2015-04-28_PWETC_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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material that cannot leave via the west coast pushes its way back into the middle and east of the county. In December of 2014 prices for cardboard for example were down 30% from a high of $100 per ton in March. This trend is expected to continue to bring downward pressure on paper prices into early 2015 because even after the longshoreman's labor dispute is brought to an end it will take time for the backlog of shipments to be handled and the normal flow of material to be restored. Changes in the Glass Processing Industry - Recent changes in recycled glass processing capacity in the Twin Cities has put glass bottle recycling back in jeopardy. Glass bottles have been an icon of recycling since the earliest curbside programs started. Compared to materials like plastic, glass is a model recyclable material. Glass can be melted down for recycling over and over again infinitely, without degrading the quality of the raw material, which provides tremendous environmental benefits. With growing concerns about the impacts plastic packaging may have on our health when it leaches into our foods, glass once again looks like a good alternative. The advent of commingled recycling (first dual stream and now single stream collection) has posed significant ongoing problems for glass recycling. Eureka Recycling has worked to maintain the viability of bottle -to -bottle glass recycling in the Twin Cities throughout these changes in collection methods. After years of work and a large financial investment from Eureka with many partners, including the State, County, Cities, and residents, we were successful in attracting two major glass processors (e -Cullet and Strategic Materials) to our marketplace. They entered the market because of the demonstrated commitment to keep glass out of the landfills and in the recycling stream while we maintained quality. While many other parts of the country faced a complete loss in bottle -to -bottle glass recycling options during this time, the Twin Cities continued to enjoy strong glass markets. Recently one of the glass processors, e -Cullet, closed their Twin Cities facility, leaving a significant gap in processing capacity. It appears that SMI, the remaining processor, cannot handle all of the current glass supply. If current conditions do not change, a large portion of the glass that was being recycled adll be lost. It is time again for all parties to work together to fund short and long term solutions to this problem. Why does it matter? Without immediate planning and action, some of Minnesota's recycled glass will end up in landfills or dropped from programs all together, and without a long-term solution that requires responsibility and some investment from producers, like bottle deposit legislation, glass may cease to be recycled at all. Glass collected for recycling that needlessly ends up in a landfill will end up costing the cities and their residents more money while reducing their recycling programs' environmental benefits. There are significant, undisputable environmental and economic benefits achieved from recycling glass. These include energy savings, reduction of air and water pollution, and a reduced need to nfine new resources. Furthermore, State, municipal and environmental advocates agree that environmental benefits reduce dramatically the further we stray from the highest and best use of recycled glass, so - —glass bottles recycled into glass bottles should be the primary goal and then 10