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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Thanks for the article. Would this be appropriate to put in our newsletter?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""> Okrecycles [mailto:okrecycles-bounces@lists.recycleok.org]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Ellen Bussert<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, May 17, 2018 4:20 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> okrecycles@recycleok.org<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [OKRA] Press Release from the NRC regarding China's Embargo on the Import of Recycled Materials<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> </span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Contact</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">: Marjorie Griek, Executive Director,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""> National Recycling Coalition (NRC)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Phone</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">: 720/745-0966<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">Email</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">:
<a href="mailto:marjie@nrcrecycles.org">marjie@nrcrecycles.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-align:center;line-height:103%">
<b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The China Crisis – Whose Crisis is It?</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:103%"><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">WASHINGTON DC, May 15, 2018 -- It is ours</span></i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">.
Recycled materials and trash should look very different from each other, but for years they have been converging in the U.S. China has not been the creator of today’s crisis in the industry – U.S. mills have been complaining for years – but China’s recent
embargo of U.S. recycling imports is shining a mirror on our recycling industry and providing a clear signal that we can no longer pretend diversion of waste into a recycling bin is recycling.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:103%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">MRFs (Material Recovery Facilities) can produce quality materials out of both single stream and dual stream
inputs, but not when 20+% of the input “recyclable” stream, in some cases, are not recyclables. The plants are not built to handle those specs, and slower, cleaner processing has not historically been rewarded with higher market prices. Now fast, dirty recycling
is being punished with no markets. Rightly so. Clean material is a resource; dirty is not. Clean recyclables have been the minority for years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:103%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The good news and bad news is that customer enthusiasm for recycling is strong. The public wants to recycle,
but they express that enthusiasm by <u>recycling materials that are not eligible</u>. A combination of “wishful recycling” and insufficient enforcement of quality is proving very damaging to the industry – abysmal and volatile markets, a dirty product that
is not a reliable “commodity”, closed plants, and programs that are hurting economically.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:103%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">The National Recycling Coalition, along with other major industry associations, is working aggressively in a
new nationwide collaborative, to develop strategies to resolve some of these fundamental industry and market issues.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:103%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">In the meantime, the National Recycling Coalition notes that it is important to
<b>remind your residential customers now that they should <u>ONLY</u> recycle the items on their
<u>LOCAL</u> recyclables list. This is important for U.S. users of recycled materials, and the current China embargo makes this an opportune time for this reminder</b>. When in Doubt – throw it in the
<u>trash</u>! </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:103%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black">We cannot continue to act and behave as if business as usual will offer a solution to today’s issues.
We must fundamentally shift how we speak to the public, how we collect and process our recyclables, and what our end markets accept and utilize to truly recycle. The NRC is working through collaboratives, its series of Market Development Workshops, and Quarterly
Market Calls to </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">take steps to turn recycling into an industry with a quality product, but we all need to work together to meet the challenge. It seems about time – or
so the world is telling us. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:103%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">###<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:103%"><i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"">If you would like more information about this topic, or NRC’s Series of Recycling Markets Development Workshops, or NRC’s Quarterly
Market Calls, please call Marjorie Griek at 720/745-0966 or email </span></i><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:103%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif""><a href="mailto:marjie@nrcrecycles.org"><i><span style="color:#0563C1">marjie@nrcrecycles.org</span></i></a><i>.
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