Resource Recycling Systems celebrates 30 years

Sustainability and recycling consultancy, Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is celebrating 30 years of providing environmental solutions in 2016.

Even before RRS’ incorporation, the company’s founding members were making strides in recycling by launching the first curbside recycling program in Michigan in the late 1970s.

Incorporated in 1986, RRS started with a focus on recovery infrastructure at the municipal level. As the company matured, RRS says it looked across the full recovery value chain and developed a proficiency in connecting the activities and effects of each player—from development to recovery to next life—with the aim to form a closed-loop, circular economy.

RRS says some of its past and current notable projects include:

• Beaumont Hospital Food Waste Diversion;
• Carton Council Nationwide Carton Recycling Access;  
• Continuous Improvement Fund Ontario Processing System;
• Emmet County Commercial Food Waste Pilot;
• FPI (Food Packaging Institute) Foam Polystyrene Recycling;
• Materials Recovery for the Future (MRFF);
• Michigan Recycling Index;
• Michigan State University Flexible Facility;
• MRF Material Flow Study;
• ReFED Roadmap to Reduce Food Waste; and
• SERDC/TDEC Tennessee Recycling Economy.

RRS offers solutions in waste recovery, organics management and corporate sustainability to a variety of organizations, including municipalities, government, recycling service providers, universities, health care, manufacturing, retail, trade associations and collaborative groups.

Jim Frey, RRS co-founder and CEO, says, “When we first started out with a handful of people, it was about the passion of making a difference in the world. Today, that passion is still at the heart of our business, attracting talent and clients with the same thirst to ensure the highest and best use of our resources.”

Leaders from the business, community and recovery sectors have shared their past experiences with RRS, as well as their congratulatory sentiments.

“We have been fortunate to tap into the 30 years of experience the RRS team brings to its clients,” says Lynn Dyer, president of Foodservice Packaging Institute, Falls Church, Virginia. “Their expertise, connections in the recycling industry and ability to bring collaborators together for mutual benefit have been instrumental in getting more paper and plastic foodservice packaging recycled.”

Elisa Seltzer, public works director for Emmet County, Michigan, says, “RRS has propelled Emmet County Recycling forward at critical growth points over our past 26 years. We have benefited from their depth and breadth of experience when partnering on everything from policy and ordinance drafting, MRF (material recovery facility) design and development, collection system right-sizing and organics collection business case studies.

“Congratulations to RRS on their 30th year anniversary,” she adds.

“RRS brought a data-driven approach, deep recycling expertise and tireless work effort to help lead the analysis behind A Roadmap to Reduce Food Waste by 20 percent, the first multistakeholder economic assessment of the action needed to cut food waste at scale nationwide,” says Jesse Fink, co-founder and nonexecutive chairman of MissionPoint Capital Partners, Westport Connecticut.

“It would be difficult if a company that is so close to our namesake wasn’t as spectacular as Resource Recycling Systems is and has been for three decades,” says Dylan de Thomas, editorial director of Resource Recycling Inc., Portland, Oregon.  “The work that RRS has done and continues to do makes them the class of the industry and we look forward to working with them for the next 30 years.”

DeAnne Toto, managing editor of Recycling Today, says, “I’d like to congratulate RRS on 30 successful years in business. The company is a valuable resource for the various constituents in the recycling supply chain and has orchestrated a number of notable initiatives.”