In case you missed it: Thoughtful, newsworthy comments from industry professionals, consumers and policymakers.
"If we want to move away from disposal then let's start putting the plans in place to get us there. Doing it arbitrarily or doing it as a parting order of an outgoing governor just doesn't have the right feel."
— Steve Changaris, northeast regional manager for the National Waste & Recycling Association, on Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's decision to rescind Maryland's "zero-waste" goals.
"Correct this and we will collect next time."
— New "oops" tags in Chicago that the city will start leaving on contaminated recycling bins to help fix the city's recycling rate. The tag will note what item(s) in the bin prevented collection. Chicago has been struggling with low participation and high contamination rates ever since collection rules changed.
"Scientists, not the legislature, should decide whether a patented technology can safely dispose of contaminated liquids from landfills."
— North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, vetoing a bill that would allow the spraying of leachate into the air. Supporters of the measure said that contaminants would travel back to the landfill and remaining water would dissapate; opponents equated the concept to putting "garbage juice in a snowblower."
"The waste and recycling industry is profoundly important to the functioning of society, and the complexities and challenges faced by the industry are rarely appreciated."
— Darrell Smith upon being named the new president and CEO of NWRA. Smith worked as an executive vice president of the Industrial Minerals Association and holds a doctoral degree from George Mason University.
"Data security is extremely important to us – and for our customers, for our hauler partners, and for our employees. We protect their data and respect the confidential information and intellectual property of our competitors and other companies in our industry. We take any potential risks to such security or the intellectual property of third parties very seriously, and we will continue defending Rubicon's actions in this matter."
— A Rubicon Global spokesperson, via email, after Rubicon fired Jonathan Dewitt, the employee at the center of the Waste Connections trade secret lawsuit.
