>> Andrew Wheeler: We are gathered here today
to advance solutions to today's recycling challenges.
In addition to keeping valuable materials out of landfills,
recycling supports more than 750,000 jobs
and provides $6.7 billion annually in tax revenue.
[applause]
>> David Biederman: Local governments,
who are often stuck between vocal citizens
who demand ever increasing recycling goals
and the practical reality of volatile, commodity markets
and that recycling, although an essential public service,
isn't free.
>> Helen Lowman: We also heard a lot of, "It's very confusing."
Even the avid recycler in the group was like,
"I don't know what to do with this.
I don't know what to do with that.
I don't know when it gets rinsed.
I don't know where it goes."
So, a lot of, "It's too confusing."
>> Stephen Sikra: And our consumers tell us one thing
and that is they look for us
to give them sustainable products and packages.
While they're buying our products
because they want them to perform,
they look to us to design it properly
for proper recovery and proper recycling.
Plastic has value. We want it back.
We don't want it on the beach.
We should not have to do beach cleanups.
As I'm here from Procter & Gamble,
many other brand companies would tell you the same message:
material has value and we'd like it back.
And one way to bring it back is through collaboration.
So, I think that's the final message here
is we need to collaborate
together across the entire value chain.
From the starting material side to the converters
to the brand owners, through the retailers,
and the post consumers recovery collection
and reclamation systems along with good policy,
and when we answer each of those factors across the supply chain,
we can all benefit.
>> Nina Goodrich: From an infrastructure perspective,
we need to think about what is the future of packaging?
Today, we're really focused on what we have today
and what we can recycle,
but what if we want to get ahead and we want to lead,
we need to work with those companies
that are creating the future of packaging and understand
how to create that infrastructure
for tomorrow's package.
>> Donna Harman: Partnerships are a way
that we can augment and amplify what each of us are doing,
and in public education,
that's probably one of the most critical
as we're trying to understand the role
that millennials are playing in the future of recycling.
>> Heidi Brock: It's a problem that is largely due
to lack of infrastructure, public education,
and the appropriate policies on recycling,
and I think this gets to this issue of the value
of the material that people have been talking about today.
>> Steve Russell: In helping us remember that recycling fits
within a broader sustainability framework
and that's very important
for all sorts of resource management,
so thank you for that about the models
that will take us into the future may not be the models
that have brought us to where we are today.
Nobody wants the materials to be wasted,
nobody wants the environment contaminated
by plastic or paper or aluminum or glass.
We want to all do better, and so let's find ways
to capture the great energy of the moment
and celebrate today as America's Recycles Day.
>> Darryl Smith: Just because something is recyclable
doesn't mean it has a market to be recycled.
>> David Biederman: How we measure recycling
is something that we should be keeping in mind
as we move forward on all these other areas
around education and infrastructure.
>> Keefe Harrison: While recycling feels universal,
the truth is only half of Americans can recycle at home
as easily as they can throw something away.
Those that do recycle, how much are we getting of their stuff?
It's about half. So, we're at half of the half.
That means 20 million tons of materials
getting disposed every year. What does 20 million tons mean?
That came up earlier. Do we have a visual to that?
Well, if we were able to recover that,
that'd be the same as taking enough cars off the road
to more than circle the globe.
We can make measurable change between now and next year
in those four areas. In fact, we have to.
Communities cannot bear the cost burden of recycling alone.
They look to the companies, to governments,
and to organizations, like many of those in the room,
to help them and help them we must.
And we must do it quickly because if we do not,
they will not survive this economic blip,
this blip for recycling
will turn into something much more dire
and we will have a bigger job on our hands.
>> Barry Breen: So, where are we going with this?
Obviously, we're going to take as much as we can
from what you shared today
and we hope that together, among ourselves
and with others who are interested
in joining over the next several months,
we can develop a national action plan.
Will it be perfect?
No, but do we have a chance to just wait and do nothing?
Absolutely not.
At the same time, doing nothing is not an option
because everybody signed that sheet that says,
"You're going to do something."
So, you're already committed, as are we.