At the AOR conference we had a discussion with you, our members, about what AOR should focus on in the coming year. David Keeling with the Steel Recycling Institute (proud member of all State Recycling Organizations, or SROs, in the country!) made a pitch for AOR to join NRC.

After a robust discussion with the Board about joining, focused with how we engage with NRC, we decided to join for a year, then reevaluate. NRC needs AOR as the seek more support from recyclers across the country to be a viable organization that represents all aspects of the industry.

On the flip side, AOR needs NRC to help create a national dialogue about full life cycle impacts of materials and social equity implications through meaningful, inclusionary dialogue and creation of good paying jobs. 

NRC recently hired an executive director, a position they haven’t enjoyed for years. The new director is Marjie Griek (you can read her bio here). While NRC is positioning itself to be the national voice for recycling, a council of NRC, the Recycling Organizations Council (ROC) will also provide value to AOR through SRO development assistance and advice. The ROC presents additional value to AOR. Have you had enough acronyms? Good, no more new ones.

As the representative of AOR, I made the announcement that we joined NRC at the Resource Recycling conference in Minneapolis at the end of August and we were welcomed with open arms. Moving forward, we will attend ROC meetings, make available webinars and other programming and news from NRC to AOR members.

We also will seek your input as we craft messages to NRC about the issues we value and the projects we would like to see come to fruition. If you would like to talk with me about our affiliation with NRC, the line is always open.