NERC Blog

One lady’s decades-long effort to nurture worms, divert waste and strengthen soil

Today’s Guest Blog is courtesy of Nora Goldstein, Editor, BioCycle and Dylan DeThomas, Editorial Director, Resource Recycling.

Escrap recycling data on collection by product type is limited. But, data by product type is useful to see if any products are coming back in higher quantities or if we are starting to see the high volumes of CRTs decline.

NERC recently completed its Simplifying Environmentally Preferable Purchasing project, which was funded by the Roy A. Hunt Foundation. The project focused on providing purchasers with the information needed to purchase products that are difficult to buy “green”—copy and multipurpose (20lb) paper, monochrome toner cartridges, and office supplies. As part of the project, NERC developed Model Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Specifications and Purchasing Guidelines for paper, toner cartridges, and office supplies. NERC also created fact sheets on each of the EPP Model documents, and a press release about the newly developed resources.  In addition, NERC presented a webinar on the importance of EPP and the EPP model documents. All of the project resources, including the webinar recording can be found on NERC’s website.

If you have any questions regarding the EPP project or resources, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director.

Fundamentally, pay as you throw incorporates two primary principles of environmental policy: the “polluter pays principle” and the “shared responsibility” concept.

Being responsible for one’s waste, sorting it, and certainly paying for its disposal, has always seemed to be a no brainer to me. Of course we should all pay for our trash generation, just like any other utility or service. Right?!

The Internet of Things (IoT) will include some 30 billion connected devices by 2020. There is a growing concern of what becomes of these devices when they reach end of life. Although there is a shift in manufacturing towards products and materials that are sustainably sourced, there is still a need for industry to innovate around current materials to produce sensors that can be disposed of in a more environmentally friendly fashion.

USDA and EPA launched the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, with the goal of reducing food waste in the United States. Today, there are more than 1,313 participants in the Challenge.

Something for the season...

Bags and bags of dirty diapers have found their way into recycling bins and carts. Full bags of trash are being “recycled.” Food waste — everything from half eaten hamburgers to vegetable scraps to leftover take out — is being found in recycling carts and bins. Why? And why now?