Waste and recycling groups chart course to cooperate on education and research.
Environmental Industry Associations (EIA), Washington, D.C., and the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF), Raleigh, N.C., have reached an agreement spelling out how they will work together on research and education projects.
“This agreement delineates the areas and parameters for such collaborative work for the mutual benefit and achievement of the missions of the respective groups,” the two groups announced in a joint news release issued at WasteExpo 2013 in New Orleans.
“The initial effort we plan to undertake is to develop an industry work group to identify data and information needs,” says Bryan Staley, EREF’s president and CEO. “EREF and EIA are both dedicated to serving the solid waste and recycling industry, and we are very excited to continue our longstanding collaborative relationship in this way to more effectively fulfill the needs of our members and stakeholders.”
Sharon Kneiss, EIA’s president and CEO, adds, “EIA’s programs will be strengthened by our relationship with EREF. By working together, we can smartly enhance and strengthen our resources and extend the research capabilities of both groups. This will allow us to better serve the needs of our members and communicate about important topics related to the waste and recycling industry. It is one more example of EIA’s efforts to be the ‘voice of all things waste and recycling’.”
EREF and EIA say they will work together to prioritize data aggregation efforts, gain member and stakeholder support, complete research and share non-sensitive data. EREF and EIA will discuss mutual support of EIA’s certification efforts, safety program and advocacy efforts.
The groups say they also will identify topics where white papers may be needed. EREF says it will use its current research grants program as well as obtain content via its various research initiatives under its internal research program to generate such papers.
“This is a very exciting time in our industry,” says Richard Burke, president of Advanced Disposal, a member company of both EIA and EREF. “The collaboration between EREF and EIA leverages the resources of both organizations to address the needs of our industry members, while allowing both organizations to maintain their own branding, independence and autonomy.”
EIA is a trade association for private sector solid waste and recycling companies.
EREF funds and directs scientific research and educational initiatives for waste management practices.