CMRA Board Discusses Legislation

At its March teleconference meeting, the CMRA’s Board of Directors discussed legislative and regulatory issues, as well as what should be the industry response to those points, in addition to planning a membership drive and a future Annual Meeting schedule.

Some of the legislation that the CMRA’s Issues & Education Fund is promoting includes environmentally preferable procurement policies, whereby recycled products are required to be specified in government RFPs, the same as virgin materials. However, there is a need to keep these moves low key, because when the virgin material producers hear about it, they lobby vigorously against what they perceive as an assault on their market dominance.

In New England, the wood fuel market is being affected by proposed specification changes in Maine. The new spec would require more fines to be removed to the point where it may be uneconomical to make wood fuel from C&D. Political pressure to keep wood chips, as well as other C&D materials, out of Maine was a factor in the tightening of the spec. However, it appears the state’s Department of Environmental Protection staff recommendation for a specification, which is one C&D recyclers can meet, will be adopted.

CMRA President Rick Given, Recycled Materials Co., Arvada, Colo., reported that he has found a marketing company to do a major push to get new members. Initial response to the campaign has been positive.