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15 Urb. St. & Loc. L. Newsl. 1 (1991-1992)

handle is hein.journals/stlolane30 and id is 1 raw text is: Section of Urban, State and Local Government Law URBAN STATE aLOCAL LAW NEWSLETTER The Section serves as a collegial forum for its members, the profession and the public to provide leadership and educational resources in urban, state and local government law and policy. Government Recycling Objectives Frustrated by Lack of Demand* By John J. Copelan, Jr. and Melissa P. Anderson On a national scale, recycling has emerged as one of the hottest topics of local government concern and challenge. Local governments in Florida, for exam- ple, must reduce by 30 percent the flow of solid waste to solid waste disposal facilities by 1994 pursuant to a legislative mandate in the Solid Waste Manage- ment Act adopted in 1987.1 Since that time, many Florida local governments have implemented recy- cling programs of various natures to meet this state mandate. Recycling refers to the total process of di- verting a collected solid waste, separating it into us- able materials, and processing those materials into a new finished product which is usable.2 Recycling does not occur, however, from collection alone, and until actual marketplace use of the goods occurs, there is collection but no recycling.' Recycling is market driven, and recycling pro- grams will not work unless there are economically feasible and stable markets for the material re- covered.4 As the chair of the National Association of Counties' Environment, Energy and Land Use Steer- ing Committee has nicely summed it up, To have *This article was adapted from a paper presented to the Florida Association of Counties 62nd Annual Conference and Educational Exposition, June 19-21, 1991, Orlando, FL. a real recycling program, we must take a macro ap- proach that not only mandates the amount of mate- rial to be pulled out of the waste stream but one that also includes its processing, transport to markets and, finally, promotion of its reuse in marketable prod- ucts.5 Recycling programs, therefore, are competi- tive business operations and recyclables are commodities with markets that often fluctuate with the economy.6 Although many recycling programs have achieved a measure of success, one barrier to a highly effective and economical recycling program for local govern- ments is a poor and worsening market for raw re- cyclable solid waste, such as old newspaper, aluminum, glass, and plastic. As more and more local governments institute recycling programs, the mate- rials collected by local governments have created a glut in the market for recyclable solid waste. For instance, the price for old newsprint in Broward County plummeted from $10 a ton to zero in 1990. In other words, the county was giving away old newspaper for a period.7 Also, the technology for con- verting raw recyclable solid waste8 into new and vi- able products which can compete with products made (continued on page 14) ~~66 6 ~ '8 ,48',~ -~ ~ 6' 2, 2, ,8 2, s~2 22 229' 0~C6,JaE~~2 ,g8' 92 5 28 2' 2222628 28 '26 21 2' 3822 ~ 2, 2, 2, 2, Basic Airport Law ',/ November 12-13, 1991, Washington, DC Trial of a Land Use Case V/ December 9-10, 1991, New York, NY V January 16-17, 1992, Los Angeles, CA February 10-11, 1992, Orlando, FL ABA Midyear Meeting February 1-2, 1991, Dallas, TX Section Spring Meeting April 30-May 3, 1992, Cancun, Mexico Please pullout, fillout, and return the Section Survey included with this issue! Chair's Message, page 2 Committees and Officers, page 3 Membership Proposal Calls for Input, page 5 Developers' Fee Not an Unconstitutional Taking, page 6 Is Political Affiliation Required for Appointed Position?, page 7 EPA Addresses Municipal Issues, page 9 Supreme Court Watch, page 10 Washington's Labyrinthine Ways, page 12 Section Survey, pullout insert I A Ar - A- A7 - - rl -I - - A - W II V , q • Vol. 15, No. 1, Fall 1991

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