United States Environmental Protection Agency Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5306) EPA530-F-94-026 September 1994 &EPA Jobs Through Recycling Initiative Across America, more individuals, organizations, businesses, and governments are collecting materials for recycling than ever before. In fact, the number of curbside recycling programs has increased 500 percent over the past five years, to over 6,600 nationwide! Existing and new businesses can put these valuable resources to work producing new recycled products. In addition to diverting materials from landfills, these recycling businesses also create employment opportunities. Recycling is estimated to create nearly five times as many jobs as landfilling. To support the growth of recycling businesses and to stimulate job creation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched its Jobs Through Recycling Initiative.. What Is the Goal of the Initiative? Jobs Through Recycling fosters businesses that: • Put to productive use recovered materials that would otherwise be.landfilled or incinerated. . • Employ innovative technologies to use recovered materials collected in recycling programs. • Stimulate economic growth and create jobs. How Are Jobs Being Created? EPA is supporting state, tribal, and national efforts to provide technical, financial, and other assistance to businesses that process and use recovered materials. Growth in these recycling businesses creates new jobs, ranging from low-and semi-skilled jobs in material sorting and processing, to skilled jobs in the manufacturing sector and related fields. Recycling research and development efforts create jobs for engineers and chemists. Build- ing new processing and manufacturing plants creates jobs for construction workers, equipment suppliers, trans- portation companies, planners, and consultants. Urban areas, especially, have large supplies of recovered mate- rials, an available labor force, and underutilized buildings that can be used to address unemployment and solid waste problems simultaneously. How Are Recycling Businesses Being Fostered? The Jobs Through Recycling Initiative is helping states and Native American Tribes to provide technical and business assistance to recycling enterprises. EPA is funding selected states and tribes to establish Recycling and Reuse Business Assistance Centers (RBACs) and Recycling Economic Development Advocate (REDA) positions. The initiative also will create a recycling technology information network to aid recycling businesses. Recycled/Recyclable Printed with Soy/Canola Ink on paper that contains at least 50% post-consumer recycled fiber ------- Recycling and Reuse Business Assistance Centers EPA is funding the states of California, Minnesota, New York, and North Carolina to establish Recycling and Reuse Business Assistance Centers (RBACs). Each center provides a unique mix of technical, business, financing, and marketing assistance to existing and new recycling enterprises. California's RBAC - Integrated Waste Management Board In partnership with California's Trade and Commerce Agency Business Environmental Center, 30 Small Business Development Centers, and 40 Recycling Market Development Zones, the state's Integrated Waste Management Board will provide one-stop financing, process engineering, technical, and regulatory assistance to recycling businesses. New York's RBAC - Department of Economic Development New York's Department of Economic Development will work with a local community development corporation to initiate public-private joint ventures to implement paper recovery programs, reduce the disposal burden associated with recycled paper mill sludges, develop wood reclamation and recycling facilities, assist businesses in source separating and marketing selected materials, initiate research and development to advance recycling of durable plastics, and build a more efficient postconsumer plastics infrastructure within the state. North Carolina's RBAC - Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources In North Carolina, the state's Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources will work with the state Department of Commerce to provide technical assistance to recycling busi- nesses and manufacturers in using recovered materials. It will also provide training to foster understanding and communication between the recycling and economic development communities, and expand existing capacity for recyclable and reusable materials through a demonstration project targeting difficult-to- market commodities. 0 States and tribes with RBACs /\ and REDAs ------- Minnesota's RBAC - Office of Environmental Assistance Minnesota's Office of Environmental Assistance will partner with the state's Department of Trade and Economic Development and Technology Extension Center to remove barriers to increased use of recovered materials in the wood fiber, plastics, and composites industries. Recycling Economic Development Advocate The initiative is also funding a Recycling Economic The Recycling Technology Assistance Partnership's National Network The Jobs Through Recycling Initiative is supporting the development of a national information network to facilitate the sharing of innovative recycling technologies and other technical information. EPA is partnering with the National Recycling Coalition and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), within the Department of Commerce, to establish and operate this national network as part of NIST's Recycling Technology Assistance Partnership (ReTAP). The recycling information network will include an easily accessible Development Advocate (REDA) in nine states and one tribe. The REDA is a business development professional with a recycling background. Located in the state or tribal economic development office, each REDA will focus on recycling market development as a job creation and economic development strategy. To assist new and existing recycling businesses, RED AS also will provide coordination among their offices, solid waste programs, manufacturing extension ser- vices, and other business development efforts within the state or tribe. ;;:', % Each of the following states and tribe is hosting a REDA: Arizona—Department of Commerce , Delaware—Development Office "' , District of Columbia—Office of Economic Development Iowa—Department of Economic and Employment Development Maryland—Department of Economic Development Nebraska—Department of Economic Development Ohio—Department of Development Oklahoma—Department of Commerce Oregon—Economic Development Department Siletz Tribe (Oregon)—Economic Development Office database on recycled materials use practices, new technological developments, and innovative ' applications for recovered materials. Through the network, EPA wil^ identify barriers to the use of recovereld materials and develop an agenda to find solutions through government, industry, and university research programs. The National Network will be a valuable information resource, fco; manufacturers, businesses; innovators, and entrepreneurs. It will be linked electronically to NIST's network of manufacturing extension centers. NIST will develop 100 of these centers across the nation by 1997 to help small and mid-size manufacturers become more competitive. The engineers in the NIST centers will have the information necessary to identify opportunities for manufacturers to use recovered materials in place of virgin materials. Use of recovered materials can make a manufacturer more efficient and therefore more competitive, and strengthens markets for these materials. For Additional Information The RBACs and REDAs will begin operating in October 1994. For additional information on this initiative, contact your EPA Regional Office. For information of ReTAP's National Network contact the National Recycling Coalition at 202 625-6406. ------- EPA Regional Office Contacts for the Jobs Through Recycling Initiative EPA Region 1 (CT, MA, ME, NH, RIVT) JFK Federal Building (HER-CAN6) Boston, MA 02203-2211 Cynthia Greene 617223-5531 EPA Region 2 (NJ, NY, PR, VI) 26 Federal Plaza (II-AWN) New York, NY 10278 Jenine Tankoos 212 264-1369 EPA Region 3 (DE, DC, MD, PA, VA, WV) 841 Chestnut Street (3HW53) Philadelphia, PA 19107 Theresa Martella 215 597-7936 EPA Region 4 (AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN) 345 Courtland Street, NE. (4WD-RCRAFF) Atlanta, G A 30365 Robin Mitchell 404347-3555X6425 EPA Region 5 (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) 77 West Jackson Boulevard (HRP-8J) Chicago, IL 60604 Paul Ruesch 312 886-7598 EPA Region 6 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200 (68-HH) Dallas, TX 75202-2733 Ed Curran 214 655-6723 EPA Region 7 (IA, KS, MO, NE) 726 Minnesota (RCRA-SPG) Kansas City, KS 66101 Dave Flora 913 551-7523 ";-.-.•.,-,.:;:.• EPA Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, tJT, WY) 999 18th Street (8HWM-RI) Denver, CO 80202-2405 Ayn Schmit 303 293-1845 EPA Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV) 75 Hawthorne Street (H-3-1) San Francisco, CA 94105 Kivi Leroux-Durican 415744r2080 ~ EPA Region 10 (ID, OR, WA, AK) 1200 6th Avenue (HW-107) Seattle, WA 98101 John Dumas 206553-6522 EPA Headquarters 401 M Street, SW (5306) Washington, DC 20460 Tim Jones 202 260-7920 Kim Carr 202 260-7600 ------- |