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NERC Blog

First Person Perspective: Global pandemic reinforces importance of local recycling programs

Today's guest blog is authored by Kevin Roche of NERC Advisory Member ecomaine. The original Resource Recycling post can be found here.

As we move further into 2021, we have gained some level of hindsight on those early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. We know what steps we can take to limit the spread of the virus, and we know of the risks that respiratory droplets present.

We also know that the pandemic has changed the way we look at recycling and waste management systems, particularly when it comes to the way our programs connect with the international manufacturing pipelines for many important products.

An essential business in more ways than one

Following on the heels of China’s National Sword policies, COVID-19 added layers of uncertainty to an already-shifting recycling market landscape.

As businesses in the U.S. began to close (either temporarily…

Biden Backs DIY Fixes in ‘Right to Repair’ Dispute

Today's guest blog is courtesy of the Stateline initiative of The Pew Charitable Trust. Its original posting can be found here.

President Joe Biden came down squarely on the side of the “Mr. Fixits” of the world Friday, issuing an executive order directing the Federal Trade Commission to make rules that will limit manufacturers’ ability to restrict independent repairs of their products.

The order, which also contained several other initiatives designed to increase competition across the American economy, comes as good news to the “right-to-repair” movement—a coalition of consumer advocates, independent repair shops and do-it-yourselfers, many of whom want to be able to get parts and instruction manuals from manufacturers.

Many companies have restricted access to…

Waste Not? Some States Are Sending Less Food to Landfills

Today's guest blog was originally published by Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. The original post can be read here.

Prominent Northeastern grocery store chain Hannaford Supermarkets made headlines recently by declaring that for an entire year it had not sent any spoiled or outdated food to landfills, where the organic decomposition process produces methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases.

Instead, Hannaford, which operates in New England and New York, is contracting with an anaerobic food reprocesser to strip the food from its packaging, mix it with microbes and manure, and turn it into fuel, fertilizer and bedding for dairy cows.

While bovines belching methane also is a climate problem, the Hannaford effort targets one of the leading sources of methane. Food waste in landfills produces the third largest amount of methane emissions in the United States (17%), after petroleum production (30%) and animal gas and manure (27%), according to the U.S.…

A long way to go: Meeting 2025 sustainable packaging goals

Today's guest blog is authored by freelance writer Meg Wilcox. Its original posting can be found on GreenBiz.com.

If global plastics production continues under business as usual, the world will mismanage 7.7 gigatons of plastics over the next 20 years, according to new research from Google. To put that number into perspective, 7.7 gigatons is equal to 16 times the weight of the entire human population on earth today, Mike Werner, Google’s lead for circular economy, told participants in a breakout session at GreenBiz Group’s Circularity 2021.

Despite that sobering statistic, momentum is building towards 2025 sustainable packaging goals. Companies are unifying behind the New Plastics Global Economy Commitment, industry partnerships are tackling difficult challenges and business support for policies such as extended producer responsibility — previously unthinkable — is gaining…

The latest Right to Repair advocate? President Joe Biden.

Today's guest blog is authored by Kevin O'Reilly of U.S. PIRG's Campaign for the Right to Repair. The original post can be found here.

Across the country, people are demanding the ability to extend the life of their products — without having to rely on whoever they bought them from. They’re tired of tossing their otherwise-good electronics into the scrap heap because of a broken screen or aging battery. They don’t want to be pressured into buying a new device. Farmers are sick of waiting on dealers to fix their tractors while their crops potentially go bad. Amidst the pandemic, doctors and patients alike were horrified that hospital…

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