Recycling Works Newsletter Winter 2023

The Carolina Recycling Association will return to North Carolina this year, holding the 33rd CRA conference in Wilmington March 27 through 30. The conference is geared toward recycling professionals from North and South Carolina and throughout the southeast. The conference program features tours, workshops, and sessions in addition to the exhibition hall, which features vendors representing various recycling companies and equipment manufacturers.

For more information or to register, visit the Carolina Recycling Association website.

Did you know that North Carolina provides local property tax benefits on equipment and facilities used exclusively for recycling and resource recovery of or from solid waste? Join the Division of Waste Management's Solid Waste Section to learn about this tax certification program and how composters may be able to benefit from it. The webinar will cover the applicable statutes and rules, what qualifies, and how to apply. Register for this FREE webinar, hosted in partnership by DEACS and the NC Composting Council.

Direct Pack, Inc., a California-based food packaging manufacturer, plans to expand operations in Rockingham County by adding a PET wash line across the street from the existing extrusion and thermoform plant. The company will build a new 200,000 square-foot building and expects to add 100 new jobs with custom training at Richmond Community College.

The new facility will allow Direct Pack to source PET bottles from regional MRFs in the Carolinas and Georgia, producing clean washed PET flake to send across the street and make food packaging for customers like Driscolls and NatureSweet. With two PET wash lines already operating in Mexico, this will be the company's third wash line and serves as Direct Pack's recycling and manufacturing hub on the East Coast.

The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Spring Conference will convene individuals across the material management supply chain to discuss paths to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion into operations with a focus on strategy and sustainability. The Conference will feature sessions exploring expanded recruitment strategies, bias-free interview processes, and other critical programs to retain talent. NERC's Conferences offer a unique space for constructive dialogue between public and private entities. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in small group discussions, network, and interact with presenters and colleagues. For more information or to register, visit Northeast Recycling Council (nerc.org).

The Recycling Partnership's PET Recycling Coalition is offering grant funding to material recovery facilities, secondary sortation facilities, or PET reclaimers for projects that will establish long-term, sustainable increased PET capture, strengthened recycling viability for pigmented/opaque PET, broadened acceptance of PET non-bottle rigids in community recycling collection programs, and/or improved alignment of rPET with end-market needs. Three grants have already been awarded and applications are still being accepted.