| GRN Recycle Talk FAQ Answer |
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 97 09:32 WET From: FRIEDMAN.FRED@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV (Fred Friedman) Subject: Re: New Recycling Programs (Jennifer Hsu)
January 10, 1997
Dear Jennifer Hsu,
I m not sure what you are asking, so I ll respond to what I think that you re asking:
1. New Recycling Programs: There are new programs in places that haven t had them before almost every month. There are expansions to new materials when markets are found, subsidies are paid, procurement policies issued at the governmental or corporate venue.
But, what I think you are asking is: are new substances being recycled. The answer is an unqualified, yes. All over the world. New products have been appearing made of tire rubber, plastics, paper, glass. New products of combinations of substances, e.g. rubber and plastics, asphalt and tire rubber are appearing all of the time. Read Waste Age magazine, Resource Recycling magazine, Recycling Today, Recycling Times .
The Research Library for RCRA has a Summer, 1995 report on what new/innovative products were then current or under development. It is available to you if you send a postal mailing address (your street address) requesting Stacey Ritter s report .
2. Are recycling programs effective. Sometimes, yes, sometimes not; it depends upon economic infrastructure and procurement, purchasing of recycled-content products. It depends upon the business cycle and whether haulers/processors can still make a living at the low dip point of the business cycle for a specific recycled commodity; some can t.
3. What does who/what do for recycling? I can t figure out this question at all.
4. More information: Depends upon what you are seeking. New products: read the trade press, search Nexis, Dialog, BRS. Go to the various recycling Internet sites (The Research Library for RCRA also has a 2nd edition - and soon a 3rd edition of our publication Recycling on the Internet which you can get a copy of in the same fashion described above. This, by the way, is being answered by the Research Library s Head, Fred.