Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp
The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is the state environmental agency dedicated to providing the public with environmentally sound programs and facilities to manage solid waste. The agency funds and manages the state’s recycling program, and owns and operates a landfill and a materials recycling facility. Created by the General Assembly in 1974 as the Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Corporation, they changed their name in August, 1996. Although not a department of the state government, RIRRC is a public corporation and a component of the State of Rhode Island for financial reporting purposes. To be financially self-sufficient, the agency earns revenue through the sale of recyclable products, methane gas royalties and fees for its services.
The Corporation’s primary objectives are to promote systems for reducing waste generation, divert recyclable waste from disposal, and provide cost-effective disposal for the state. The Corporation operates the Central Landfill, located on 1,100 acres on Shun Pike in western Johnston. The landfill provides disposal service to about 96% of the state’s residents, disposing of more than one million tons of municipal and commercial solid waste annually. The material recycling facility, known as MRF, is the largest of its kind in the Northeast and one of the first automated in the US. While the MRF processes approximately 80,000 tons of recyclables annually, it has the capacity to process 144,000. The MRF process co-mingles recyclables from Rhode Islanders and separates them for sale to brokers, manufacturers or other markets.
Service Focus
Large and small business support includes company free waste audits and developing recycling programs for both paper and mixed recyclables. Both services will ultimately help businesses keep their waste disposal costs to a minimum, while at the same time, increase material to be recycled, both in office and mixed recyclables, including bottles and cans.
Contact
Paul A. Caccia, Waste Prevention Coordinator
Address
65 Shun Pike, Johnston, RI 02919
Telephone
(401) 942-1430 x115
Fax
(401) 946-5174
Email
paulc@recycleri.org
Internet
http://www.rirrc.org