COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
The committee listed some of its priorities in 2010:
*Reaching out to environmental reporters-Video News Releases ( VNR's ).
*Distribution of Scrap Magazine to legislators through personal visits.
*The importance of stressing that "we are green".
Our tag line needs to include that we provide jobs and are environmental stewards.
*Getting ISRI involved in electronic media outlets.
CONVENTION COMMITTEE
There will be a "cyber café" at this year's ISRI National Convention in San Diego. All were encouraged to register early in order to take advantage of the early bird registration discount fee. They also announced that PSI will be an active participant at the conference by holding its Spring Meeting in conjunction with the ISRI National Convention. Future ISRI Conventions will be held in Los Angeles ( 2011 ), Las Vegas ( 2012 ) and Orlando ( 2013 ).
FINANCE COMMITTEE
ISRI will finish the year with a surplus which will be used to cover the anticipated deficit in 2010. There will be no salary increases in 2010 for ISRI staff members. The reserve fund is almost back up to the pre September 2008 level. Nice job by the Finance Committee Chair.
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
Climate change is a hot topic on Capitol Hill and ISRI will be preparing a response to the various legislative efforts. They may include our Life Cycle Analysis ( LCA ) which depicts the savings by using recycled materials and reducing our carbon footprint.
There was also discussion of an
up coming jobs bill with the ability to assist the recycling industry. ISRI will be providing comments and would appreciate thoughts from the membership.
Legislation to extend the Black Liquor Credit was discussed. There will be problems with it due to the requirement to generate "off setting funds" by congress. This will be positive for those of us in recycling.
The committee emphasized that Stormwater & Groundwater contamination would be a big issue. OSHA is presently looking at construction sites for violations. The message was that OSHA is coming and beware!!
Finally, there was discussion relative to forming a "State Government Relations Council". This might be needed since there appear to be many overlapping issues for the various states.
MATERIALS THEFT
Local plant operations need to reach out to local authorities before something happens rather than afterwards. This has been most helpful in crime prevention. More and more police agencies are aware of ISRI's Theft Alert System and it is providing our industry with greater creditability.
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
The goal for 2010 will be 150 new members plus a retention rate of 78%. ISRI ended the year with a solid Membership base of 1,574. The Chapters should be making calls to ensure that we meet our objectives. The ISRI Membership Director is now sending out a Monthly Benefit Sheet touting the advantages of ISRI Membership.
PAPER DIVISION
The main focus of this meeting was to generate ideas for registration and programming as they pertain to the forthcoming ISRI National Convention in San Diego. We looked at incentives ( a lower registration rate for those who had not attended in the past two years ) to entice greater participation from PSI Members. In addition, specific Program Tracks were discussed to appeal to a PAPER audience.
Joel Litman, PSI VP, will be nominated to serve as the Paper Division chair for the upcoming year.
OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
There was discussion on the fact that the recycling industry has no better safety record than the waste industry and that few members are taking advantage of ISRI's free safety programs. For absolutely no cost ISRI will send one of their experts to your facility to make recommendations on what you can do to better your safety record. We encourage all PSI members with plant operations to take advantage of these programs.
Also discussed was the new AQSIQ regulations that any new registrant needs to be either ISO or RIOS (Isri's program) certified. Any company, whether it be processor, consumer or broker may become RIOS certified and information on the program can be found on the ISRI website.
This year PSI is proud to offer four $2000 college scholarships. This is an excellent opportunity to help your employees with tuition so please encourage your workforce to participate. Over the years our chapter has helped more than 50 students from our PSI member families. 
