Carolina Recycling Association

What Carolina Recycling Association does

Carolina Recycling Association (CRA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization founded in 1989 and headquartered in the Carolinas region, focused exclusively on advancing waste reduction and recycling across North and South Carolina. The organization serves recycling professionals, municipalities, businesses, colleges and universities, healthcare facilities, and community volunteers through a portfolio of member services rather than a unified technology product. Core programs include the Annual Conference and Trade Show (running continuously for 36+ years, with the 37th scheduled for March 2027 in Wilmington, NC), the Lunch, Learn & Network educational series, a podcast, the Amy Preble Tuition Scholarship program, legislative advocacy days at the NC and SC state capitals, and five specialized industry councils (Business and Industry Recycling, Collegiate Recyclers, Healthcare Sustainability, Household Hazardous Waste, and Keep Carolinas Beautiful).

The underlying "technology" stack is conventional association infrastructure: a WordPress-based website (cra-recycle.org), a MemberClicks member login portal, an aggregated RSS news feed pulling from trade publications (Recycling Today, Resource Recycling, E-Scrap News, Plastics Recycling Update), email newsletter distribution, and organic social presence on Twitter and Facebook. The firmographics metadata describes CRA as providing "environmental software solutions," but the available products, services, API details, and integration records contain no software platform; CRA operates as a content, events, and advocacy organization.

The business model is nonprofit membership-based. CRA derives support from tiered membership dues, donations (accepted via PayPal), event sponsorships (including a dedicated 2026 Sponsors program), and conference registration fees from the annual trade show. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and the organization does not sell a SaaS product, license technology, or generate transactional revenue. The customer base comprises individuals and organizations across the Carolinas recycling value chain, segmented vertically rather than by enterprise size, with no parent company, no funding rounds, and no disclosed financials in the source material.

Name

Carolina Recycling Association

Legal name

Carolina Recycling Association

Website

https://cra-recycle.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Carolina Recycling Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit trade association founded in 1989 that serves recycling professionals, municipalities, businesses, and colleges across North and South Carolina through annual conferences, educational programming, scholarships, and legislative advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recycling Industry Association Services

NAICS

Materials Recovery Facilities (562920)

akta.pro primary industry

On-site Recycling Programs (Single-Stream, Source-Separated) (BPABALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Construction & Demolition (C&D) Debris Recycling (IMAIAFAG)

Keywords

• Recycling industry association
• Waste reduction services
• Nonprofit trade association
• Recycling education programs
• Recycling advocacy events

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Carolina Recycling Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit trade association that sells paid memberships and event registrations to recycling industry professionals, businesses, municipalities, collegiate institutions, and healthcare facilities across North and South Carolina. Its core deliverables are the Annual Conference and Trade Show, tiered CRA Membership, the Lunch, Learn & Network educational series, industry councils, the CRA Podcast, scholarship programs, legislative advocacy days, and a Membership Directory.

Product overview

Carolina Recycling Association (CRA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization that serves as an industry association advancing waste reduction in North and South Carolina since 1989. CRA does not offer a unified technology product or platform; instead, it provides a portfolio of member services including annual conferences and trade shows, the Lunch Learn & Network educational series, a podcast, scholarship programs, legislative advocacy events, and industry councils covering areas such as healthcare sustainability, household hazardous waste, and collegiate recycling. Members also access a membership directory and an aggregated RSS news feed covering recycling industry news.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Northeast Recycling Council (NERC): Regional council promoting recycling across the northeastern U.S. states. Highly comparable to CRA as a multi-state regional recycling council structure delivering member services, events, and policy work.
• National Recycling Coalition: National nonprofit advancing recycling through education, advocacy, and convening. Comparable to CRA as a recycling-focused membership organization with similar education and advocacy programming.
• Keep America Beautiful: National nonprofit focused on litter prevention, recycling, and beautification with a network of state and local affiliates. Directly comparable to CRA's "Keep Carolinas Beautiful" council and overall member-driven recycling and community education model.
• The Recycling Partnership: National nonprofit that advances recycling through funding, education, and infrastructure programs for municipalities and companies. Directly comparable to CRA as a mission-driven recycling nonprofit delivering programs and convening stakeholders.
• Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA): Professional association for the solid waste and recycling industry, providing education, training, and advocacy. Closely comparable to CRA as a membership association delivering conferences, education, and policy engagement for the recycling industry.
• Keep North Carolina Beautiful: State-level affiliate of Keep America Beautiful focused on litter prevention and community beautification in NC. Directly comparable to CRA's "Keep Carolinas Beautiful" council and overlapping membership with the Carolinas recycling community.

Broad incumbents

• Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI): Larger national trade association representing the scrap recycling industry with advocacy, conventions, and member services. Comparable in model to CRA but operates at significantly broader scale and across all commodity types.

Emerging players

• Closed Loop Partners: Investment and innovation group advancing the circular economy across recycling and packaging. Comparable to CRA in advancing recycling infrastructure and stakeholder collaboration, but with a capital-deployment angle rather than pure association model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cra_recycle
• Facebookfacebook.com/CRCrecycles
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carolina-recycling-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carolina Recycling Association