By Ted Fischer
December 9, 2002

With changes on the way for American recycling programs, industry and city leaders gathered at the MWMA Fall Summit in Pittsburgh, to explore options for a greener tomorrow. Harvey Gershman, President of Gershman, Brickner and Bratton Inc. and wastebid.com, spoke on the development of zero waste projects, specifically an initiative in Fort Worth, and what would be considered a reasonable diversion rate by the end of 2002.

Brenda Pulley, Vice President Government and Corporate Affairs for Alcan Aluminum Corporation, discussed the revival of the Aluminum Can recycling program throughout the country. Increased convenience and continued public awareness, explained Ms. Pulley, is the key to successful recycling programs.

"Don-t trash paper," began Remy Esquenet, Director of Fiber Recovery for the American Forest and Paper Association. While recycled content paper is a growing industry, the increase in prohibitives continue to be a challenge. The separation of recycled goods is imperative to the industry, as quality guarantees a market for recycled paper.

Kevin McCarthy, Director of Electronics from Waste Management and The Recycle America program, touted single stream recycling as the best way to meet the customers needs and significantly reduce collection truck operations. The contamination problem lies with the MURPH sites and their ability to effectively separate fiber and non-fiber materials from the single stream system.

Cities will continue to explore innovative ways to handle recycling and explore the challenges and benefits of integrated and non-integrated waste streams. For more information about this session, log on to the website usmayors.org/mwma.