Recycling group protests Indiana incinerator bill

The Indiana Recycling Coalition (IRC), comprised of Indiana businesses and state and national recycling organizations, has announced its opposition to Indiana Senate bill 154, which would offer state funding to businesses using incinerators to generate energy. In a press release, IRC members expressed concern that such a plan would siphon off grant money that would otherwise go to community-based recycling programs.

“What happens in Indiana could adversely affect every state in the nation,” said Melissa Kriegerfox, president of the IRC and recycling director of the Monroe County Solid Waste District.

“Of the dozens of states with comprehensive solid waste management laws, no state statute defines the burning of waste for energy as recycling,” said Kate Krebs, executive director of the National Recycling Coalition in Washington, D.C., which is part of the coalition. “Burning waste is a less economically and environmentally desirable disposal option that actually threatens the growth of recycling in Indiana.”