A New State

February 16, 2016

In celebration of its silver anniversary in 2012, NERC’s first blog contained a list of our organization’s many accomplishments over the years. Originally established by the Council of State Governments - Eastern Regional Conference (CSG-ERC) in 1987 NERC’s mission was to:

• Address the growing concern about the millions of tons of municipal solid waste generated and disposed annually in the Northeast.
• Garner support for the diversion of recyclable materials from disposal.
• Assist with market development for the diverted recyclables.

NERC was an affiliate member of the CSG-ERC until 2000, at which time NERC became an independent non-profit organization. For NERC’s 25 anniversary, a call for “Reflections on NERC & Recycling” was launched, which of course were made into blogs. Connie Saulter, the organization's second Executive Director, revealed this following bit of history: When she joined NERC in the fall of 1990, the organization consisted of just two people—Shelley Dresser, NERC's 1st Executive Director and herself.

The two staffers worked from Shelley's home. By 1995, NERC had established an official office in downtown Brattleboro, Vermont and had grown to four full-time staff. If you ever wonder how NERC ended up in a small town in Southern Vermont it’s pretty simple! Brattleboro was the home of its first Executive Director. And, just to note, we’re in the same office overlooking the Connecticut River in Brattleboro. One of the new staff, Michael Alexander, was hired as an intern; another, Ellen Pratt, left EPA headquarters to join NERC and move to Vermont.

According to Shelly Dresser, NERC was conceived at the Solid Waste Conference at the Penta Hotel in New York, during a conversation she was having with Bernard Melewski, Counsel, New York State Commission on Solid Waste. States Shelly, “as the MOBRO garbage barge was leaving NYC to find a home for the trash it was carrying, it was clear that a solution oriented approach to solid waste management was necessary.” She gained additional support from Maurice Hinchey, a legislator from New York and the chairman of the Council of State Governments environment committee, and NERC was born.

NERC’s original state membership was comprised of the ten Northeast states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This year, Maryland joined NERC as our eleventh state member.  NERC's Board of Directors represents state agency and authority recycling officials from its member states.A few years ago two Ex Officio members were added to the Board.

When NERC became an independent organization in 2000, the organization amended its bylaws to allow Advisory Members to join as non-voting members. This diversity of businesses and associations—now numbering more than 70—has served to broaden and strengthen the organization.

Over the years, with input from NERC’s Board and Advisory Members, the organization has successfully brought together a wide diversity of influences to consider and promote multiple perspectives on issues pertinent to recycling and materials management. Interestingly, NERC’s first focus was largely on market development as recycling grew around the nation. Now, with market fluctuations having a dramatic impact on the industry, NERC continues to address the issue in its upcoming conference.

NERC staff undertake projects and activities that benefit the region and, in many cases, the entire country. Its projects cover a wide range of topics—from organics and reuse, to schools and electronics scrap and have resulted in the development of hundreds of resources.  NERC has developed a national presence with its participation on stakeholder dialogues, including electronics and carpet. The organization also supports several national programs – the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH), the State Electronics Challenge (SEC), and the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse (ERCC).

Along with the rest of the world, NERC has embraced social media with the NERC Blog, Facebook, and Twitter . NERC’s longstanding EPPnet and our recently added Organics Management Listserv invite participants to dialogue on two important materials management issues.  

Its mission statement has also evolved along with the industry and was most recently updated in 2015:

“NERC’s mission is now to promote sustainable materials management by supporting traditional and innovative solid waste best practices, focusing on waste prevention, toxics reduction, reuse, recycling and organics recovery.”

During its nearly three decades, NERC has been at the forefront of regional strategies that support environmental and economic sustainability through source reduction, recycling, organics management, environmentally preferable purchasing, decreasing the toxicity of the solid waste stream, and recycling market development. NERC has demonstrated its leadership with its projects and has broken new ground in a number of important areas, influencing policy and affecting change through research, technical assistance, demonstration projects, and education.

And, now a new state has been added to NERC! Welcome Maryland! Kind of begs the question…What’s next!?

By Athena Lee Bradley