CEO of Pratt Industries Speaks at Congressional Briefing

Paper Recycling Coalition member Brian McPheely, CEO of Pratt Industries, spoke on behalf of his company at a Congressional briefing on July 28^th, 2011. The briefing, “Sustaining the U.S. Recycling Economy: How Recycling Benefits Our Economy and Our Environment”, began with opening remarks from the organizer, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) who is widely recognized as a leader on recycling issues. Following Senator Carper, speakers from various sectors of the recycling industry provided insight on economic and regulatory issues that are affecting job growth.

Mr. McPheely discussed the need for more raw materials, the recovery rate, and environmental and economic benefits of recycling. The following are excerpts from his speech:

“City, state and federal governments along with private industry have worked to provide the collection infrastructure to drive the successes we’ve achieve so far. But too many recyclables still find their way into landfill and are therefore lost to be recycled forever. This is a huge lost opportunity for jobs and commerce.”

“Thankfully, due to the combined efforts of government, environmental groups, individuals and the recycling industry as a whole, we’ve come a long way but there is a lot more to do. In 1970, the year of the first Earth Day, the recycling rate in this country was just over 6.5% and has risen to 33.8% today.”