The Recovering Economy...Recycling Jobs Creation
  • Terry McDonald, Executive Director St. Vincent de Paul, Eugene OR   
The St. Vincent de Paul recycling program in Eugene, Oregon accepts everything from automobiles to single shoes.  Business ventures transform window glass into useful and beautiful items, partially burned candles into specialty waxes for crafts and extreme sports, and reclaimed mattress batting into sheets of useable woven cotton and pet bedding for national markets!   Terry McDonald will describe St. Vincent de Paul’s plans to expand their sustainability work across the U.S. through recent funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  

Plastic Money...The Value in Recovered Resins           
  • Rob Starr,  St. Joseph Plastics
  • Omar Galal, Enginuity 
Rob Starr has been an owner of St. Joseph Plastics for 23 years, during which time the company has grown from 5 employees and $1 million in sales to 70 employees and $14 million in sales.  Rob will talk about the company’s recent expansion to Sedalia, where a new plant cleans plastics from MRF generated post-consumer bales that previously would have been landfilled or exported.  Until the establishment of this new plant, most  markets were overseas.  St. Joseph Plastics now has the ability to grind and clean  the material so it can be sold to manufacturing companies as a raw material to use for various plastic products.


Omar Gala is President and Lead Design Engineer for Enginuity, Inc., located in Mansfield.  Enginuity works to bring products from idea to local or global markets in a variety of industries. One of these products is the innovative made-in-the-USA diverter kit system launched under the brand RainReserve, manufactured with recovered plastics.  Omar will discuss how this product grew from idea stage to be a known quality brand carried by a variety of retailers, from online to big-box brick and mortar, and the development of the associated “Build a Barrel” product. The RainReserve line was recently picked up by Menard’s, a home improvement chain with over 250 Midwest locations, Ace Hardware, a national cooperative of over 4,000 stores, and Sam’s Clubs in New England.

Big Returns … Waste as a Resource
  • Kevin Anderson, Missouri Organics
  • Noelle Morris, Midwest Materials Exchange
  • Kevin Anderson, Missouri Organic 
Materials exchanges link one company’s unwanted materials with another company’s needs, saving both companies significant costs and preventing materials from becoming waste.  Noelle Morris will discuss how the now regional Midwest Materials Exchange grew out of the Kansas City By-Product Synergy Project and how Bridging the Gap continues to work locally to promote the by-product synergy concepts. 

Missouri Organic turns organic waste into high quality Nature Wise Compost, top soil and attractive landscaping mulches used throughout Kansas City by gardeners, landscapers, institutions and parks. Last year Missouri Organic’s award-winning FRED Project (Food Residuals Environmental Division) composted 20,000 tons of food wastes from public and private sector cafeteria operations and commercial food companies. Kevin Anderson will describe how a growing family business is closing the loop on organics.  

Minding Their Own Business...Missouri Product Stewardship Today
  • Ken Perdue, Staples’ National Manager of Sustainable Business Solutions
  • Ryan Wilkey, MRC Recycling Sustainability Specialist
Get current on Missouri’s Producer Responsibility law for electronics and hear two companies that build responsible management into their operations. Since launching the first national retail technology recycling service in 2007, Staples has continued to lead retailers in responsible stewardship. In 2012, Staples rolled out free technology recycling services in all its stores and committed to using only e-Steward certified recyclers so equipment will be recycled in the most responsible way. Ken Perdue will describe the sustainability principles behind Staples’ products and services.

MRC started in the appliance business in 1998. After seeing the difficulty people were having in the disposal of old televisions, they knew something needed to be done. At the time, we had no solution. In 2002, chance would have it that they would receive a call from their county solid waste district. They wanted to know if we would be interested in collecting e-waste. The following year, MRC began recycling electronics.

Initially, MRC only collected from individuals and schools at their store front. Within a few months, they began hosting community recycling events. These events are typically sponsored and/or promoted by schools, businesses, or government entities. In their first year, they hosted 4 events. In 2011, they hosted over 50. 

Taking Care of Business … Product Stewardship Opportunities Ahead 
  • Alison Keane, PaintCare 
  • Tim Warren,  Call2Recycle  
Two different industries determined it was in their best interest to lead national product stewardship initiatives to recover products they manufacture. PaintCare is a non-profit program that helps reduce, reuse and recycle latex paint. It is funded by the American Coatings Association in cooperation with numerous states that have product stewardship laws targeting paint.  Alison Keane, PaintCare’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary will describe why her industry stepped up to cover its environmental responsibility.  

Call2Recycle is a free rechargeable battery and cell phone collection program funded by battery and product manufacturers committed to responsible recycling. They have established 30,000 public collection sites across the U.S. and diverted over 70 million pounds of rechargeable batteries from the solid waste stream. Tim Warren will describe how the battery industry continues to advance green business practices and environmental sustainability.
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Getting Down to Business! … Moving To 75% Diversion 
  • Stephanie Barger, U.S. Zero Waste Business Council 
  • Harry Cohen, Blue Skies Recycling
The U.S. Zero Waste Business Council’s goal is to help companies design and manage products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, and conserve and recover all resources. It does not include burying or burning wastes. More companies and communities are realizing the benefits of zero waste on reducing costs, improving efficiency, managing risk, and creating value. Founder and director, Stephanie Barger will highlight successes, tools and resources through this national effort.  
If you have seen the bright yellow bins at MORA and other events, you know Blue Skies Recycling has been there.  St. Louis based Blue Skies Recycling collects organics in the yellow carts, and single-stream recyclables (including glass) in the blue carts. Harry Cohen will describe how their customized services can meet the specific needs of large or small commercial, industrial and institutional customers.   Customers include the St. Louis Cardinals, Missouri Botanical Garden, University of Louisville, Mayan Cafè, The Brown Hotel and many other establishments around St. Louis and Louisville.  When they aren’t recycling, Blue Skies is educating schools and workplaces about how recycling will help create a more sustainable future.

Government Business…Missouri Legislature and Recycling
  • Daryl Duwe, COAM (Composting and Organics Association of Missouri) Lobbyist
  • Jessica Hodge, MORA (Missouri Recycling Association) Lobbyist 
What happened (and didn’t happen) in the 2013 Missouri legislature that will impact the future of recycling and composting?  Daryl Duwe, who has has worked the political system for nearly 40 years, and MORA’s new lobbyist, Jessica Hodge, will tell you why you should be concerned, and involved, during the next legislative session.

Open for Business –  Q&A With the Experts
  • Dr. Neil Seldman, Institute of Local Self Reliance
  • Terry McDonald, St. Vincent de Paul in Eugene OR
Did you ever want to sit down with national recycling experts and just ask them their secrets to success?  During this session, our visiting experts will provide direct responses to questions about developing and expanding recycling economies, especially in traditionally underserved areas.  

It Adds Up...Tracking Recycling Quantities and Benefits
  • Jim Callier, EPA WasteWise
  • Re-TRAC Connect, TBA, Missouri Department of Natural Resources
WasteWise is a voluntary EPA program   that helps organizations and businesses apply sustainable materials management practices to reduce wastes.  The program provides education and technical assistance, an annual awards program and progress tracking for participants.  Missouri’s growing participation from businesses and organizations includes the St. Louis Cardinals, Anheuser Busch, and Hallmark.  Jim Callier will tell us what’s hot in WasteWise in 2013.

Re-TRAC Connect is the leading waste reduction measurement system, used by solid waste managers, recycling coordinators, sustainability coordinators, chief operating officers, executive directors, and program managers from all levels and types of government and organizations. Use of the basic program is free and easy.  Enhanced capability is reasonably priced and will allow more sophisticated data measurement, program promotion, reporting, and analysis. Learn how the Department of Natural Resources plans to use Re-TRAC for measuring Missouri’s recycling tonnage.

Calculating Assets...Measuring Missouri's Recycling
  • Chris Ronson, Emerge Knowledge
Re-TRAC Connect is the leading Waste Reduction Measurement System for Governments and Organizations that offers FREE accounts to help local governments, businesses, schools, universities, and other organizations participate in reporting programs, manage tonnage data, and publish waste reduction information to the public. This highly robust and flexible system is currently being used by over 9,200 Waste Reduction Managers, Recycling Coordinators, Solid Waste Managers, Chief Operating Officers, and Program Managers from a wide range of US private and public sector organizations.


Growing Business...Opportunities in Organics 
  • George Wesley, Ozark Correctional Center
  • Charlie Hopper, Department of Agriculture 
As Food Service Manager at Ozark Correctional Center (OCC), George Wesley manages the recycling and in-vessel composting operations.  An estimated 85% of the waste generated at the prison is diverted for recycling.  The OCC houses 650 offenders, employs 200 staff, and only generates about ½ a cubic yard of landfill-bound waste each day!

Charlie Hopper has been a champion of composting in Missouri. He will discuss the resource economics in an agricultural economy, or as he summarizes:  “Growing the Soil To Grow Our Food."