NERC received an EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) grant to conduct a pilot project to develop a web-based network of eight Exchanges — the Reuse Marketplace. This one site allows browsers to easily search the available listings of the participant Exchanges. NERC partnered with iWasteNot Systems for the technical components of this project. 

The project included:

• Identifying the eight participant Exchanges.
• Developing individual websites for the participant Exchanges using the same platform.
• Networking the Exchange sites to the Reuse Marketplace website.
• Launching and beta testing the Reuse Marketplace website.
• Developing a strategic plan for national implementation of the network.

The project term ended in September 2010.

Partners:  iWasteNot Systems, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, Delaware Solid Waste Authority, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New York State Department of Environmental Conservtion, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.

The key NERC staff for this project was Mary Ann Remolador. For more information about NERC's current projects, contact Mariane Medeiros, Senior Project Manager.

This three-year project, funded by an EPA New England Resource Conservation Challenge Grant, piloted food waste composting at special events. Five pilots were conducted: SolarFest in Vermont, Sysco Food Show events in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Taste of Cambridge in Massachusetts, and a pilot event with Sodexo Food Services, which runs the concessions and catering for Rentschler Field in Hartford, Connecticut. For three of the pilots, materials diverted included pre- and post-consumer food, as well as compostable flatware, plates, packaging, and napkins. At the Sysco food shows only pre-consumer food waste and soiled paper was diverted.

This unique undertaking involved the participation of NERC staff, state representatives, special event organizers, haulers, and compost processors.



The results of the pilots were analyzed and documented in a Guidance Document, a unique technical resource for special event planners to implement food waste diversion programs. Food Waste Management Plan Template (a Word document) and Special Event Composting - PowerPoint are also available.