Association News

NWRA urges China to accept scrap imports

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The Arlington, Virginia-based National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) has filed comments with China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) regarding its draft law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste. Article 29 of the drafted revisions to the law would prohibit the importation of scrap materials by the end of 2020.

“NWRA supports high-quality standards for recyclable materials as well as policies necessary to achieve them,” Darrell Smith, NWRA president and CEO, says. “We believe that by using high-quality standards, China can ensure that its manufacturing sector has the raw materials needed to continue to produce goods while ensuring that its recycling industry remains viable into the future. With the improved quality already required, MEE has already achieved significant reductions in solid waste generation by limiting the amount entering the country.”

Pointing to what the NWRA suggests is the Chinese government’s seeming unwillingness to differentiate between solid waste and secondary raw materials with value, Smith adds, “The material currently being shipped to China is not solid waste. Rather, it is a valuable feedstock for a manufacturing process. We urge the MEE to modify the standards in the proposed law.”

SWANA announces 2018 scholarship winners

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, announced the winners of the 2018 Grant H. Flint Scholarship Program Aug. 13. The scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrate excellence in academic and social endeavors.

In support of its mission to promote and foster industry education, SWANA offers up to $25,000 a year in scholarships at the high school, college and graduate level. Many of SWANA’s 45 chapters also provide local scholarships from their individual areas.

Scholarships were awarded at two levels:

Category I: Graduating high school seniors:

• Sasha Weber, attending Barnard College
• Anelise Sedlock, attending University of Kansas
• Madison Duval, attending Georgetown University

Category II: Undergraduate juniors or seniors pursuing a degree in a field related to solid waste management:

• Shannon O’Connor, attending Dalhousie University

“The Grant H. Flint Scholarship Program application process opened my eyes to various aspects of waste management and how they are interrelated, as well as allowed me to develop connections with professionals who are working in the solid waste industry,” O’Connor says. “I greatly appreciate this scholarship from SWANA, and I am excited to learn more about this rewarding industry.”

To be eligible, high school students must be the children or grandchildren of current SWANA members. College and graduate students must be sponsored by a SWANA member or a SWANA member themselves. Scholarships are awarded by a committee of SWANA members who represent a broad cross section of the association’s overall membership.

For more information about the program, visit swana.org/awards/scholarshipsinternships.