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Newly Posted:

Carpet Recycling Infrastructure in the Northeast

Unwanted Medications: NERC posts two new case studies.

The State Electronics Challenge welcomes the Town of Windsor, Connecticut, as a new member. Windsor joins others who are demonstrating their commitment to sustainability and environmental improvements. See a full list of members and member benefits at the State Electronics Challenge Web site.

New York Recycling Markets Database Now On Line: Empire State Development (ESD), New York State’s lead economic development agency, has launched an on-line, searchable database of recycling markets. The database is available to the public on the ESD Web site without charge at www.empire.state.ny.us/recycle. The information in the New York Recycling Markets Database is collected by NERC.

Recycling Makes Sen$e: With U.S. Department of Agriculture funding, NERC is developing recycling toolkits for towns, businesses, and schools in nine Northeast states.

WasteWise

NERC Celebrates 20 Years
of Uniting the Ten Northeastern States
for Environmentally Sustainable
Materials Management

Most Recent Update: August 19, 2008

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

FOR NERC’S FALL ’08 CONFERENCE

OCTOBER 28 & 29

in Northampton, Massachusetts!

Plan on spending two days this fall discussing the latest recycling issues with other recycling professionals from the Northeast Region and beyond.

Recycling Economic Information Study Update
Industrial Sectors and Progress in Materials Diversion
Roundtable Discussion On States And Private Industry’s Recycling Initiatives
CFL Best Management Practices, Collection Programs, and Destination of Mercury
Changes in CRT Markets
Plastic Bag Recycling Initiatives

Check out the preliminary agenda, and register now on line.

Lodging: Rooms are available at the Hotel Northampton by calling (800) 547-3529. The discounted rates of $120 for a single and $130 for a double (plus all applicable taxes) are available on a first-come, first-served basis. When making your reservation, refer to NERC to ensure that you receive the discounted rates. Please note that reservations cannot be done online. Room reservations must be cancelled by noon one week prior to your arrival to avoid charges.

For more information about conference registration and lodging, email Mr. Moon Morgan or call 802 254-3636.

For more information about the Conference agenda or speakers, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Conference Organizer and Assistant Director.

NERC's Environmental Benefits Calculator: Quantifying the Benefits of Waste Reduction and Recycling

Most of us know that recycling, reuse, and source reduction decrease our reliance on landfills, incinerators, and waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities. We also know that recycling, reuse, and source reduction have other environmental benefits, such as avoided greenhouse gas emissions and resource savings. What we may not know, however, is how to calculate those benefits.

The NERC Environmental Benefits Calculator is an easy-to-use tool that generates estimates of environmental benefits of a study area (such as a town or business) based on the tons of materials source reduced, reused, recycled, composted, landfilled, or incinerated (including WTE). It incorporates EPA’s WARM Calculator, in addition to information from the U.S. Department of Energy, Steel Recycling Institute, Glass Packaging Institute, U.S. Climate Technology Cooperation Gateway, and other sources.

Tables and Charts generated by the Calculator include:

Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as a result of recycling.
Greenhouse gas savings comparisons.
Energy savings as a result of recycling.
Energy savings comparisons.
Selected natural resource savings.

The Calculator is available for free on the NERC Web site, and is usable by any U.S. state, region, county, town, institution, school, college, or business. It is a powerful and easy to use tool that can assist state and municipal employees and others in understanding the climate change impacts of source reduction, reuse, and recycling programs, support market development efforts, and planning for program expansions. And, the output tables are useful in outreach materials, press releases, presentation slides, educational curricula, reports, and articles.

For more information on the Environmental Benefits Calculator contact Athena Lee Bradley, NERC Projects Manager.

Manure Management Education Resources Posted

Resources developed for NERC’s Manure Management Project are now available for download from NERC’s Web site. These include:

Manure Management Handbook for Small and Hobby Farms
General Toolkit Resources
- Quick Reference Guide
- Sources and Additional Resources
- Manure Generation Calculator
- Post & Plank Structure for Manure Storage
- Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan
- Nutrient Management–SIMPLIFIED!
- Composting for Small Livestock Operations
- Composting Design Guide for Small Farms
Toolkit Resources Specific for New Jersey
- New Jersey Livestock Farmer Survey: Is my farm environmentally friendly?
- Watershed Map of Salem County, New Jersey
Toolkit Resources Specific for New Hampshire
- Best Management Practices for New Hampshire Agriculture
- Good Neighbor Guide for Horse-Keeping: Manure Management
- Guidelines & Best Management Practices for Horse-Keeping
- New Hampshire Certified Organic Directory 2008

The Manure Management Education Project assists small and hobby farmers to understand and adopt best management practices for handling and using manure. The project is funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Solid Waste Management Grant.

For more information contact Athena Lee Bradley, NERC Projects Manager. Copies of the "Manure Management Handbook for Small and Hobby Farms," specifically develped for New Jersey and New Hampshire, are available on request.