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Michael Alexander, President of Recycle Away, attended the The National Facilities Management and Technology Conference in Baltimore, Maryland last month and had the pleasure of speaking at the conference on the topic of sustainability and how to "Design Successful Public Space Recycling Programs." Michael was accompanied by Alec Cooley, the Director of Recycling Programs for Keep America Beautiful which is the nation's largest leading nonprofit that builds and sustains vibrant communities. Together they spoke about the benefits of successful recycling programs that can incorporate the best new practices in public space recycling and how placement, label messaging, bin color and other design tactics can help you design and execute winning recycling programs.

Have you ever thought that oil prices and recycling could have a connection? Since recent oil prices have significantly dropped, it's putting a crunch on the recycling industry. As crude oil prices continue to crash, the result makes it cheaper for plastic companies to use new or virgin materials versus the goods you can recycle. Recycled plastics prices are extremely low, and for some waste management companies or local government affiliates, they are now having to pay to have their materials removed.

Vermont once again made the news this week, as non-profit organization Call2Recycle, North America's first and largest battery stewardship program will submit to Vermont regulators, a plan for the collection and recycling of single-use batteries. The non-profit group announced "it had been selected by battery producers to represent them in complying with the nation's first mandatory take-back law for single-use batteries."

Recently, representatives from the Stowe Mountain Resort in Stowe, Vermont, contacted Recycle Away in hopes that they could partner together, to incorporate a newly designed multi-waste stream recycling program into their business. Stowe currently had a recycling program already in existence, however, they were having major issues with their waste streams being cross-contaminated.

This year's Earth Day will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 22nd and marks the 45th anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement which began in 1970. Earth Day is a world wide recognized event that gives everyone around the globe, the chance to honor mother earth and come together to show commitment, activism and support to our environment.

It's not to early to think about spring is it? With winter slowly coming to an end, it's important to think about the new season that's upon us and how to prepare your recycling needs for the outdoors. Whether you are expanding, improving or implementing a public-space recycling program into your business or organization, it's vital to plan ahead and make your program the most successful it can be.

Electronic waste or e-waste is any discarded electronic or electrical device. Many of these devices are classified as office electronic equipment, old computers, televisions, mobile phones and even refrigerators. Did you know that an estimated 50 million tons of e-waste in produced every year? The Environmental Protection Agency suggests that only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled, the remaining number sadly ends up in our landfills and incinerators.

When Vermont makes headlines it always excites us. Especially when the news pertains to important issues such as renewable energy and composting. These topics are not only important to Vermont, they are vital to the way our state functions and grows.