Stakeholder Summit

NEWMOA convened a regional Commercial Paper Recycling Stakeholder Summit in July 2010 to engage stakeholders in discussions of strategies for significantly increasing commercial paper recycling and for increasing the use of recycled paper by mills in the region and other users. NEWMOA formed a Commercial Paper Recycling Workgroup that includes representatives from the Northeast states' recycling, solid waste, and economic development programs, EPA Regions 1 and 2, and NERC who oversaw the planning of the Regional Summit.

The Summit's agenda addressed the following:

• What are the barriers that keep businesses from recycling their waste paper?
• What are ways to reduce/eliminate those barriers?
• What motivates businesses, building owners, managers, and cleaning services to recycle?
• What are efficient, effective paper collection models for small businesses? (i.e., containers, collection vehicles, management approaches, and contracts)
• What are the roles for waste haulers; paper dealers, brokers, and processers; paper manufacturers; building managers; and cleaning contractors?
• What can states, municipalities, and non-profit groups do to encourage and incentivize greater commercial recycling?
• What are the best organizational and administrative approaches for soliciting and coordinating participation of generators, haulers, processors, brokers, and end users?
• How should strategies be marketed to key players to encourage their participation?
• What are effective educational and assistance tools for assuring increased commercial paper recovery and recycling?
• How can NEWMOA and partners track and measure success?

NEWMOA prepared notes [PDF] on the discussions at the Summit that included the participants' recommendations for moving forward.