News & Noticed: The Corporate World At Eye Level, www.corporateconnecticut.com

New Council To Mine Recyclables

Governor Dannel P. Malloy, joined by Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Daniel Esty, Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) Commissioner Catherine Smith, and state leaders, announced the formation of a Connecticut Recycling Market Development Council to "expand and strengthen Connecticut’s efforts to recapture valuable materials that are in the waste stream."

 The council was a recommendation of the Governor’s Recycling Working Group, established in April 2013, to modernize the state’s solid waste system and materials management policies, and to increase recovery of recyclable materials.

 Council members will be a stakeholder group with representatives of the businesses engaged in the collection, hauling, sorting, processing, sale, and purchasing of recyclable materials. The Connecticut Economic Resource Center estimates that these businesses account for 4,800 direct and indirect jobs, $746 million in sales, and $59 million in tax revenue into the state’s economy.

Close to a million tons of paper and other ‘blue bin recyclables’, more than a million tons of construction and demolition debris, and more than a million tons of organics and other compostable materials are locked in Connecticut’s waste stream, despite having significant value as recycled materials.