NRC/KAB merger not approved by members
Board votes to file bankruptcy

The board of directors of the National Recycling Coalition, Inc. (NRC) announced that the membership vote on the proposed combination of NRC and Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB) has fallen short of the two-thirds majority required to approve the proposal.

Forty-six percent of NRC’s membership voted on the combined proposal, with 57 percent voting in favor.

The board had asked the NRC members to support a proposal to combine NRC with KAB as a means to continue the recycling mission of the NRC. The boards of KAB and NRC had voted in favor of the proposal on June 2 and June 5, respectively, but the NRC could not proceed without the approval of two thirds of the member votes cast, as required by the governing law in New York State where NRC is incorporated.

“Although the KAB proposal received the support of a significant majority of our members – 57 percent – it did not receive the necessary two-thirds majority in order for the NRC board to proceed with implementing the proposal,” stated Melinda Uerling, president of the NRC board. “We recognized from the beginning that the two-thirds majority was a steep hill, and the results reflect that.”

In the absence of the KAB combination, the NRC board of directors of the voted that it will expeditiously file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

“The decision was a very difficult and troubling one, but in the end, as a matter of our fiduciary responsibility, the board was left with very few options given the organization’s cash position. Our hope – however distant right now – is that a stronger organization, with broad representation, may emerge from within our community,” said Melinda Uerling, NRC board president.

In light of NRC’s financial circumstances, it will cease operations and terminate all staff effective close of business September 4, 2009.