The Recycling Development Center is a new program tasked with facilitating research, development, marketing, and policy analysis to bolster recycling processing and markets in Washington.
The Center was formed by the Department of Ecology (Ecology), as directed in HB 1543, passed during the 2019 legislative session.
The Center is a collaboration among public and private stakeholders, including Ecology and the Department of Commerce, working to improve recycling markets in the state. The Center will initially focus on conversion or remanufacturing of waste (especially mixed paper and plastics) into new products.
The first advisory board meeting is scheduled for January 9 at Highline College in Des Moines. The meeting is open to the public and available via webinar. To register for the webinar or sign up to receive updates about the Center, visit the advisory board’s website.
For more information contact Kara Steward at Kara.steward@ecy.wa.gov or 360-407-7643.
On a related note, Zero Waste Washington recently released the following report: The State of Residential Recycling and Organics Collection in Washington State. The report includes a list of recycling system data for every city in the state.