ANJHHWC Meeting – Eco Complex, Burlington County, NJ

March 19, 2014

Welcome and Introductions

ANJHHWC President JoAnn Gemenden called the meeting to order shortly after 10am and welcomed everyone to the meeting at the Eco Complex in Burlington County. She commented that it was good to see so many people attend the meeting and it was especially nice to see some people come back that haven’t been active with the ANJHHWC in quite some time.  JoAnn inquired as to the reason for the re-emergence of some of the old faces to the group, whether it was the E-waste issue or the potential to pass paint legislation in NJ, but there seemed to be no consensus on renewed interest.  In any case, JoAnn expressed her pleasure to see such strong participation in our meeting.

Approval of Minutes 

  • A motion was made to approve the minutes from the July 24, 2013 meeting.  There were no comments on the minutes. This motion was seconded and approved by all with no objections.
  • A motion was made to approve the minutes from the November 6, 2013 meeting.  Melinda Williams pointed out a typo in the 2nd paragraph.  Mr. Gindoff stated he would correct the typo, “meting” instead of “meeting” and if the minutes were approved, he would post them on the Association’s website, NJHazWaste.com.  In consideration of correcting the aforementioned typo, a motion to approve the minutes made and then was seconded and approved by all with no objections.

Treasure’s Report

Treasurer Chris Sikorski provided the Treasurer’s Report.  He stated for 2014, the ANJHHWC has taken in $2,300 in dues and that we haven’t yet received membership vouchers from Morris Ocean and Passaic Counties.  He also reported the ANJHHWC’s account balance is currently $19,341.30.  JoAnn reminded everyone that with membership comes one free lunch during the ANJHHWC’s holiday meeting at the end of the year.

Regarding membership, JoAnn mentioned that beginning with the next meeting, ANJHHWC will charge a non-member fee of $35 to attend a meeting.  JoAnn also discussed the issue of ANJHHWC getting a Business Registration Certificate (BRC)  in that some counties have trouble paying the ANJHHWC membership dues because the Association is not in possession of a BRC.  Chris stated he will look into how to obtain a BRC and its associated costs.

PaintCare Update

JoAnn mentioned the ANJHHWC formed a 10-person paint committee to review the proposed NJ legislation in conjunction with analyzing existing paint legislations in other states.  Tthe ANJHHWC has been working with PaintCare representatives to incorporate ANJHHWC comments and concerns in the NJ’s upcoming paint recycling bills.  JoAnn reported that final amendments to NJ’s legislation were submitted to Paint Care a week ago; she distributed copies to all attendees.

JoAnn asked Ed Waters, Director of Governmental Affairs for the NJ Chemistry Council, to provide an update on the PaintCare legislation.  He reported that both the Senate and Assembly versions of the bills were reintroduced in 2014 by Senator Beach as S.4120 and by Assemblywoman Spencer as A.1603.  Ed stated these bills were initially reintroduced without the changes contemplated and requested by the ANJHHWC, but Ed stated he would bring our proposed changes to the legislators and he would anticipate that they would amend the bills with the requested updated language in the form of committee amendments.  He didn’t expect our comments to encounter too much resistance with respect to being incorporated in final versions of the legislation.

While the bill was reintroduced, he stated trying to get these bills posted is their next effort. Ed requested ANJHHWC members work on endorsement letters regarding the legislation from both individual county members as well as one encompassing endorsement letter coming from the ANJHHWC.  Additionally, helping obtain co-sponsorship for the bills would be helpful.  Ed requested help from members in finding co-sponsors for these bills potentially by local legislators they are in contact with that serve on the appropriate committees. Ed felt this support in finding co-sponsors would help the paint legislation move along more quickly.  Ed read the list of legislators on the appropriate committees to see if anyone at ANJHHWC has any connections with any of the legislators as potential co-sponsors.

When asked about who may oppose the legislation, Ed stated he has no idea who would oppose it.  He mentioned potentially retailers may be against or neutral to the bill.  Short of that, Ed doesn’t expect too much resistance to its passing.  Ed’s group will try to line up other groups to support the bill.  Guy Watson, NJDEP, stated he envisions support from the state but without first seeing the language, he cannot say how exactly they will or will not support it.  Ed stated he would like state support directly from the Governor’s office that would make it the easiest for eventual adoption.  If passed in 2014, it will probably be another year until the program begins to get implemented.  JoAnn asked Ed to send an email to her as current ANJHHWC President asking the Association  to send a letter in support of the bill to both the Senate and Assembly.

Electronics

JoAnn mentioned she recently spoke to Steve Glenwick from Electronic Recyclers International (ERI) on the telephone (646-599-3322 Steve.Glenwick@electronicsrecyclers.com).   Steve claimed ERI to be one of the market share leaders with OEMs throughout USA and he is now reaching out to NJ to offer electronics recycling services.  ERI does not have a processing facility in NJ but have an E-waste consolidation center in Saddle Brook, NJ.  JoAnn was a bit wary that ERI would reach out to a county who currently is not experiencing an E-waste management issue, as opposed to those in dire need in South Jersey.  Steve assured her that ERI was also working to assist them and actually was meeting with Cape May on that day.

JoAnn opened the discussion up to others, including vendors.  John Matorano, Jr. with Magnum Recycling stated in the past, all Magnum’s seven county customers in South Jersey had their E-waste recycled with the support of ERI and their OEMs for whom they recycle E-waste on behalf of.  John stated that in the past Magnum received financial support from ERI, but ERI dropped their level of support for Magnum and/or offered him terms that didn’t make business sense for Magnum.  John claimed the new terms from ERI would result in a contract that was not economically sustainable from Magnum’s perspective.  John did state he was able to recycle the bulk of Magnum’s stockpile with ERI under the old onerous contract, but he is now trying to get back on board with ERI to work once again with Magnum under better terms.

Much of this discussion regarding OEM support of the E-waste recycling programs was covered in a meeting dedicated to E-waste last week sponsored by ANJR.  From that recent meeting as well as previous meetings where the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) presented its positions, many members were not pleased with the CEA response to issues and problems encountered in New Jersey.  JoAnn reiterated the inaccuracy of  the drop off site lists on both CEA’s and DEP’s websites.  The claim that there is more than 600 drop off sites is greatly exaggerated as there is duplication and misinformation.  Discussion ensued about the best way to maintain an accurate list.  Guy reported that 2014 plans are coming into the DEP now and he suggested that the DEP assemble the list based on all the manufacturer plans and then forward the proposed drop-off sites lists to the ANJHHWC for review.

The matter of the list being majorly wrong is just one of the issues with the program.  CEA claims the intent of the law was for the public and private sectors to form a partnership, but the law clearly states that it is the private sector that is responsible for implementing and paying for E-waste recycling in NJ.   JoAnn maintains the preamble of the law makes a reference to the public sector to encourage OEM’s to work in conjunction with the current infrastructure when they developed their plans.

On a broader issue, Guy stated he is really concerned with R2 and/or E-stewards and the facilities they certify.  Guy is concerned that TV/monitor glass will one day be disposed of in landfills because it can be acceptable as a management option in R2’s certification if there is no other viable recycling market for the glass.  Guy is concerned about R2 proposing the acceptance of the use of glass as alternate daily landfill cover, if the glass meets TCLP thresholds so it can be classified to be non-hazardous.  This type of approval been approved in Illinois and may be in contradiction to NJ law that prohibits the landfilling of E-waste.

New Types of Electronic Car Batteries

Reenee Casapulla of Sussex County brought in a new show and tell item, a new type of large lithium battery from a car or motorized vehicle which weighs over 11 pounds.  She expressed her concern that these new types of non-recyclable lithium batteries may become an issue for HHW events in the future.  John Matorano explained there are a variety of lithium batteries types and Call-2-Recycle only will accept lithium ion batteries which this is not.  John Tekin of Radiac Reseach stated this type of car battery is unacceptable in the Call-2-Recycle program but should be disposable with household hazardous waste.  These batteries probably have no recycling value but can be accepted and disposed of as hazardous waste in small quantities.  If anyone had a large quantity of these to dispose of, it make take some research to find the best means to dispose of them, but a few batteries here and there can be appropriately lab-packed for disposal during an HHW event.

HHW Vendor Update:

John from Magnum stated that Magnum has obtained support from a manufacturer and anticipates passing the vetting process from another manufacturer in the near future.  If that comes to fruition, John feels everything will get back to normal, or at least back to the place Magnum was in before September 2013.  He is back to  working with his southern counties and municipalities.  He closed by stating he appreciates those counties that have stood with Magnum through these trying times.  John feels a “Sustainable Contract” is what is needed to make the program sustainable.

John Tekin, Radiac Research, stated Radiac has executed several contract renewals with counties in NJ as well as performing a lot of work in Long Island.  He mentioned Radiac recently began a contract to operate the permanent facility at Monmouth County.  He stated challenging waste streams like the one brought up by Reenee keep popping up and make the work interesting.

Discussion began regarding the proposed PaintCare legislation.  People discussed how a new law may impact contracting and bidding by counties as they solicit HHW work that may or may not include a variety of services regarding paint management as part of their HHW contracts.

Greg Wade of Wade Disposal stated his company been focusing primarily on universal waste stream recycling based out of their Pennsylvania facility.  They are looking to develop a permanent site in Pennsylvania to also handle E-waste.  In New Jersey, Wade continues to manage large quantities of scrap metal.

County Updates:

There were no county updates.

Medicine Management 

To close the meeting, there was mention of the April 26, 2014 National Take Back Prescription Drug Day.  In addition, it was mentioned how there are now other options for full-time drop-off of prescription medicines available in all 21 counties.  It was also stated that we are surprised and yet glad we are that this expansion drop-off opportunities for medicines occurred.

Nomination Committee of ANJHHWC for Officers

Fred Stanger presented the ANJHHWC’s Nomination Committee’s recommendation regarding the slate of officers it is recommending for election.  Fred mentioned that the bylaws only allow board members to serve in their current capacity for 3 concurrent years.  Since JoAnn, Diana and Larry have served in their position as President, Vice President and Secretary respectively for the past three years, a change is required.  Fred also mentioned the bylaws allow for Treasurer to remain longer than three years so changing of address forwarding information doesn’t have to happen as often as the board members change.

The nominating committee nominated the following slate of officers for 2014: Daniel Napoleon for President, JoAnn Gemenden for Vice President, Diana Vigilante for Secretary and Chris Sikorski to remain as Treasurer.  Fred thanked the previous board for serving and expressed his appreciation on behalf of all members.  Fred next asked if there were any other nominations from the floor for consideration and there were none.  A motion was made to consider the election of the slate of officers as proposed by the nominating committee.  This motion was seconded and approved by all without objections. Daniel thanked everyone for their support and in his first official action, he asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting.  The motion was made and seconded and approved by all without objection.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 11:45.