Kevin McCarthy shares three different perspectives on the recycling game . . . all his own

Jul 01, 2010 | 04:58 AM | Paul Schaffer

Kevin McCarthy's varied background in recycling gives him an interesting outlook on where the industry is heading.

McCarthy first appeared on AMM's radar in 2003, when he was director of electronics recycling at Recycle America, a unit of trash giant Waste Management Inc. McCarthy's earlier Waste Management work had included four years running a California transfer station, expanding its recycling, and a stint as regional manager for a network of material recovery facilities. Now he's executive director of the South Bayside Waste Management Authority near San Francisco, with projects including a $46-million processing and transfer facility and franchised home pickup of hazardous items and defunct electronics.

With an assortment of vantage points dating back to 1989, how does the 45-year-old McCarthy assess the state of play?

Upside Technology gains, with equipment increasingly able to pull scrap from the municipal waste stream. Downside He's a skeptic on the "producer responsibility" path to electronics recycling, believing that the frequent bypassing of local scrap processors associated with the approach leads to unnecessary costs.....