Under the banner of Action to Accelerate Recycling, nearly 80 corporate, trade group, environmental and governmental leaders met for two days last week near Dallas to devise a plan to push recycling levels higher.

The event was sponsored by Alcoa and was produced with the assistance of other "Founders Circle" firms and groups, such as Waste Management, Owens-Illinois and the National Association for PET Container Resources. The attendees represented more than 70 percent of the soft drink industry, 90 percent of the glass container market and all of the aluminum cansheet industry. Executives from paper and plastic recycling firms were also at the meeting, as were those representing recycling collection and processing firms, and local and state governments.

The goal of the working meeting was to produce a plan to boost recycling rates by 20 percentage points in three years. Attendees were asked to consider ways to make "recycling the social norm, not the exception."

Participants we interviewed were generally supportive of the efforts of Alcoa and its partners. Similar initiatives have been undertaken by organizations, such as the National Recycling Coalition, but, "this is the first time such a project has been led by a company," noted one attendee. A beverage industry veteran said that "Alcoa deserves credit for pulling this together," while another attendee said, "I greatly appreciated the organizers' efforts."

That's not to suggest that the event was a love-fest. One of the executives we interviewed said that "knowing the challenges of consensus, opposing missions, disagreement, level of decision-making authority, experience … this process will take a while."

One attendee summed it well for the other attendees we interviewed. "Compared to a lot of voluntary initiatives I've seen over more than a dozen years, this meeting was different. Alcoa made a very conscious effort to get companies throughout the supply chain together to talk not just about containers, but other packaging and paper. What was also different was that there were 'rates and dates' specified, such as a 20-percent increase in recycling by 2015 in non-deposit states. That helped focus the discussion on how to direct resources from industry to things that would get measurable results. It was not just a discussion about how to 'raise awareness" or 'promote recycling.'"

Several attendees noted that the growing governmental and corporate fervor for expanded recycling provided significant momentum for the meeting. This led to "good representation across the supply chain and very engaged participants," said one industry veteran.

That said, several participants noted that the agenda was "too ambitious" and because the attendees had various levels of understanding about municipal waste recycling, "responses were all over the board."

In terms of the options considered at the meeting, legislative concepts, such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) and container deposit systems, were taken off the table, even though EPR and deposit-system proponents were in attendance. One attendee said that "for some of us, our hands were tied behind our backs" by restricting the discussion to voluntary efforts. A key reason for not considering these options is that the goal was to develop a plan to boost recycling by 2015, which new EPR and deposit laws in 2013 or 2014 would not do. But the limitation in options pushed attendees to consider other ideas. "Taking this [EPR and deposits] off the table challenged the meeting," noted one expert.

Nearly everyone we chatted with applauded the project. "We looked at new ways to talk to consumers, which I found fascinating," said one key leader. "The willingness to look at many, many options was encouraging," said another participant. One widely-respected organization leader said "the breadth of the issues and challenges raised by the participants, all on target, made a compelling case for the need for stakeholder collaboration to move recycling forward in this country."

In the hopes of moving the ambitious plan from the conference hall to the curbside, "small groups [were formed and] identified specific steps to address outreach, residential collection obstacles, public areas, and capacity development," reported one attendee. From there, he said that "teams were established which will report back to the group in 30 days for the development of a master plan to achieve the identified goal of 20 points in three years."

The meeting facilitators have asked participants to work in separate groups to develop timelines for future outcomes. In terms of the likelihood of success for the Action to Accelerate Recycling initiative, one participant crisply noted that "the opportunity is there for the willing." However, one key player noted that a number of attendees remained hesitant to predict that an expanded promotion in itself will push recycling rates to lofty levels. The debate is likely to continue. As one respected official noted, for some participants, "a default reliance on 'education and outreach' as a primary strategy seemed out of step with the structural needs to revamp the whole system."
Resource Recycling

“This is the very first time that this group has come together in one room,” according to Brenda Pulley, Vice President of Keep America Beautiful and an attendee at Alcoa’s Action to Accelerate Recycling event in Dallas, Texas.  The group of companies, representing more than 70% of the soft drink brands, more than 90% of the glass industry, about 80% of the beer industry, and 100% of the North American can sheet industry, are meeting to carve a path toward higher recycling rates to recover vital secondary raw materials from the waste stream. 

“Our goal is to drive the recycling rate up in the US by 20 points, said Beth Schmitt,” director of recycling programs for Alcoa, the host of the event.  “And we’ll do it- I am confident of that.” Among other strategies, the group is working to drive  a social shift among consumers to make recycling the norm, rather than the exception.

Follow the event at #AAR12

Image: Alcoa Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Kevin Anton, leads an ideation session with leaders from the packaging supply chain.  
More than 90 industry leaders, representing nearly all of the packaging and beverage industries in the U.S. gathered today in Dallas, TX to kick off the Action to Accelerate Recycling Summit, sponsored by Alcoa. Energized and experienced leaders from government, industry and non-governmental organizations began to tackle the issue of how to voluntarily drive recycling rates up by 20 percentage points in the next three years.
"The collective knowledge, experience, and passion for driving recycling rates higher is energizing," said Beth Schmitt, director of recycling programs for Alcoa.  "There's a sense of momentum that's developing here. The companies here know that increasing recycling is not only the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do for our shareholders."
The summit concludes on February 9, with a call to launch an industry-driven program to drive higher recycling rates rapidly to meet demand for recycled content.

DALLAS, TX – Alcoa has convened some 90 leaders in sustainability, packaging leadership, and recycling in Dallas, Texas for an Action to Accelerate Recycling (AAR) Summit to foster innovation and collaboration to drive higher rates for packaging recycling.  Leaders of most of the soft drink and beer industry, packaging manufacturers,  thought leaders on creating social change among consumers, and recycling industry experts will participate in a unique facilitated “System in the Room” event to speed up progress to attain higher recycling rates in the U.S.

“This is not just another conference on recycling,” said Beth Schmitt, director of recycling programs for Alcoa, the largest global aluminum company and one of the largest can recyclers in the world.  “This summit is designed to ignite real change, driven by industry, to achieve one thing:  dramatically higher recycling rates. We want to close the loop on aluminum can recycling in the U.S.”

Be on the lookout for updates here, on facebook and via Twitter (@Alcoa) during the AAR Summit (#AAR12), February 8 and 9, in Dallas, TX. 

Kawneer Architectural Products Featured At Lucas Oil Stadium; Alcoa Foundation Promotes Recycling

Alcoa will be at Super Bowl XLVI this Sunday in Indianapolis, Ind., in more ways than one. The award-winning Lucas Oil Stadium, host site of the Super Bowl football game, features several products made by Alcoa’s Kawneer architectural aluminum products business. Alcoa Foundation is also contributing to the big game by helping the City of Indianapolis “go-green” by encouraging football fans to recycle their aluminum beverage cans.

Every visitor—including the lucky 67,000 fans with Super Bowl tickets—will pass through Kawneer’s 500 Tuffline® brand entrances as they go into the stadium. The Kawneer brand of frames, doors and hardware is designed to withstand high-traffic areas. In addition, more than 225,000 square feet of Kawneer’s curtain wall, which uses glass extensively, provides spectators with a magnificent view of the Indianapolis skyline from their seats.

Kawneer’s mark on Lucas Oil Stadium continues on the interior, where even more entrances and curtain wall systems are featured, as well as Kawneer sliding doors. These recyclable aluminum architectural products were produced at Alcoa plants in Springdale, Arkansas; Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania; and Visalia, California.

While Kawneer products have helped with the design of the stadium, Alcoa Foundation is making sure fans have a place to recycle their aluminum beverage cans. Through an Alcoa Foundation grant, the Indiana Recycling Coalition has been working closely with the 2012 Super Bowl Environmental Programs Committee to ”keep score” on recycling. In addition, the investment has enabled the coalition to purchase recycling bins and place them throughout the stadium and other public venues, making it easy for people to dispose of their recyclable aluminum containers responsibly. After the game, the bins will be donated to non-profit groups and youth sports programs in Indiana.

The Alcoa Foundation’s investment focuses on increasing awareness about the infinite recyclability of aluminum beverage cans, while also encouraging greater awareness about recycling “away from home” and “at home” while watching Super Bowl XLVI. The aluminum cans collected and recycled this weekend in Indianapolis and across the U.S. will be back on store shelves in 60 days as new aluminum beverage cans.

About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum, as well as the world’s largest miner of bauxite and refiner of alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 10 consecutive years and approximately 75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 61,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.

About Alcoa Foundation
Alcoa Foundation is one of the largest corporate foundations in the U.S., with assets of approximately US$446 million. Founded more than 50 years ago, Alcoa Foundation has invested more than US$550 million since 1952. In 2011, Alcoa Foundation contributed more than US$20 million to nonprofit organizations throughout the world, building innovative partnerships, engaging its people to improve the environment and educating tomorrow’s leaders. The work of Alcoa Foundation is further enhanced by Alcoa’s thousands of employee volunteers who share their energy, passion and purpose to make a difference in the communities where Alcoa operates. Through the company’s signature Month of Service program, in 2011, a record 56 percent of Alcoa employees took part in more than 1,200 events across 24 countries, reaching 81,000 children, serving 9,000 meals, planting 34,000 trees and supporting 1,800 nonprofit organizations. More information can be found at www.alcoafoundation.com.

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