NERC News & Updates:

Syracuse, N.Y. – Oct. 25, 2024 – Experts in sustainability and resource management will gather at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) for the Rethinking Resource Use conference. Hosted by ESF’s Center for Sustainable Materials Management (CSMM), the event will run from Oct. 28-30 at ESF’s Gateway Center in collaboration with Syracuse University’s Institute for Sustainability Engagement and the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC). Focused on the goal of achieving a circular economy, the conference will explore ways to reduce waste by keeping products, materials, and resources in use through cycles of reuse, recycling, and repurposing. Key topics will include industry research advancements, policy updates, and funding strategies to foster sustainable material management. Conference Highlights: The three-day event will begin with opening remarks from ESF President Joanie Mahoney and will feature insights from several ESF experts, including: Kathryn Walker, CSMM Executive Director Mark Lichtenstein, Executive Operating and Chief Sustainability Officer Sue Fassler, Director of Sustainability Delaney Demro, CSMM Program Manager Doug Daley, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Resources Engineering Bandaru V. Ramarao, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemical Engineering Keynote speaker Dr. Garry Cooper, founder of Rheaply, will discuss his company’s work in promoting the sharing economy. Rheaply’s technology, now utilized by ESF, connects those with excess resources to those in need, expanding the sharing economy within New York state. The conference offers presentations, panel discussions, and workshops designed to spark collaboration and ignite fresh ideas, allowing participants to gain insights into cutting-edge research, emerging trends, and practical applications in sustainable materials management. Access the full conference schedule here . Industry and Government Perspectives: “This conference is a unique opportunity to bring together industry leaders, foster new ideas, and drive innovation for a more sustainable future,” said CSMM Executive Director Kathryn Walker. “We are excited to gather and share our collective story of dedicated efforts to reduce consumption, foster collaboration, and inspire effective solutions that benefit all,” said Melissa Young, director of the Institute for Sustainability Engagement at Syracuse University. The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) brings an invaluable resource to the conference, working to bridge public and private sector informational gaps, develop educational resources, and lead discussions on critical sustainable materials issues. “We are thrilled to partner with ESF and Syracuse University to bring together industry leaders from across the Northeast,” said Megan Schulz-Fontes, NERC executive director. Press Attendance and Registration: Members of the media are invited to cover this important event. To attend, please contact Kathryn Walker, kjwalker@esf.edu About SUNY ESF: The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) is dedicated to the study of the environment, developing renewable technologies, and building a sustainable and resilient future through design, policy, and management of the environment and natural resources. Members of the College community share a passion for protecting the health of the planet and a deep commitment to the rigorous application of science to improve the way humans interact with the world. The College offers academic programs ranging from the associate of applied science to the Doctor of Philosophy. ESF students live, study and do research on the main campus in Syracuse, N.Y., and on 25,000 acres of field stations in a variety of ecosystems across the state. About the Center for Sustainable Materials Management (CSMM) : The CSMM was established at ESF in the spring of 2020 through a NYS Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) grant administered by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The Center places ESF, DEC, and their partners in a leadership role regarding materials (waste) reduction, reuse, and recycling in New York and the US. The Center’s mission is to inspire, lead, and connect a diverse group of people and organizations that will collectively challenge the concept of “waste,” through redefining and reimagining how we procure, produce, consume, manage, and market materials.

The medical and research fields hold great potential for closed-loop plastic recycling as long as logistics can be solved, some in the industry recently said – and several companies are working to do just that. The panelists discussed their work in an Oct. 3 Northeast Recycling Council webinar, “Reducing and Diverting Plastic Waste in Bio-Medical Laboratories and Facilities, Part 2: Diverse Solutions to Meet the Supply of Bio-Med Plastic Waste.” Sam White, CEO of GreenLabs Recycling, noted that 30,000 tons of biopharma single-use plastic is disposed of every year globally, much of it recyclable. GreenLabs recycled 200,000 pounds in 2023, he added, but “you can see the huge gap that we have to fill” collectively. James O’Brien, co-founder and CEO of Polycarbin, added that not only is much of the plastic disposed of by research labs recyclable, but it’s an ideal stream due to the “incredible homogeneity of plastic types,” the way that lab workflows are designed, and the interest of scientists in not only recycling but recycling accurately. He noted that there is a “unique opportunity in labs” as well as hospitals, but hospitals have more plastic types and those working in them are under more time pressure, making it more difficult. On the hospital side of the equation, Katherine Hofmann, sustainability manager at Eastman, said the company not only makes a significant amount of specialty plastics for the medical industry but is working in partnership with the Healthcare Plastic Recycling Council and the Alliance to End Plastic Waste on a hospital plastic recycling pilot in Houston. The pilot is largely handling pre-patient material, which doesn’t come into contact with patients. She said 85% of the plastic that comes out of a hospital is clean and not contaminated, but the trick is finding space to store it in a hospital space and creating a system that works for nurses, who are short on time and highly focused on patient care. “There’s a significant volume here of really clean, high-quality materials that are really well-suited to recycling, given the high performance requirements for plastics in the space,” Hofmann said. “They really have a high purity, there’s very few additives, very few colorants. They really are ideal.” The goal of the pilot project is a medical recycling system that is economically viable at scale, she said. “We’re really looking to establish recycling in a way that does not require subsidies and continues to run in the area after we set it up,” Hofmann said, adding that the groups are also compiling a playbook for setting up these systems. Back in the lab, O’Brien emphasized the demand from scientists for more circular options. Polycarbin runs a closed-loop, brand-agnostic system, so it takes in lab plastics and remanufactures the resin into new, similar lab products. Over 1,000 labs are now participating, he said, and Polycarbin just launched PPE and nitrile glove recycling this year. It plans to expand from its current markets in New England and California, growing into Atlanta in 2025, and recently announced a partnership with Labcon North America. GreenLabs’ White said that the company decided to expand by partnering with hazardous waste disposal company Veolia, which allows them to collect, sterilize and recycle used pipette tips as well as the empty pipette tip boxes. GreenLabs takes the flake it creates and manufactures a small benchtop holding bin for the recyclable materials they seek to collect, so scientists can see what their materials are being recycled into, White said.  “We can barely keep up with demand for this product,” White added, noting that scientists are often eager to participate. “They do such powerful work for human health, and they all want to provide a healthy environment as well.”