Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • June 25, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 15 Movers & Shakers Bill Brand, former president of HSN, has been appointed to the board of directors of Rocky Hill-based Clarus Commerce. Brand brings more than 30 years of experience in commerce, media and technology to the loyalty company and sits on the board for the National Retail Federation Foundation. As president of HSN, Brand leveraged his experience and knowledge to develop initiatives that led to significant brand and business growth. Ross Davis has been named Connecticut state director for Caregiver Homes, which provides intensive, in-home care. Davis brings more than 20 years of experience working in health care. He most recently served as area director for Caregiver Homes of Massachusetts, which supports more than 1,500 families in the western and northern regions of the state. Erik T. Lohr has been named head of the Employment Rights Department at the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General. Lohr succeeds former Assistant Attorney General Ann Lynch, who was recently confirmed as a Connecticut Superior Court judge. Lohr will oversee all matters before the Employment Rights Department, which defends state agencies and state officials in employment-related litigation and administrative complaints. Lohr joined the AG's Child Protection Department in 2008, and transitioned to the Employment Rights Department in 2011. He was previously a litigation associate with Tyler Cooper & Alcorn. Beverly Elliott has been appointed vice president of engineering for Comcast's western New England region, which is headquartered in Berlin. Elliott oversees Comcast's network operations, including construction, product engineering and overall system integrity, as well as the reliability and resiliency of Comcast's converged, fiber- optic network. Recently, Elliott was responsible for the rollout of Comcast's new 1-gigabit internet service. Elliott has more than 20 years of industry experience and has held a number of roles in engineering, project management and marketing at Comcast since she joined the company in 2005. Prior to her new role, she served as vice president of the region's project management office. Sean Millane has been appointed retail banking officer and branch manager of Westfield Bank's Enfield office; Anne Faunce, assistant vice president and branch manager at the bank's Granby office, will relocate to the bank's main office in Westfield, Mass.; and Anthony Roda, retail banking officer and branch manager will relocate from the bank's Enfield office to the Granby office. Amy E. Allen, certified senior professional in human resources, has been elected partner at West Hartford business advisory firm BlumShapiro. As a partner, Allen will lead its human- resource consulting services. Allen brings best practices in the areas of recruiting, benefits, compensation, organizational development, performance management, employee relations, policy development and compliance, HRIS, retention strategies, success planning, project management and executive coaching. Allen has held human resources executive roles at Suffolk Construction, The Boston Globe, Staples and other large national organizations before launching her own consulting firm. Josh Livingston recently joined the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Simsbury office, where he brings years of experience working with buyers and sellers, and specializes in educating clients that are new to real estate investing. Robert Newton has been appointed manager of civil engineering in the Connecticut office of BSC Group, a consulting firm providing planning, design and environmental services to the transportation, energy and land development markets. Newton has extensive experience managing an array of project types, from municipal roadway reconstruction to site planning and design for improvements at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino. Beverly Elliott Josh Livingston Robert Newton Ross Davis Sean Millane Anne Faunce Anthony Roda of its waste through recycling and other methods by 2024, up from around 35 percent today. The more junk residents throw in their bins, the harder the recyclables will be to sell, and the more likely service costs will increase. "It could be about life or death for some of our recyclers in the state," Sawyer said of the need for residents to improve their single-stream behavior. DEEP also continues to push for more "extended producer responsi- bility" (EPR) programs, which shift more of the cost burden and recy- cling duties onto manufacturers, and often, consumers. While Connecticut has such programs for items like mattresses, electronics and paint, there are none for mandated recyclables that are problematic to the recycling indus- try, such as glass, or more recently, paper. Lawmakers would have to ap- prove new EPR mandates, which face staunch opposition from industry. DEEP also notes that it recently began working with the Closed Loop Fund, formed by a group of consum- er-goods giants like 3M, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive and Johnson & Johnson, to finance investments in technology that would reduce recy- cling contamination and improve the desirability of Connecticut bales. The fund hopes to invest $5 million in Connecticut this year, DEEP an- nounced in March. "Right now, you're lucky if you're not paying to get rid of it," he said. When Gaffey spoke with HBJ in mid-June, there were nearly 700 bales of paper and other materials in his facility awaiting buyers, about double the typical amount. A few weeks prior, the backlog had accu- mulated to around 1,800 bales before MIRA was able to sell them off. "It's getting tight," Gaffey said. "I've never seen it this full in 30 years." He calls China's new rules a game- changer for the industry. Though some hope China might reverse or walk back the policy, Gaffey has a more pessimistic view. "I don't think the impact from China is going to go away anytime soon," he said. "I think it may be forc- ing a new norm that we're going to have to deal with." Lately, MIRA has been selling more of its bales to brokers from India, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. And for now, it's largely protected from financial downside by its contract with plant operator Republic Services, which bears the cost of paying to get rid of bales and also provides revenue- guarantee payments and other favor- able terms to MIRA. Gaffey said such contract terms are unique, and he's worried that once the deal expires in 2021 future offers won't be as generous. "There's no doubt that we won't see a contract like this again, I don't believe," he said. In fact, Arizona-based Republic is asking MIRA to reopen its current contract because of losses it's suffering from plummeting commodity prices. Republic spokesman Russ Knocke said the company is committed to re- cycling, but that changes are needed. "In Hartford, like in many commu- nities across the country, recycling has reached a crisis point," he said. "In some communities, contamination levels are now putting the future of local recycling programs at risk." As of June 2017, MIRA had long- term contracts for both waste and recycling with approximately 40 municipalities. Its waste contracts include a per-ton "tipping fee" haulers (and ultimately, their customers) must pay, but so far, MIRA has not charged a fee for accepting recyclables. Gaffey said that's changing in the private market and may change at the government-subsidized MIRA, depending on its financial picture. "All the other [material recovery facilities] are charging for recycling," he said. Indeed, at the Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority, which contracts with a recycling company on behalf of its 11 member towns in Fairfield and Litchfield counties, recycling tipping fees have been creeping up, Executive Director Jennifer Heaton-Jones said. Four years ago, HRRA members were charged $10 per ton for their recyclables. That rose to $25 a ton two years ago. It jumped to $40 earlier this year. HRRA has also seen declining rebate payments from its recycling contractor, Winters Brothers. Heaton-Jones said the recent movement in fees and rebates is due to China's policies. "Yes, absolutely," she said. "It's just that ripple effect of the restrictions." The long view Some in Connecticut are trying to take a more measured view of China's import policy shift. Among them is Tom DeVivo, owner of Willimantic Waste, which processes recyclables in Windham. DeVivo said the private family busi- ness has chosen not to stockpile recy- clables, even if it's meant paying to have them moved, rather than selling them. "We keep it moving. We want fresh and clean inventory," he said. Falling prices hurt, but DeVivo said Willimantic Waste has tried to diversify by doing more waste collection, renting dumpsters and selling more scrap iron. He recalls a time in the early 1980s, back when his father ran the busi- ness, that paper prices plummeted and bales stacked up because they couldn't move them. "My father had paper everywhere," DeVivo said. "This is just a storm that we're facing for my generation. Good times don't last forever but neither do the bad times."

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