When the County and City Work Together, Everyone Benefits Richmond and Wayne County, Indiana, adapt their recycling programs to changing conditions. Debbie Hackman , Solid Waste Specialist, Indiana Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (IN-GLCAP) R ecycling is a very local enterprise—every community crafts its own program in its own way. But local programs are subject to global conditions and, as those conditions evolve, the programs have to adjust. Indiana
An Evolving Sector Many industries have experienced a lot of change in the past few years, and recycling is one example. Small communities that depend on the added revenue from selling recyclables have been directly affected by negative business impacts. To understand this, you must recognize how the recycling business is influenced by external factors. Recycling is dependent on supply and demand and the market fluctuations that follow. Chinese restrictions placed on import of American recyclables in 2018 due to contamination issues greatly reduced the international demand for plastic and cardboard. Communities make choices about which commodities to collect in their recycling streams based in part on the availability of markets for the commodities. China had been a major importer of American cardboard and plastic but, after several years of
RCAP, through the Indiana Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, helped Richmond and Wayne County, Indiana, make one such adjustment.
18 2022, ISSUE 3
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