Staff Report
Published March 10, 2011

Recycling industry and conservation leaders are promoting a new recycling bill for the alcoholic beverage industry.

Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Georgetown, at a recent gathering of interested groups at the Statehouse, discussed his bill (S.461), which calls for establishments that are permitted for on-site consumption of alcohol to implement a recycling program in the next two years for plastic, corrugated cardboard, aluminum and glass.

The legislation provides establishments without access to glass recyclers three years to implement glass recycling. The bill also calls for these stores, bars or restaurants to develop recycling plans guided by the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Funding would come from 0.5% of the accommodations tax, which is about $200,000.

About $42 million was collected by this tax in 2009. Recently, the Senate agriculture subcommittee carried this bill over for further discussion at its next meeting.

Rep. James Smith, D-Columbia, noted data on the economic impact of the state’s recycling industry. 

According to the S.C. Department of Commerce’s 2010 Capital Investment Report, the recycling industry had more than $438 million in capital investment and created 1,130 new jobs with 28 new or existing companies investing in South Carolina in 2010.

The recycling industry comprises haulers, collectors, processors, brokers, recycling equipment sales and manufacturers, and end-users or manufacturers who take recycled material feedstock and make recycled content products from them.

“I am proud to say that I support recycling and you see around me the evidence of that,” said Smith. “My wife, Kirkland’s, artwork using recycled content materials is just one example of how broad the industry is. From my wife who is an artist and company of one here in the Midlands to companies like Sonoco in Hartsville, which employs over 17,000 employees globally, we have a truly diverse recycling economy which is growing at annual growth rate of 12%,” he said.

Gerry Fishbeck, vice president of United Resource Recovery Corp. in Spartanburg, one of the world’s largest bottle-to-bottle plastics recyclers, announced a new Recycling Industry Group strategic plan.

“This strategic plan will help continue to grow the industry and compete nationally and globally for recycling jobs,” he said.

Get more information on the plan.

Will Sagar, president of the Carolina Recycling Association, noted estimates that in South Carolina, more than 400,000 tons of easily recyclable materials were sent for landfill disposal in FY09, representing nearly $15 million spent to dispose of the material and a loss of roughly $52 million in marketable materials.

Ronnie Grant with Sonoco added, “What we need to do is move from the mindset that in today’s world waste is not waste. It is truly a resource that needs to be recovered and conserved.”