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Major Opportunities Exist for Recycling Plastics Used in Infrastructure
In the U.S., most plastics waste is disposed in landfills, but a significant amount also ends up as litter on land, rivers, and oceans. Today, less than 10 percent of plastics waste is recycled in the U.S. annually. The use of recycled plastics in infrastructure applications has potential to help expand the market and demand for plastics recycling.
These are among the findings in Recycled Plastics in Infrastructure: Current Practices, Understanding, and Opportunities (Special Report 347), a report released this morning by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The report emphasizes that pursuing the recycling of plastics in infrastructure depends on goals, policy, and economics. To that end, life cycle economic and environmental assessments should be conducted to inform policies on plastics waste reuse.
National Academies press release: U.S. Should Expand and Standardize Plastics Collection and Recycling, Study Potential Uses in Infrastructure, Says New Report
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Nominate Outstanding Leadership for TRB's 2024 Sharon Banks Award
Have you worked with a transportation leader who makes a significant difference to those who use, deliver, or support transportation services? Nominate a colleague, mentor, or other leader by July 31.
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Submit TRB Annual Meeting Papers Early
Don't wait until the last minute to submit your PDF! TRB's Help Desk will not be open the weekend preceding the submission deadline, which is August 1. Find the answers to your questions about submitting online today.
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Become a Patron
Ensure that your organization is prominently associated with the TRB Annual Meeting and recognized by leaders and professionals in government, industry, and academia who are looking for innovative solutions to their pressing needs. To review Patron benefits and pricing, visit Annual Meeting Promotional Opportunities or email Russell Houston.
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Share Your Public Engagement Success Story
TRB's Standing Technical Committee on Public Engagement and Communications is holding its 17th Annual Communicating Concepts with the Public Competition. Help acknowledge best practices in successfully communicating new and emerging transportation technologies in everyday, easily understandable, non-technical terms. Submit your entry by July 24!
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Increasing Transportation Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
TRB Executive Director Victoria Sheehan (right) and April Rai (center), President and Chief Executive Officer of COMTO, signed a continuing MOU between the two organizations at the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials' recent annual meeting. This partnership aims to ensure an equitable and diverse transportation industry for all.
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Register Now for Upcoming Volpe Center Series
The Volpe Center at the U.S. Department of Transportation has launched its Project Delivery Center of Excellence. The series is designed for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) project sponsors and other members of the transportation enterprise working hard to help deliver infrastructure projects. The series will provide perspectives from experts on best practices for project delivery and successful projects that make the transportation system safer, usher in a new era of clean energy and sustainable transportation, promote equity, connect communities, create good-paying jobs, and boost American manufacturing.
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| New TRB/Academies Publications |
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Electric Vehicles are Charging Ahead, and So are Stations
Electric Vehicle Charging: Strategies and Programs (NCHRP Synthesis 605). Among the report's findings from surveying 42 state departments of transportation, in mid-year 2022: 22 have installed or contracted to install EV charging stations; 14 have plans to deploy EV charging infrastructure; and the top locations for deployment are DOT-owned buildings, parking areas, and public-facing facilities.
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TAMorrow's Presentations Available Today
Panelists at TRB's National Conference on Transportation Asset Management (TAM) had fun with the abbreviation used commonly in their field. They also shared valuable resources on implementation, collaboration, evaluation, resilience, and more. Presentations are now openly available. Take a look, start advancing your asset management practices, and become a friend of TRB's Standing Technical Committee on Transportation Asset Management to get more involved.
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Funding Opportunity: Workforce Development for the Energy Transition
Skilled technical workers will be critical to deploying clean energy technologies and the time to start developing the workforce is now. A National Academies funding opportunity seeks to provide citizens of the Gulf of Mexico region with prepared, skilled leaders and professionals for the future energy workforce. Submit a proposal for a sustainable, data-driven, industry-engaged project that will provide education and training opportunities to students ages 16-25 and those ready to enter this crucial field. Request a minimum of $75,000 for up to two years by August 2.
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University Design Competition Winners
TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) will honor the winners of its annual University Design Competition for Addressing Airport Needs at an in-person (RSVP required) and online event. Join us on August 8 from 1 - 3 PM EST. Four first-place winners represent the four technical challenge areas: Airport Environmental Interactions; Airport Operation and Maintenance; Runway Safety/Runway Incursions/ Runway Excursions Including Aprons, Ramps, and Taxiways; and Airport Management and Planning.
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Investigate a TCRP Synthesis Project
Express your interest in working with TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program! Submit your Letter of Interest by August 28 to be considered for a paid role as a principal investigator on synthesis projects with topics including tinted bus lanes, off-peak ridership, microtransit, and substance abuse on transit.
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Automated vehicles were all the rage this past week, spurred along by TRB's Automated Road Transportation Symposium, held July 9-13 in California. Among the media coverage of the event was U.S. News & World Report's article on the AV policy angle and quoting Ann Carlson (pictured), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s acting administrator and a TRB Volunteer.
AARP reports that "wheelchair users are rejoicing as Delta Air Lines recently unveiled a new prototype for an in-flight docking system that would allow passengers to bring mechanized wheelchairs on airplanes and remain seated in them for the duration of a flight," citing TRB's 2021 consensus report.
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