Recovery Act Announcement
Posted: August 6, 2009 - By Kim Bartels, EPA Region 8

Recovery Act Announcement: Energy, Treasury Now Accepting Applications
for Funding for Renewable Energy Projects

July 31, 2009

With the goal of expanding development of renewable energy projects
throughout the United States and creating new jobs, the U.S.
Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today
announced they are now accepting applications for a program that will
make direct payments in lieu of tax credits to companies that create
and place in service renewable energy facilities. The two Departments
estimate distributing at least $3 billion in financial support to
approximately 5,000 biomass, solar, wind, and other types of renewable
energy production facilities. The funding for this effort is made
available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Said Secretary Chu: "This program will play a major role in
encouraging private sector capital to invest in clean energy
development, creating new jobs that can't be outsourced.  It is an
investment that will continue to help our economy grow and ensure
advancement in clean and renewable energy development."

"As we move quickly to get our economy back on track and to repair the
financial system, we must make investments that lay the foundation for
a stronger economic future," said Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner.  "Too many renewable energy projects have stalled due to a
lack of financing.  The Recovery Act program will lead to investment
in our long-term energy needs, move us towards energy independence,
increase jobs at energy-specific businesses, and protect our
environment."

Full story:
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=217

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Kim Bartels
EPA Region 8
Electronics Stewardship Coordinator
(303) 312-6346
bartels.kim@epa.gov
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Free E-Scrap Drop Off Program
Posted: August 6, 2009 - By E-Scrap News

From E-Scrap News

Goodwill and Dell add seven states to take-back program

Goodwill Industries International and Dell, Inc. announced the expansion
of their Reconnect (http://reconnectpartnership.com/) free e-scrap
drop-off program to seven new states. With the addition of 451 donation
sites from seven statewide programs in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana,
Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and West Virginia — as well as recent
expansions in Wisconsin — Reconnect now includes more than 1,400
Goodwill sites around the country.
"Our partnership with Goodwill makes recycling incredibly convenient for
consumers," says Mike Watson, senior manager of Dell Global Recycling
Services. "We believe it should be as easy to recycle a computer as it
is to purchase one."

The Reconnect program is now available in 18 states and the District of
Columbia.

Last month, Dell announced a formal ban on the export of e-scrap
generated by its operations, which also is in effect for any equipment
collected under the Reconnect partnership.
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ANAB Offers Accreditation for ResponsibleRecycling (R2) Certification Program
Posted: August 6, 2009 - By Penny Gamache
NEWS RELEASE

July 27, 2009                                       Contact: Penny Gamache, 800-606-5394, ext. 7275                                                             pgamache@anab.org ANAB Offers Accreditation for ResponsibleRecycling (R2) Certification ProgramMilwaukee – The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB) is now offering accreditation for companies certifying recyclers of electronic equipment under the Responsible Recycling (R2) Practices for Use in Accredited Certification Programs.R2 is a set of guidelines for use by electronics recyclers to promote better environmental, health and safety, and security practices when recycling end-of-life electronics. The guidelines cover computers, peripherals, cell phones, and televisions sent to recyclers for proper refurbishment and recycling. Once they are certified to R2 by accredited certifying bodies, electronics recyclers will have a way to highlight their environmentally sound operations and customers the means to find recyclers using sound practices.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) facilitated development of R2 in an open process. Stakeholders supporting the R2 practices include representatives from federal and state governments, electronics manufacturers, electronics refurbishing and recycling professionals, and trade associations.“The R2 standards are an important step in the right direction. Now consumers will know that their products are going to safe recyclers,” Matt Hale, Director of EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, said.ANAB, the U.S. accreditation body for management systems, provides oversight of third-party certification bodies that become accredited to conduct audits and issue certificates of conformance to electronic recycling organizations that successfully demonstrate they meet R2 requirements.“ANAB’s oversight of R2 certification is intended to build confidence and value for consumers,” Randy Dougherty, ANAB Vice President, said. R2 calls for recyclers to establish a management system for environmental and worker safety; develop a policy that promotes reuse and material recovery over landfill or incineration; and use practices that reduce exposures or emissions during recycling operations. The guidelines also call for recyclers to exercise due diligence to assure appropriate management of materials throughout the recycling chain, including materials exported to foreign countries. (more)ANAB Offers R2 Accreditation, page 2The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), a trade association representing the nation’s leading high-tech companies, participated in development of R2 and is among the stakeholders that have endorsed the standard. “Our industry fully embraces efforts to ensure that used electronics are properly handled and responsibly processed and recycled,” Rick Goss, ITI Vice President of Environment and Sustainability, said. “ITI believes ANAB accreditation for R2 is a significant step forward in the process of recycling electronics, and looks to participating in efforts started by the R2 group to continuously review and evolve the standard.” A Committee of Experts that includes representatives of the EPA, states, electronics manufacturers, electronics refurbishers and recyclers, and certification bodies developed ANAB’s R2 accreditation requirements.“The R2 standard represents great progress in the industry, raising the bar on electronics recycling,” Mike Watson, Senior Compliance Manager with Dell, said. “We look forward to keeping the momentum going and will continue to work with NGOs and industry partners to raise the bar even higher.” Watson is a member of the ANAB Committee of Experts for R2.Access to R2 and Related InformationThe R2 documents and a checklist to be used by certifying bodies to train their auditors can be downloaded from www.decideagree.com/TheR2Practices.html.Certification bodies seeking ANAB accreditation to issue R2 certificates must have been accredited to provide certification to ISO 14001 for a period of at least a year by ANAB or another national accreditation body recognized by the International Accreditation Forum to provide certification to ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management systems.Recyclers who wish to be certified to the R2 standards should contact accredited certification bodies that audit and issue certificates to ISO 14001. Contact information for ANAB-accredited ISO 14001 certification bodies can be found at www.anab.org/Directory/Directory_Search.asp.The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board provides accreditation services under the ACLASS and ANAB brands.Under the ANAB brand, the organization is the U.S. accreditation body for management systems and accredits certification bodies for ISO 9001 quality management systems; ISO 14001 environmental management systems; ISO 22000 food safety management systems; ISO 28000 supply chain security management systems; ISO/IEC 20000-1 information technology service management systems; ISO 27001 information security management systems; ANSI/AIHA Z10, CSA Z1000, and BS OHSAS 18001 occupational health and safety management systems, and numerous industry-specific requirements.(more)ANAB Offers R2 Accreditation, page 3Under the ACLASS brand, the organization accredits ISO/IEC 17025 testing and calibration laboratories, ISO/IEC 17020 inspection bodies, ISO Guide 34 reference material producers, and proficiency testing providers to ISO/IEC Guide 43.The ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board is a member of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), and is a signatory of the ILAC and IAF multilateral recognition arrangements. Through these arrangements, the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board cooperates with other accreditation bodies around the world to provide value to the organization it has accredited and their clients, ensuring that accredited certificates are recognized nationally and internationally. The global conformity assessment system ensures confidence and reduces risk for customers engaging in trade worldwide.For more information about ANAB, visit www.anab.org.For more information about ACLASS, visit www.aclasscorp.com.
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Senate File #135 Defeated
Posted: July 11, 2009

SENATE FILE NO. 135 DEFEATED

With the completion of the 2009 legislative session, there was one bill that was of particular interest,
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Coca Cola Bin Grants
Posted: February 7, 2009 - By Beth Andress

The Coca Cola bin grant will be opening for applications on February 16th.  This is a great way to “jump start” a recycling program!  There are several different bins to apply for--- so it may just fit a need your community has.  Check out the web site for more information: http://bingrant.org/home.htm


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2008 RECYCLING AWARDS
Posted: October 2, 2008 - By Beth Andress

Winners of the re-designed WSWRA 2008 Recycling Awards were announced at the annual Awards Banquet.  Beth Andress, Co-chair of the Recycling Task Force, made the announcement to the crowd of more than one hundred attendees.

 
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2008 Solid Waste Management Recognitions
Posted: October 2, 2008 - By Joe Megeath

2008 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE AWARDS

  The new recognition certification went to a total of fourteen solid waste management entities during the 25th Anniversary WSWRA Conference awards banquet.  With most of the Past Presidents of the organization looking on the first-time Certificates were given to those solid waste entities which had a perfect record - zero violations noted in the last DEQ inspection report.  Those recognized at the 2008 conference were:

 
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