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New Bottle Deposit Bill Underway in TN

Posted on by Ross

New effort underway for bottle deposits in Tennessee

August 20, 2018

A new effort is underway to require bottle deposits as a way to combat plastic waste in Tennessee. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reportsthat the Tennessee Bottle Bill Project, which is also known as TennCan, would place a 5-cent deposit on plastic containers that could be recouped by dropping empties off at redemption centers.

Supporters say the program could boost the current recycling rate of about 10% all the way to 80% or more. Bottle bills were once perennial legislative proposals, but had faded in recent years.

“What we’re trying to do is make Tennessee more sustainable by recovering some of the most valuable commodities in recycling stream, which are the beverage containers,” TennCan coordinator Marge Davis told the Times Free Press. “We want to keep them from becoming litter and make sure they go back toward manufacturing at the highest level possible.”

The bill will be sponsored by Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, while a House sponsor has yet to be nailed down.

“It’s really a jobs bill,” Niceley told the paper. “I’m a farmer, and the Farm Bureau has always been interested in this bill. They’re the ones who always get the cans and bottles in their hay fields and pasture fields. Listen, it’s not a tax. It’s a deposit, and it trains your young children to be conservative and to save. And it keeps plastic out of the ocean, that’s a big thing now.”

Similar deposit programs exist in 10 other states and in more than 40 countries and territories around the world.

2017 Legislative Update

Posted on by Ross

Dear TSRA Members:

What a year we have had so far in TSRA!  We are very pleased with what WE have accomplished this year together with everyone’s support.  i wanted to provide an update with just over a month to go until our “session” ends in Nashville.  Here are the high points thus far:
HB 285: This bill was brought up again this year with support from LKQ to require anyone who scraps 5 or more vehicles per year to obtain a “Scrap Dealer” license.  Once our lobbyist notified us of their intentions we went to work.  Many calls, emails and letters of opposition were sent by our members…THANK YOU!  In addition, we had support from ISRI Southeast and a strong argument of facts on our side to support our position.  I visited Nashville March 5th and 6th to meet with all members of the House Business and Utilities Commission.  The evening of the 5th, Steve Buttry (our lobbyist) and I sat down with the majority of the committee along with LKQ representative and their lobbyist.
After an hour meeting, we both had the opportunity to present our arguments.  Here are the points of discussion:
1. LKQ said we had the following problems: 1. Theft, 2. A cottage industry where people are running a business without a license. 3. We needed to know who was bringing in vehicles over 5 per year.
2. TSRA position was as follows: 1. 2017 we reported 137,000 vehicles scrapped.  287 theft alerts were generated (.002%).  We feel based on these numbers we DON”T have a theft problem in TN.
2. We have established a very good vehicle reporting system in TN which identifies all individuals who scrap vehicles.  Our system has worked great and been in place for two years.  We have seen theft go down over the past two years.  In addition, we argued that putting more requirements on our “core” customer is not needed and there is NO Enforcement to the bill.
3. Our “core” customer doesn’t need more regulations and that our scrap industry does a very good job of policing ourselves.
4. We invited LKQ to sit down with our TSRA leaders to discuss any challenges together and if we agree we can proceed on a united front.  I have yet to receive a call from LKQ.
The morning of the 6th, we were notified that the bill was not moving forward.  This is an outstanding victory for ALL Scrap dealers in TN as well as the TSRA!
Secondly, last week Steve Levetan, myself and Steve Buttry met with TDEC regarding “Solid Waste”.  We had a very positive meeting in regards to language in their rule making in regards to scrap dealers.  There will be more to come on this issue in the coming weeks.  Overall, they have a great “spirit of cooperation” with our team.
Lastly, please use this opportunity to reach out to your friends that are in the scrap business and let them know what TSRA/ISRI is doing on their behalf.  If they are not member’s please point them to TNSRA.com and ISRI.org to become members.  We cannot exist without members!!
Thank you for all you do for TSRA!  It is a pleasure to serve with you!

Update on China’s Import Ban

Posted on by Ross

Developing News & Guidance on China’s Import Ban

Having just returned on Saturday evening from several days of meetings in Beijing with Chinese and U.S. government officials as well as with our industry association counterparts in paper, plastics and metals, we wanted to share with you what we learned.

Guidance based on what we learned is also provided here to help ease some of the problems we anticipate with the implementation of China’s new rules affecting our industry.

China is facing a serious environmental crisis, and the Chinese Government has made cleaning up the country’s environment – and creating a “Beautiful China” – its number one priority. Their focus is not on any one industry, but across all sectors of the country’s economy regardless of the impact on jobs and production. A wide-ranging series of actions – including closures, aggressive enforcement and the tightening of environmental controls – are being implemented in industries as far ranging as agriculture coal, oil and recycling.

What is clear from our meetings last week is that:

  • These actions are coming from the highest level of the Chinese Government, and the agencies being forced to develop (MEP) and implement (AQSIQ) these new rules (including the ban and the carried waste thresholds) are being told to do so as quickly as possible without the time and resources needed to get it right.
  • The Chinese philosophy that “if you need something corrected, you go overboard and later correct” is very much in play here. This was repeated to us several times.
  • The Chinese are struggling to distinguish between what is waste (that they do not want in their country at any cost) and valuable resources, i.e., scrap (that they understand is needed as feedstock for Chinese manufacturing). And in their rush to meet President Xi Jinping’s directive to develop rules to prevent “foreign waste” from entering their country, they have created terms and standards inconsistent with the global trade. During our meetings it was clear that there is little understanding within the Chinese government of the chaos they have created.
  • In meeting with AQSIQ in particular, it is clear that they are not prepared for the implementation of the ban for mixed paper and residential plastics scheduled to start on January 1as they could not answer questions as to the meaning of the terms. Thus, the likelihood of individual inspectors at the ports understanding what they are inspecting – and what they are looking for – is very low.
  • The Chinese Government is listening to what ISRI is saying, which is the reason for the albeit modest improvement in the carried waste threshold proposed last month. However, they have limited time and ability to take in all the comments.
  • There is a working group of officials from the U.S., Canadian, UK, EU, Australian, New Zealand, and Japanese Embassies in Beijing coordinating strategy and speaking to the Chinese government on behalf of our industry. We briefed this group last week and were very pleased with the concerns expressed by each and their joint commitment to provide support.

We attempted during our meetings to get clarifications to the Chinese Government’s definition of “carried waste,” the specific scope of paper and plastics to be banned and the specific timing that these actions will come into force. For “carried waste,” it is very clear they do not want imported trash but are confused as to how to define what is trash and what is not. Beyond that, the government does not know the answers to our questions, which included very specific examples of grades that are typically exported to China. Furthermore, they have not fully prepared for the implementation of the regulations, and we believe even more confusion and inconsistency is yet to come.

Here is what we recommend to members preparing shipments for export to China:

  • Keep trash/waste out. Do not load dirt, wood, concrete, rocks or anything else that doesn’t belong in the container, as these will likely result in a rejection. This includes not scooping material from the bottom up – use other means wherever possible to load containers. Also, make sure that cardboard or aluminum cans, even though they are recyclable, aren’t in loads that aren’t cardboard or aluminum cans. Don’t give the inspectors an easy way to reject your load. Be extra vigilant when loading!  We can’t stress this enough.
  • Include more photos. Take more photos than what is required, and make sure they capture clean floors, properly sorted material, clean handling and loading, and quality/cleanliness of the material. Document the condition and contents of all shipments before export.
  • Be prepared for rejections. We anticipate a greater number of rejections of material before and after shipping, and it will not necessarily be related to scrap quality but unfortunately on misunderstandings by inspection officials as to what they are looking for.

To the extent possible, please keep records of your experience, including the reasons given for any rejections and share with ISRI. The more data we gather, the more we are armed to sort through these problems directly with the Chinese Government (you and your companies’ names will not be shared).

Furthermore, we are concerned that what China is doing may set off a wave of copycat rules in other countries, so it is in all of our best interests to go above and beyond – to demonstrate our industry’s commitment to responsible recycling and to differentiate ourselves from those market players that continue to be the lowest common denominator in terms of the supply of scrap to the global market. We plan on making this the focus of a discussion at the ISRI Board meeting next month in DC that all members are welcome to participate in so as to help develop a more comprehensive and forward looking strategy for ISRI and the industry. Please consider joining us.

As to next steps, comments to the World Trade Organization are due this week. Based on what we now know, we are rewriting our comments to include very specific information about the industry, including specifics on the various grades of scrap traded globally, suggestions on quality standards and detailed questions to try to get as much clarity and guidance as possible. Members are welcome to also submit comments by the December 15 deadline. There is a specific process to do this, so please feel free to reach out to Adina Renee Adler for guidance if you are interested in doing so.

And we are here to help. ISRI has resources to support the changes that you may need to incorporate in order to continue trading with China. Please let us know if we can help in any way.

2018 Legislative Meeting – Jan. 12, 2018

Posted on by Ross

TSRA Members:

Thank you again for every member/company who helped make 2017 a successful year for TSRA.  We accomplished great things legislatively and grew our membership by over 10 companies!  That being said…our work is never done!   As this year comes to a close we must start now preparing our “Legislative Agenda” for 2018.  Our General Session is right around the corner and we need to be prepared!  Therefore, please consider attending our upcoming meeting:

DATE: January 12, 1018

TIME: 9:00AM CST

PLACE: CFC Recycling, 54 Recycle Dr. Tullahoma, TN 37388 (NOTE: CFC has donated their facility for our meeting and TSRA will cover cost for the refreshments)…NO COST TO OUR MEMBERS TO COME TO THIS MEETING!

 

Agenda:

A. 2017 Legislative Recap

1. Accomplishments

2. Challenges

 

  1. 2018 Legislative Agenda
  2. Expected challenges: Possible reintroduction of last year’s bill to require anyone who scraps 5 or more cars per year to be licensed scrap dealer.
  3. Legislator update: Sub-Committee members – update and contact info as to any changes
  4. Any offensive positioning….discussion

 

  1. Communication
  2. Constant Contact
  3. Website

 

  1. Upcoming Elections
  2. Governor and additional House and Senate seats
  3. Yard visits/donations

 

  1. Membership
  2. Update from Andrew on membership
  3. ISRI List – Discuss how to distribute/gain new ISRI/TSRA members
  4. Member Plaques – discuss cost

 

  1. 2018 Summer Outing
  2. Discuss time/place

Adjourn: (Around 12PM CST)…

Please confirm your attendance to Andrew Rice [email protected] or 931-247-8404

We look forward to seeing everyone and having another great year!

TSRA Summer Meeting Summary

Posted on by Ross

Thank you to all who attended our summer meeting in Nashville last month. We had a great meeting and enjoyed meeting many new people who came for the first time. For those of you who couldn’t make the meeting, here is the summary:

Membership Update: We increased in members this year from 16 to 26 members! Keep up the great work of spreading the word to other scrap recyclers about what the TSRA is doing for them!

Dept. of Commerce and Insurance: Sarah Matthews did a great job of the new law that went into effect July 1, 2017 not requiring employees to have a scrap dealer license in TN. In addition, we discussed enforcement issues that several members are having with either cash for copper situations or unlicensed activity in regards to people acting as scrap dealers who are not licensed. If you have a complain, please file using your company name as the complainant. Visit TN.gov to file a complaint. If you have questions please e-mail me [email protected].

Radiation Services of TN – Chris Millsaps (a new member) spoke about his companies services in regards to registering X-Ray hand held machines in TN. He has several ways to save you money if you are not familiar. Please contact Chris for further info [email protected]

2017 -2018 plans – We need our legislatures to visit our yards! If you haven’t done so, please reach out to Steve Buttry (our lobbyist) and he will assist in making the appointments your State Senator or Representative. PLEASE DO THIS!!! Steve will attend the visit and set up all the specifics. Steve can be reached at [email protected]

 

We cannot expect to accomplish our goals for next year without your help on this issue. Next January we know that LKQ will try to pass the same bill again requiring all individuals who scrap 5 or more cars per year to be licensed. This year we held them off, next year we must be prepared. Please do your part and get to know your legislators. We will be calling on each member to help.

For the balance of this year, we plan to focus our time on establishing relationships with state leaders in every county where we have a member. We plan to have another meeting in early January just after the new year to discuss our legislative strategy.

Thank you again for each one of you! Without you, we would not have a collective voice in Nashville. We are getting known not only here in TN, but surrounding states are starting to notice what we are doing and look to follow.

Remember, all of us need each other when it comes to promoting recycling in TN!

Thanks again,

 

Ross Litz
President, TSRA

 

2017 Summer Meeting and Golf Outing

Posted on by Ross

All members and non-members of TSRA are invited to our annual summer meeting and golf outing.  This year we are pleased to have Sarah Mathews with TN Dept. of Commerce and Insurance as our guest speaker.  Sarah will discuss all aspects of scrap laws in TN, the new law to streamline registrations and any enforcement issues.

Event Details:

Date: July 28th, 2017

Place: Gaylord Springs Golf Club, Nashville TN

Time: 9-11AM Meeting

Golf Tee Times start at 11:30

Cost: Meeting Attendees $100.00, Golf $77.00 + Tax

You can pay at the event.  All attendees please confirm to Andrew Rice @ [email protected] no later than July 1st.  We look forward to seeing you then.

2017 Legislative Update

Posted on by Ross
TSRA Members,
I wanted to give everyone an update on where we stand from a legislative standpoint as well as upcoming events.
This General Session as been very successful for the TSRA.  Working together, we achieved some great things which benefit all scrap recyclers in the TN.  THANK YOU to all who called or sent e-mails to their Reps. and Senators.  The communication was tremendous and we COULD NOT have achieved success without YOU!
  • TSRA defeated a bill that would require any customer who scraps 5 or more vehicles per year to get a TN Scrap Dealer Permit.  This bill was brought with much force through lobbyist efforts but WE were able to get the bill dropped before it went to a vote.  That being said, the same people are planning to bring this back next January.  NOW is the TIME to contact your local representatives and request them visit your facility.  The majority of legislators DO NOT understand scrap recycling. They need to be educated by us on what we do, who our customer’s are and the benefit we bring to the economy.
  • TSRA proposed a new bill to streamline the Scrap Registration Program.  Basically it allows a scrap dealer to register by location only.  There will NOT be requirements to have employee permits as long as they work for the registered company.
  • GREAT NEWS THIS BILL JUST PASSED MINUTES AGO 87-0!!
  • WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?
    • Increased fees for each Scrap Dealer Registration – Don’t know what this will be yet, but Dept. of Commerce and Insurance will advise us accordingly.
    • New law will go into effect July 1, 2017.
    • NO MORE RENEWAL OF EMPLOYEE LICENSES!
A Special “Thank You” to our lobbyist Steve Buttry and Kim Adkins for their hours of work this session on our behalf.  They truly did an amazing job communicating our message to the legislators!
Lastly, we are scheduling the 2nd annual TSRA Golf outing for end of July or first of August.  We are working to secure the location and dates over the next couple of weeks.  This year we have grown to in membership especially in our “Associate Level” members.  Thank you to all who have joined this year.  We look forward to meeting you serving with you in the TSRA!
Please remember….talk about what WE are doing to other dealers, associates and anyone associated with Recycling in Tennessee.  We need more members and participation!  Point them to the website at tnsra.com for more info.

January Meeting

Posted on by Ross

Dear TSRA Members;
We are pleased to invite you to our winter meeting to be held January 24th at CMC Recycling in Chattanooga, TN. The meeting will start promptly at 10AM and should last until noon at the latest. The address is 2000 Washington Street, Chattanooga, TN. Contact Kip Kincer at [email protected] if you need directions.

This meeting will set the stage for our 2017 Legislative Strategy and discuss our goals for 2017. Below is an outline of topics that will be discussed and would appreciate all members to have a representative present. In addition, we hope to have a local State Rep. from the Chattanooga area in attendance as well.

Meeting Outline:

Legislative Agenda – Both of the topics below will be discussed and voted on whether to move forward or not as part of our legislative agenda.

A. Permit Registration Bill – We will present a plan to the members for approval to eliminate individual permits and have only permits by location. We have been in preliminary discussions with Dept. of Commerce and Insurance and feel this will get done but we need to have an open discussion and vote.

B. Low Impact Bill – This applies to those who sell “used parts”. This is an old law on the books from the 60’s that requires extensive record keeping of part numbers/ who buys parts etc… again, we will discuss and vote to carry forward or not.

Day on the Hill – Discuss a different strategy for 2017.

Member Host visits from State Legislators – Hear from those who have recently had visits with their local state senator/representative.

Lobbyist Update – Hear from our lobbyist of any changes going on at the state level.

Review 2017 TSRA Budget

ISRI – Southern Chapter update

Membership goals for 2017

Summer Golf Outing – Discuss

Open Discussion – This is a time for open discussion on any topics related to TSRA.

Members, please make every effort to have a representative at the meeting. This meeting sets the direction of TSRA for 2017! Thank you for all you all do to make Tennessee one of the leading states for recycling! Let’s work together to make TSRA bigger and stronger than ever.

Please respond to Rachel Wyatt as soon as possible so we know how many people will attend.

Best Regards,

Ross Litz

New President elected during summer TSRA meeting

Posted on by Ross

During our Summer meeting on July 22nd, Ross Litz, EVP of Morristown Shredder Inc. was elected to serve as our new President.  Brad Thompson had to resign his post due to health issues.  Ross is pleased to have the support of his fellow members and has been active in TSRA for several years.  Ross owns his family business in Morristown, TN which his father Wayne Litz started over 40 yrs. ago.

ISRI and TSRA Membership…we need more participation among recyclers in the state in both organizations.  Without resources we cannot survive as a group.  Please continue to get the word out to your fellow recyclers on how to join both!

 

Golf Outing and Business Meeting July 22, 2016

Posted on by Ross

July 22, 2016

Fox Den Country Club, Knoxville TN

Golfers tee off at 9AM

Business meeting and lunch to follow golf, approx. 11AM

12284 North Fox Den Drive, Knoxville, TN 37934

Friday July 22nd, all TSRA members and potential members are invited to attend our summer golf and business meeting.

We will be electing a new President for TSRA at this meeting. Brad Thompson has done a wonderful job for us, but is resigning his role, and will remain as a member and be involved in that capacity. We are interested in nominations for the President position. If you want to nominate someone, or are interested yourself, please send me that information and I will prepare a ballot to be handed out. We will also leave a place on the ballot for “write in’s”, if you are undecided until meeting time. If you are not going to be able to attend the meeting, but wish to vote, you can do so by emailing your vote to [email protected].

Lastly, the meeting room, lunch, and cart concessions will be sponsored by RMG. Golf fees are $75 per golfer. These fees are at the golfers expense, and should be made payable to RMG. If you have any questions, please let me know. I haven’t heard from everyone, but have provided a list below of those I have. I look forward to hearing from those of you who have not yet replied. I NEED YOUR REPLY ASAP PLEASE J J J