Carolina Recycling Podcast

To kick off Black History Month, on this episode we are joined by Founder and Creative Director of Springclean CT Anderson. Springclean is a non-profit whose mission is to create jobs and reduce landfill space by repurposing textile material in new and innovative ways. This episode was recorded during a Halloween event hosted by Springclean at the Innovation Barn in Charlotte North Carolina where patrons could come in and epicycle a halloween costume with pieces from the Springclean closet. Due to this being our first live event recording for our podcast you will hear some background noise from the event itself. As a bonus you can head to our YouTube channel and watch this interview and see Springclean and CT in action and also get to see a couple of Halloween costumes!

In this episode we are joined by Chef Cater Alexander at The Cherokee Convention Center. CRA's upcoming conference (April 8-11, 2024) will be held at the brand new Cherokee Convention Center where recyclers will be able to enjoy a brand new, completely non-smoking facility, new restaurants, and hotel rooms! Chef Carter is the executive chef at The Cherokee Convention Center and was excited to chat with us about the Code Green Initiative, local sourcing of food and resources, and so much more that has been put in place to up the ante on sustainability. We hope you enjoy this episode, if you do, please subscribe to the podcast!

This week we are joined By Amy Aussieker from the Innovation Barn in Charlotte to discuss CRA's upcoming Lunch and Learn event on July 20!  The Innovation Barn is Charlotte’s center for circular innovation, and is a combination of entrepreneurial businesses, zero-waste initiatives, and a space to convene groups in order to learn more about and implement circular projects. We hope you  enjoy this episode and that you can join us for this one of a kind opportunity with the Innovation Barn next month! 

In this episode we speak with Chaz Miller on the current state of the recycling markets, restoring faith in recycling, and the steps we can individually take to improve recycling in own our communities. We hope you enjoy this episode, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast!   Follow us on social media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CRARecycle/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cra_recycle/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRA_Recycle LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/carolina-recycling-association

We are taking a look at the Paying it Forward report that was released by The Recycling Partnership. Scott Mouw talks us through the report with his legendary style and industry knowledge. We hope you enjoy this episode and that you will consider subscribing to the Carolina Recycling Podcast!

Will Sagar, the Executive Director of the Southeast Recycling Development Council, joins the podcast to discuss the economics of recycling. Will explains how demand works for recyclable commodities and why the market fluctuates. 

Food waste is the next frontier of waste reduction. Bianca Howard of Wake County Environmental Services discusses the best strategies for reducing or composting food waste. 

The Executive Director of the CRA, Mary McClellan, tackles the most prevalent myths in the recycling industry. Got recycling questions? Ask them on https://connect.cra-recycle.org/ 

Market expert Chaz Miller joins the Carolina Recycling Podcast to discuss the improving recycling markets. 

Bad superman jokes aside, how long does it take for a recycled can to get back on the shelf? Scott Breen of the Can Manufacturers Institute joins this episode to discuss the sustainability of recycled cans.  Visit https://www.cancentral.com for ALL the can info!

Cartons hold juice, milk, broth, and wine (of course), BUT did you know your box o' wine can have a new life as toilet paper?  Matt Todd and Sherry Yarkosky both join the episode to explain carton recycling, the Carton Council, and how Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs)  and paper mills can get involved. Learn more about the Carton Council and what might become of that OJ carton in your fridge right now at: https://www.recyclecartons.com.

In this episode, Miguel Burgoa describes why Clear Path Recycling is one of the most prolific plastic recyclers in the southeast. Clear Path recycles hundreds of millions of pounds of PET bottles every year. 

On the episode, Laura Hennemann of Strategic Materials discusses the current landscape and sustainability of glass recycling. Laura is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Strategic Materials, Inc. which is one of the country's leaders in glass recycling.

On Episode One of the Carolina Recycling Podcast, I talked with Nina Butler of More Recycling to discuss the state of plastics recycling. Nina unravels the advantages of using plastics as lightweight packaging while addressing the risk that plastics pose to our oceans.