Formation 1962 Headquarters Washington, D.C. | Type Trade association Region served United States | |
Motto Collect. Recycle. Innovate. Purpose Advocacy, representation and service to private waste and recycling companies in the United States as well as the firms that service those companies. | ||
The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association that represents private waste and recycling companies, as well as manufacturers and distributors of equipment that processes the material, and service providers who serve those businesses.
It has chapters in about 30 states and New York City led by its company members to lobby on state and local legislative and regulatory issues, which range from road safety rules to recycling regulation. It also lobbies the U.S. government, mainly in the areas of landfill regulation, rules regarding truck drivers, and taxes.
Founded in 1962, the current organization is the result of a merger of Environmental Industry Associations and its sub-associations, the National Solid Wastes Management Association and the Waste Equipment Technology Association that occurred in November 2013.
The NWRA includes interest groups that focus on landfills, recycling, and healthcare waste businesses as well as groups for younger members and women. It offers its members certification, professional development, statistical research, discounts on business services, and communications support.
Slow Down to Get Around
The “Slow Down to Get Around” program encourages motorists to drive safely and slowly around the trucks collecting the trash and recycling from bins. (Many deaths and injuries of waste collectors occur when the workers are struck by drivers speeding around their vehicles.) NWRA adopted the program and partnered with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to create a public service announcement video. To augment this, the association lobbies individual states to pass legislation that creates a speed limit around collection vehicle or mandates that motorists move over one lane as they pass them. Such laws now exist in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.