curbside recycling infrastructure,” says ISRI’s MRF Council. “While these new items could add tonnage to MRF operations, there could be numerous downsides if these additional items turn out to be nonrecyclable and have no end markets. These downsides could include increased contamination and higher MRF processing costs.”

The MRF Council adds, “The main purpose of this MRF Council meeting is for us to determine if we want to proceed to collect this material in our MRFs. Your input will be critical.”

For ISRI members, ISRI’s Fall Board of Directors and Committee Meeting 2017 features numerous other committee meetings Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. NonISRI members in attendance will only be allowed attend the three-hour MRF Council session.

For all attendees, the MRF Council, Paper Division and Plastic Division is organizing a dinner Monday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m., the night prior to the MRF Council meeting. While each attendee is asked to pay for their own dinner, the association says it is currently in search of a dinner venue close to the hotel with a private room available.

Register by Oct. 23, 2017, and note whether you will attend the MRF Council meeting, dinner or both by contacting Jonathan Levy, director of member services for ISRI, by email at [email protected] or by phone at 202-662-8530.

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Source: Recycling Today
ISRI MRF Council to host meeting on accepted materials
<![CDATA[The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), Washington, has announced its MRF (material recovery facility) Council will hold a meeting Nov. 7, 2017, regarding potential new materials to be accepted at MRFs. As part of ISRI’s Fall Board of Directors and Committee Meeting 2017, hosted Nov. 6-8 at Loews Madison Hotel in Washington, the MRF Council’s meeting will take place from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Nov. 7 at the hotel. Select brand owners and a trade association have been invited to present their rationale for the acceptance of certain materials in MRFs, ISRI says. In addition, these groups will help the recycling industry to embrace the recyclability of the materials these groups represent. These groups include Keurig Green Mountain (for inclusion of the company’s K-Cup for recycling), Foodservice Packaging Institute and Hefty Energy Bag program, a flexible film energy bag program. “We will provide each organization some time for a brief presentation of their claims regarding the recyclability of their materials,” says ISRI’s MRF Council. “Following that session, the presenters will leave the room, and the recyclers—both ISRI members and nonmember guests—will discuss our thoughts and next steps.” The MRF Council says the purpose of the meeting is to address…