Association news

NWRA presents 2020 best-in-recycling awards

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, has recognized best-in-recycling innovators and leaders. The association has presented awards in five categories to companies that have made substantial contributions to American recycling through partnerships, public education and innovations in recycling facilities. Winners were selected by a panel of judges who are professionals in the waste and recycling industry as well as from other technology and education organizations, NWRA states in a news release on its awards.

Sustainability award

NWRA presented the 2020 Sustainability Partnership Game Changer Award to Rehrig Pacific Co. and Waste Management for their effort to increase postconsumer resin (PCR) in roll-out carts by 10 percent. According to NWRA, Rehrig Pacific was named one of Waste Management’s primary suppliers in October 2019. This year, the two companies launched a project to test and commercialize roll-out carts that would incorporate at least 10 percent bulky rigid PCR.

“With a mutual focus on sustainability, Rehrig and Waste Management were able to expedite the testing and approvals to deliver the solution within three months,” NWRA states.

Recycling education award

The Solid Waste Authority (SWA) of Palm Beach County, Florida, received the 2020 Best Recycling Public Education Program Award for its Recycle Right Everyday campaign. According to NWRA, SWA serves 1.4 million residents in Palm Beach County and is responsible for the disposal of waste and recyclables from throughout the county. It processes about 1.6 million tons of waste and 100,000 tons of recyclables each year.

As part of its Recycling Right Everyday campaign, SWA met with private and municipal haulers to ensure support and cooperation. The program has expanded to include dedicated educators who undertake community presentations, facility tours, classroom lessons and field trips.

Recycling facility award

FCC Environmental Services’ Houston material recovery facility (MRF) and GFL Environmental’s MRF in Winnipeg, Manitoba, both received NWRA’s 2020 Recycling Facility of the Year award.

The Houston City Council selected FCC to build and operate a new, state-of-the-art single-stream MRF. NWRA says the MRF was designed with the effective and efficient removal of glass containers and pieces from the recycling stream in mind, and this allowed Houston to recycle glass again. The MRF has an annual capacity of 145,000 tons, more than double the current need of Houston, ensuring plenty of room to grow.

GFL Environmental’s MRF was designed with advanced technologies and added substantial processing capacity. NWRA reports that the recycling sorting system is comprised of about 90 percent automated sorting and 10 percent manual sorting. The total facility capacity is 100,000 metric tons, nearly double the capacity required by Winnipeg.

Recycling equipment innovator award

Fire Rover earned NWRA’s 2020 Innovator of the Year–Recycling Equipment award. NWRA says Fire Rover’s technology was developed specifically for the waste and recycling industry. It has eliminated more than 200 fires in facilities.

Earlier this year, Fire Rover installed its first solution for lithium-ion battery recycling as well as additional “quick connects” for the local fire department to fight fires more effectively and safely.

Organics recycler award

NWRA awarded Republic Services with the 2020 Organics Recycler of the Year award. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, yard and food waste make up 30 percent of municipal solid waste sent to landfills.

NWRA says Republic Services operates 11 compost facilities in five states; runs an organics preprocessing operation in Anaheim, California; and maintains a robust food recovery program in Los Angeles. In 2019, Republic processed 1.7 billion pounds of yard and food waste at its organics facilities, creating more than 275,000 tons of compost.