PMA Code of Management Practice (CMP) implemented in 40 cities. (Processing news: a look at recent news for photo processors).

The Code of Management Practice (CMP), sponsored by Photo Marketing Association International, Jackson, Mich. (www.pmai.org), has been implemented in 40 cities across the United States since 1998, with the majority of cities adopting the program with assistance The Silver Council CMP Workshop

The rigorous educational workshop in silver management--2-hour sessions, three times per day, for a period of two to four days--includes speakers from the imaging and silver-recovery industry. Each speaker has completed the CMP training program, which stresses silver recovery is an "industry-wide effort."

The annual budget of $210,000, which doesn't include PMA and industry staff costs and expenses, is provided by The Silver Council, Harrison, N.Y., which is supported by PMA, film manufacturers, silver-recovery companies, and other trade associations. The seminars are provided cost-free to interested cities, at a savings of approximately $15,000 each.

For the past three years, PMA, along with staff from National Environmental Advisory Task Force (NEAT), have provided the majority of new city recruitment, which encompasses a 12-to-16 week planning process.

During the one-year period ending last October, eight cities participated in the program, with a total attendance of 2,056. Early in 2002, PMA, with development assistance from the Hampton Roads Sanitation District, Virginia Beach, Va., also introduced the CMP Implementation Kit, which contains all planning and presentation materials, along with examples of products developed for the workshops by The Silver Council.