EPA event makes recycling a focus
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency celebrated America Recycles Day earlier this month by organizing what it called a Recycling Summit.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a participant in the event, emphasized the need to “create a more sustainable recycling system in America and across the globe.”
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kelvin Droegemeier warned that marine debris “poses a significant threat to our oceans, marine life and coastal communities.” He stressed the need to develop “next-generation biodegradable plastics” and to create
“cost-effective technologies to gather, recycle and treat plastic waste.”
Wheeler also recently participated in a round-table discussion on “Building a Resilient Recycling System through Infrastructure Investment and Market Development” that included representatives from large U.S. corporations, including Walmart.
In a news release, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., praised the EPA “for bringing stakeholders together to build on the recycling industry’s successes and help raise awareness of America Recycles Day.”
The lawmaker from Rogers, who serves as co-chairman of the Senate Recycling Caucus, said recycling is good for the environment and good for business, strengthening the economy and creating “hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs nationwide.”