Will They or Won't They?

This month, National Recycling Coalition (NRC) members vote on a proposed merger with Keep America Beautiful (KAB). The vote is not without controversy, as leaders have urged the organization's members to reject the merger.

The opposition group, operating under the name “Save the NRC,” believes that the two organizations are not fundamentally compatible and is concerned about what it describes as KAB's “lack of a legislative and administrative track record to improve recycling.” The group's arguments are laid out on its Web site, www.savethenrc.org.

“This proposed takeover will eliminate NRC as an independent voice for recycling, giving recyclers just a limited advisory role in an organization that has historically failed to support the structural changes that are essential if progressive recycling policies are to be adopted in this country,” said Clifford Case, a former NRC president and the spokesperson for Save the NRC, in a press release. “At a time when concerns over energy and climate change are at last driving national efforts to conserve resources and reduce our carbon footprint, this is precisely the wrong way to go.”

NRC began exploring a merger with KAB shortly after canceling its 2009 Annual Congress & Expo due to low attendance. According to Save the NRC, one alternative to the proposed merger is that NRC could file for Chapter 11 and reorganize its debts.

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