Recycling in the USA: winners, lawsuits & export struggles

United States – Here’s a look at some of the latest recycling industry developments in North America, courtesy of our content partner, Resource Recycling.

• The city of San Francisco has been sued by a subsidiary of Waste Management for awarding a long-term disposal contract to Recology. The lawsuit, which was filed July 21, claims San Francisco’s Department for the Environment “circumvented procurement rules” by approving a nine-year deal with Recology worth more than US$ 100 million. The city and Recology maintain the selection was fair and based on price, not politics.
•  
• Scrap exports of recyclables in May continued to struggle, the latest numbers show. While plastics proved to be the one bright spot, with exports increasing for the third consecutive month, recovered paper, ferrous scrap and aluminum scrap exports were all down during the month.
•  
• Keep America Beautiful has announced winners from its “I Want To Be Recycled” video contest. The contest, which was launched in March, received a number of entries aiming to encourage recycling of easily recyclable, and sometimes forgotten, items. The winning videos will receive a cash prize for their efforts and will be featured in communications by the group and its partner, the Ad Council.
•  
• New Mexico’s Santa Fe County has added plastics numbered 3-7 to its residential and drop-off recycling program. The county, which includes the city of Santa Fe, will send recyclables to Albuquerque-based Friedman Recycling for sorting and processing. It is expected to save roughly US$200 000 annually in avoided disposal costs.