Advanced Drainage Systems

February 20, 2023

We are pleased to welcome Advanced Drainage Systems as a new Supporting Advisory Member to The Northeast Recycling Council

Amongst the doom and gloom in much of today’s media concerning plastics recycling, there stands a success story in new NERC Advisory Member Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS). Headquartered in Ohio, ADS’s 3,500 field employees manufacture storm water and onsite septic wastewater solutions; more than 10 billion feet of ADS pipe are in service around the world. The company’s water management solutions are designed to last for decades.


In October, the Plastic Pipe Institute’s (PPI) Drainage Division awarded ADS its Project of the Year Award. The ADS warehouse project in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, uses five large underground stormwater storage systems that required 17 miles of Dual Wall N-12 corrugated pipe.


“The project shows how the use of HDPE pipe can protect the environment, lower greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of truck loads as a result of nesting the lightweight pipe,” PPI President David Fink said. “There is also the fact that HDPE pipe can be made using a high amount of post-consumer recycled HDPE material, taking single use HDPE bottles, for example, and turning them into pipe that will last for generations.”


The company’s accomplishments in the recycling space are considerable. The most recent annual ranking from Plastic News designates ADS as the largest plastic recycler in North America. “More than half of the plastic ADS purchased in 2021 was recycled, made possible by our pioneering plastic-blending program, company-owned and operated recycling facilities and unmatched engineering expertise,” the company stated. “In 2020, we also consumed 28% of all high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles in the entire country. HDPE is used to make plastic bottles for products such as laundry detergent, milk and shampoo.”


According to Kristen Rinehart, Vice President and General Manager of Recycling, ADS recycled about 600 million pounds of plastic in FY2022; drew nearly 61% of pipe product revenue from remanufactured products; and acquired Jet Polymer Recycling to quickly increase its recycling capacity. “Historically, the company has focused so intently on the materials science of recycled materials that today we’re producing the highest-quality recycled plastic pellets ever,” Rinehart stated. “It’s having a positive impact on both our production capacity and the quality of pipe we produce for our customers managing stormwater for our communities.”


Recycling, the company states, is one part of its sustainability commitments. It is a signatory to the US EPA’s America Recycles Pledge, to do their part in helping achieve the ambitious goal of increasing the national recycling rate to 50% by 2030. It has joined The Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition, to advance their commitment to protecting water and keeping millions of pounds of plastic out of landfills each year.


Earlier this year, ADS signed a commitment to pursue Science Based Targets (SBTs) to reduce the Company’s greenhouse gas emissions. “ADS’ commitment to reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions reflects the Company’s broader goal to continue making progress on environmental stewardship initiatives,” President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Barbour stated. “We are proud to join the more than 2,000 businesses that are working with the Science Based Targets initiative to reduce emissions in line with climate science.”


NERC welcomes new Advisory Member Advanced Drainage Systems and looks forward to contributing to the company’s ongoing success through a collaborative partnership.


For more information about Advanced Drainage Systems click here

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August 29, 2025
Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Publishes 25 th Report Marking Six Years of Quarterly Data
By Recycled Materials Association July 29, 2025
The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) has opened the 2025 Emerging Professionals (EP) Program . Now, in its third year, the program provides professionals who are new to the field of recycling, sustainability, and environmental stewardship with discounted access to NERC’s Conference and Foundations Course, sponsored by their employer organization. EPs gain valuable connections with seasoned industry professionals and peers while engaging in discussions on current trends, challenges, and innovations shaping the industry. This program is designed for those with three or fewer years of experience. “This year, EPs also receive a discount to our Foundations of Sustainable Materials Management course (a live, instructor-led training) developed to provide the key building blocks for understanding the industry,” said Mariane Medeiros, Senior Project Manager at NERC. “It’s a great way to close the loop: gaining both a strong technical foundation and real-world connections in one experience.” Read and Learn More.
By Chaz Miller June 30, 2025
Recycling coordinators know that some people and locations are stubbornly indifferent to recycling. COVID has ruptured civic values and behavior. Creating a recycling culture is harder than ever. Producers know how to sell their products. Now they need to learn how to sell recycling. On July 1, Oregon’s packaging and paper extended producer responsibility (EPR) program begins operating. This will be a first in our country. “Producers”, instead of local governments or private citizens, will be paying to recycle packages and paper products. Colorado’s program begins operating early in 2026. For years we have heard the theory of how packaging EPR will work. At last, we will get results. Five other states also have laws. Their programs should all be operating by 2030. None of the state laws have identical requirements. The Circular Action Alliance, the “producer responsibility organization” responsible for managing the program in most of those states, knows it has a lot on its plate. EPR laws are not new to the U.S. Thirty-two states already have laws that cover a wide variety of products such as electronics, paint, mattresses, batteries, etc. Those laws are relatively simple. Most cover one product. The producer group is a small number of companies. Goals and programs are focused and narrow. They are a mixed bag of success and failure. Packaging EPR is far more complex. The number of covered products is way higher. Thousands of companies are paying for these programs. Goals are challenging. Some are impossible to meet. In addition, local governments treat recycling as a normal service. Their residents will still call them if their recyclables aren’t picked up. It probably hasn’t helped that advocates tout EPR as the solution for recycling’s problems. We are told we will have more collection and better processing with higher recycling rates. Markets will improve and even stabilize. Some of this will happen, but not all. Collection and processing should go smoothly in Oregon. The state has high expectations for recycling. I have no doubt recycling will increase. Collection programs will blanket the state, giving more households the opportunity to recycle. I’m not sure, though, how much of an increase we will see. Recycling coordinators know that some people and locations are stubbornly indifferent to recycling. COVID has ruptured civic values and behavior. Creating a recycling culture is harder than ever. Producers know how to sell their products. Now they need to learn how to sell recycling. Another challenge is the “responsible end market” requirements. You’ve probably seen pictures of overseas dumps created by unscrupulous or just naïve plastics “recyclers”. In response, Oregon and the other states are requiring sellers and end markets to prove they are “responsible”. They must provide information about who and where they are, how they operate, how much was actually recycled, and more. Recycling end markets pushed back. Paper and metals recyclers argue they shouldn’t be covered. They don’t cause those problems. As for plastics, the general manager of one of America’s largest plastics recycling companies said his company now spends time and money gathering data and filling out forms to prove they’re “responsible”. His virgin resin competitors don’t have to. Ironically, we now import more plastics for recycling than we export. Maybe those countries should impose similar requirements on their plastics recyclers. Colorado faces unique problems. The mountain state is large. Its population is concentrated on the I-25 corridor running north and south through Denver with low population density elsewhere. Recycling collection and processing is limited as are end markets. To make matters worse, slightly more than half of its households use “subscription” services for waste and recycling collection. Those services are funded by the households, not by taxpayers. EPR doesn’t have this experience in other countries. Colorado gets to blaze this trail. The second state to go live poses substantive challenges for producers. The good news for both states? Local governments that pay for recycling collection and processing will see most of those costs go away. Consumers are unlikely to see prices rise, for now. National companies will simply spread their costs among all 50 states. Local and regional producers, unfortunately, don’t have that advantage. As for improved markets, remember that recyclables are and always will be commodities subject to the ups and downs of the economy. I don’t see substantive changes in recycling markets unless the producer group’s members try to manipulate markets to their own advantage. 2025 saw new laws and changes to existing laws. Maryland and Washington became the sixth and seventh packaging EPR states. At the same time, California is rewriting its regulations and Maine significantly revised its law. Some of these changes narrowed EPR’s scope to the dismay of advocates. I’m a member of Maryland’s EPR Advisory Council. We’ve been meeting for a year, discussing the Needs Assessment and now our new law. We have our own unique set of challenges. We also have a big advantage. We can learn from Oregon’s and Colorado’s experiences. Tune in next year to learn how we are progressing. Read on Waste360.