When Governor Chiles and Lieutenant Governor Mackay asked me to head up a special initiative for them in 1991 on solid waste disposal and recycling, I think they felt the solution would revolve around mandated content of recoverable waste. That kind of government mandate had been the typical solution in the past, and I had no contrary thoughts taking the assignment. But, I spent about 6 months talking to the land fill operators, manufacturers, and environmentalists and discovered there was demand for both the supply of recoverable waste and the products to made from it. From that research, I put together what became known as the “Florida Recycling Business Ventures” Program that was featured in the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and about 25 industry publications. It is now known in the industry as “Closed Loop Recycling.”
