Boston, MA – Boston is known as the home of the Red Sox, the name sake of cream pie and baked beans, and for the historical site of events during the Revolutionary War like the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere’s ride through the streets.  A city with such a rich history was the perfect place to host the 2010 SWANA WasteCon Conference and Exhibition.

WasteCon ran from Sunday August, 15, 2010 to Tuesday August 17, 2010.  WasteCon is a mega conference for waste and recycling professionals.  This year the conference hosted a long list of technical and educational break-out sessions, exhibit hall and a networking event at Fenway Park.  Read the whole story…

Resource Recycling Systems has had the distinct pleasure to work with the City of Flint on their sustainable and green energy coalition measures.   RRS principal and senior consultant, Marty Seaman joined the City’s Mayor and other business and civic leaders to Sweden for the 5th Global YES Summit. The article below is by Melissa Burden, Flint Journal (printed 5/27/10). Read the whole story…

Steamboat Springs, CO – Welcome to Ski Town, U.S.A.!  The City of Steamboat Springs Colorado , known for world class skiing, graciously hosted the 21^st Summit for Recycling held by the Colorado Association of Recyclers from June 6^th through June 8th.

The Colorado Association for Recycling just hosted their 21^st conference and is the leading independent, non-profit organization helping to promote and encourage recycling in all sectors.  The focus of this year’s conference focused on new key issues like electronics recycling, product stewardship and zero waste. Read the whole story…

Oak Brook, IL – Last week the Illinois Recycling Association kicked off their annual conference held this year in Oak Brook, IL.  This year’s conference “Greening Illinois Together” was a joint venture with the Illinois Chapter of SWANA.

RRS consultants Anna Collinson and Katy Duggan-Haas were stationed at the RRS/Carton Council booths where attendees learned about adding aseptic packaging to their program, had an opportunity to win a basket of goodies, and completed the  State of Illinois Recycling Opportunities Survey 2010.

The  State of Illinois Recycling Opportunities Survey 2010 is a joint project with the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) designed to help analyze the scope and direction of their future recycling related initiatives.  The data will be used as a tool for local recycling officials to more accurately respond to recycling opportunities in the State.  Ms. Collinson also be shared what had been collected so far during a breakout session on Wednesday June 9^th.

Collinson says “the survey is an important step in determining recycling opportunities in the State.  I encourage anyone who works in the recycling industry in Illinois, whether you are a government official, hauler or processor, to fill out the survey.”

On Tuesday June 8^th at 10am Anna also presented on ReTRAC during the “Measuring Waste Generation” break out session.  ReTRAC is an online tool for municipalities to track their waste generation and is a part of the Emerge tracking products.

RRS was the “carbon sponsor” helping to make this event carbon neutral.

Flint, MI –  Transforming human, farm and forest waste materials into fuel for furnaces and engines may be nothing new in Sweden, but it has only recently gained attention in the U.S.

And the Mott Foundation’s hometown of Flint, Michigan, is playing a lead role in the domestic development of this alternative energy.

The Center for Energy Excellence at Kettering University, a Mott grantee located in Flint, and other local partners have been working with Swedish Biogas International (SBI) since September 2008 on the design and launch of a $7-million biogas processing facility in Genesee County.  The facility, expected to be operational in early 2011, will transform waste materials from an adjacent water treatment facility into biogas, a low-cost, renewable energy frequently used for heating.

The project’s second phase, also to be spearheaded by Kettering, will focus on upgrading the biogas product into biomethane, which could be used to fuel the City’s mass transit and public utility vehicles. Read the whole story…

Flint, MI –  Creating a sustainable community requires more than adopting good environmental practices, says Martin Seaman, a vice president and senior consultant with Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), an environmental and engineering firm based in Ann Arbor.

It also means expanding living wage jobs in growing industries; building affordable, quality housing; and promoting health and wellness throughout the population. And, he notes, it requires that such strategies be connected and responsive to one another. Read the whole story…

Detroit, MI –After months of traveling to other states for conferences, RRS is pleased to be attending the Michigan Recycling Coalition’s (MRC) annual conference in our own backyard.  The “Recycling Renaissance” conference is being held at the beautiful Renaissance Center in Detroit Sunday May16th thru Wednesday May 19^th.

Conference attendees will have a wide range of activities, plenary sessions and educational sessions from which to choose.  Top activities include a tour of the new Great Lakes Recycling single stream facility in New Boston, Michigan, tour of the Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Facility, Master Business Recycler training, Ford Rouge Plant tour and a good old Detroit Tigers baseball game. 

Read the whole story…

Baltimore, MD – With participation at the BioCycle West Coast Conference, the Michigan Composting Council Conference, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Resource Conservation Challenge, RRS Principal Nicole Chardoul has been one busy lady.  She has racked up many frequent flier miles in her quest to education fellow environmental professionals on the benefits, challenges, and ultimate rewards of food waste and composting.  Not just an expert in composting but also recycling and resource management, Nicole will continue her spring of travel by attending Clean Med 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland on May 13^th where she will present a poster on “measuring financial and environmental benefits from healthcare recycling programs.” Read the whole story…

Ann Arbor, MI – Biomass, biomass fuel, biomass power, carbon neutral electricity – what does it all mean? Biomass is simply organic waste, normally in the form of urban wood waste, forest and wood processing debris or food processing and agricultural crop residues, which is used to generate power instead of being dumped in the landfill.  On May 4^th, professionals from across the world will gather in Minneapolis, Minnesota to discuss developments in biomass energy and attend the 3^rd annual  International Biomass Conference and Expo. Read the whole story…

Indianapolis, IN – Visitors to Indianapolis, Indiana will have a lot of activities to choose from during the week of May 4^th.  They can check out Bob the Builder at the Children’s Museum, tour the Indy 500 speedway, or attend the Indiana Recycling Coalition 21^st annual conference.  Even Bob the Builder will be pleased to see professionals from throughout Indiana and the Midwest choosing to attend the IRC conference to network and discuss key recycling issues with community leaders, vendors, consultants, and peers. Read the whole story…