Robert J. Bylone, Jr., is the Executive Director for the Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center (RMC), located at the Penn State Harrisburg Campus. Most recently, Bob was the Recycling Program Manager for the RMC. Immediately prior to joining the RMC, Bob was employed in the Environmental Training Center at Penn State Harrisburg.
Bob also gained experience in county government, industry, and consulting, serving briefly as the Schuylkill County Recycling/Environmental Coordinator, Copperhead Chemical Company, as a project/environmental, health, and safety engineer, and at Junkins Engineering as a project engineer. Bob has industrial environmental experience in 18 different states and over 20 types of industry.
Bob holds Masters and Bachelors degrees in Environmental Engineering from Penn State and is registered as a US Green Building Council LEED Accredited Professional, an ISO 14000 Environmental Management Systems Provisional Auditor, and as a Senior Level Certified Recycling Professional through the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP). Bob holds PROP subclass certification in collection systems, materials processing, organics management, markets development, and management. Bob’s professional specialty is sustainable engineering as it relates to manufacturing process optimization.
Bob’s personal interests include spending time with his wife Diane tailgating and attending Penn State Football Games; dog training and competition, specifically with weimaraners; and tending to a 110 acre family farm. Bob resides in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, a northeastern rural County at the southern end of the historic anthracite coal fields of the state.
He is responsible for oversight, development, and management of programs to enhance the knowledge and skills of those whose business or profession supports the processing of recycled commodities, as well as manufacturing, use, and marketability of recycled content products in Pennsylvania. Tim engages many RMC partner organizations to develop occupational and technical programming. He also assists manufacturers, processors and formulators to begin or increase use of recycled content materials in existing products.
Tim served for 18 years as Recycling Manager with the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority (LCSWMA); an Authority often recognized by the industry as one of the top solid waste management programs in the United States. In this capacity, Tim provided supply-side oversight of 42 different recycling collection programs. His recycling background includes the development of a commercial recycling manual, waste auditing, and presentation of commercial recycling workshops throughout Pennsylvania. While at LCSWMA, Tim coordinated demand-side markets development opportunities through establishment of a fiber collection effort for Armstrong World Industries and leaf waste collection for organics management.
Tim has a Bachelor of Science in Forest Science from The Pennsylvania State University and is recognized as a Senior Certified Recycling Professional in Pennsylvania, of which only 30 exist at this level state-wide. Tim also holds specialization certifications in composting, recycling education, collection systems, processing, and management. Tim served on the Board of Directors of the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) from 1994-2000, is a past-President of the organization, and has been active with several of PROP’s state-wide committees. Recently, Tim served as part of a US delegation to Germany and Austria to examine demand-side European composting practices and markets for incorporation into Pennsylvania composting operations.
Tim enjoys outdoor activities including camping and gardening. He and his wife are the parents of two daughters, built their log home, and are active in their church.
Jack Himes is a Senior Recycling Technical Specialist with the Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center (RMC) located on the Penn State Harrisburg campus in Middletown. The RMC is funded, in part, by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and has the mission of encouraging the continued growth and economic health of the Commonwealth's recycling and reuse industry. Jack will provide outreach and technical assistance to companies, materials brokers, materials processors and entrepreneurs to increase the use of recyclable materials in Pennsylvania.
Jack is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He has over twenty years experience in industry as a Product Engineer, Supervisor, and Manager at AMP/Tyco Electronics where he was granted eight patents for product design. He has also worked extensively in new product development and product management including a two year assignment in Europe. Jack has eight years experience teaching at the high school, community college and university level.
Before joining the RMC, Jack was a Technical Specialist with PennTAP. Previous to that, he was a Sanitary Engineer at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in Harrisburg. His educational background includes a master of environmental pollution control (MEPC) degree and a MS in physics, both from Penn State. Jack is a Certified Recycling Professional through the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) organization with a Subclass Specialization in Composting. Jack also serves on the PROP Universal Waste Committee. His hobbies include reading and amateur radio. He holds an extra class amateur radio license issued by the FCC.
Melanie is a Certified Recycling Professional through the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) and continues to attend classes to enhance her knowledge of recycling. She also provides administrative support to the RMC staff, coordinates RMC Board meetings, assists in planning and implementation of RMC colloquiums, forums and other events which provide valuable information to RMC constituents.
Immediately prior to joining the RMC, Melanie was employed by the Children’s Miracle Network at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Melanie brings 5 years non-profit experience to the RMC. In addition, Melanie has been employed by Penn State University for 18 years.
Melanie’s personal interests include spending time with her husband Jason and two stepdaughters. As a family they enjoy mountain bike riding, soccer, attending Penn State football games and taking their English Springer Spaniel for walks.
Pete Previte is the Recycling Markets Development Manager for the Recycling Markets Center (RMC) and is based at the Steel Recycling Institute in Pittsburgh. He works to expand existing markets and create new markets for recyclable materials and also market the RMC, its programs, services, and activities. He provides website development, policy advocacy and product testing. He also provides technical assistance and technology transfer to help resolve specific technical questions or needs of recycling related businesses. The RMC’s mission statement is to expand and develop more secure and robust markets for recycled materials by helping to overcome market barriers and inefficiencies.
Pete has over 20 years of experience working for the Allegheny County Health Department. He served as the Allegheny County Recycling Coordinator for eight years. His major duties included assisting the County’s mandated municipalities with their recycling programs, development of special recycling programs, maintenance of the County’s Solid Waste Management Plan, and the administration of recycling grants.
Pete is a member of the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) Board of Directors and currently serves on the Markets Subcommittee. He is a Certified Recycling Professional with specialization in collection systems and composting. He has a B.S. in Agriculture from West Virginia University and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh.