News &
Updates

To view our archived Bulletins, click on a date below.

April 2020

NERC’s Advisory Members

Distinguished Benefactors

Benefactors

Sustaining Members

A list of all the logos of our Sustaining Members can be found under Advisory Members

New & Renewing Memberships

Renewing Benefactor

Panasonic

New Sustaining Members

Renewing Sustaining Member

PaintCare

Renewing Supporting Members

NERC News

Newly Posted

State Updates

MASSACHUSETTS

MassDEP’s Reduce & Reuse (R&R) Working Group Kicks off

VERMONT

Let's Scrap Food Waste

Advisory Member News

New & Renewing Memberships

Membership is key to NERC's regional and national commitment to sustainable materials management. We would like to welcome our newest Sustaining members:

We are also very pleased to welcome renewing Distinguished Benefactor Panasonic, and renewing Sustaining Member PaintCare. We also thank renewing Supporting members:

Thank you to all our Advisory Members. To see a complete listing of NERC's Members and Supporters, as well as the benefits of membership, visit the NERC Advisory Membership web page.

The broad spectrum of interests represented by NERC's Advisory Members, Individual Supporters, and Board Members and their willingness to participate significantly contribute to the unique and important role that NERC plays in recycling in the region.

For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, Executive Director.

NERC News

NERC Spring 2020 Conference Rescheduled

Due to growing concerns about COVD-19, NERC made the decision to reschedule its Spring 2020 Conference. October 20 – 21 are the new dates for the Rebooting Recycling Conference, which will be held at the Sheraton Hartford South Hotel in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.

The registrations received for NERC’s Spring 2020 Conference will automatically be transferred to the Fall 2020 Conference. Be sure to cancel your hotel reservation for the Spring Conference dates, so you do not incur any charges.

More information about the Fall Conference will be forthcoming in the coming months. We look forward to seeing you in the Fall!

Conference Contact: Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director & Conference Organizer.

Don’t Miss NERC’s Upcoming Webinars

Food Waste Reduction & Food Waste Recovery - May 21, 1 - 2:30 eastern

In this webinar, co-hosted by NERC & NEWMOA, presenters from ReFED and the Harvard University Food Law and Policy Clinic will share the latest ideas and information on reducing wasted food and recovering and diverting what can't be reduced. Topics that will be covered include new tools and information from ReFED and on date labeling of food.

Should Municipalities Get Back in the MRF Game? - June 18, 1:30 - 3:00 eastern
The increased cost for recycling services has some municipalities wondering if they should operate their own MRF. The webinar will feature different MRF operating models, examples of municipalities considering operating their own MRF, and questions for informing the decision-making process before taking on this pivotal role in materials management. The webinar presenters include: Mitch Kessler, President of Kessler Consulting; Sarah Reeves, Executive Director of Chittenden Solid Waste District; and Rick Watson, Chief Executive Officer, Delaware Solid Waste Authority.

Government Recycling Demand Program Launched by NERC & APR

NERC & the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) have formally announced their new partnership to grow a groundbreaking campaign that expands market demand for recycled resins and improves plastic recycling in North America. The Government Recycling Demand Champions, a companion to APR’s well-established Recycling Demand Champions Campaign, will be tailored to state, regional and local governments around the United States. It will be hosted by NERC, working in close collaboration with APR.

“The recycling community has long been interested in supporting increased purchasing of products made with postconsumer resin (PCR) by government entities. NERC adopted a policy to encourage such actions early this year. The Government Recycling Demand Champions is an exciting opportunity to engage directly with government at all levels to support their interest and grow this important activity,” said Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director, and Government Recycling Demand Champion program manager.

Among the products with postconsumer recycled content (PCR) that government entities will be encouraged to purchase will be plastic:

Infrastructure drainage pipes
Trash bags
Roll-out carts
Recycling and garbage containers
Benches
Outdoor furniture
Plastic lumber, piers, decking
Other PCR containing plastic products

“This program has the potential to dramatically increase demand for recycled resin in a wide variety of products, including new applications such as recycled content in recycling carts, government procurement and infrastructure projects,” explained Stephanie Baker, Director of Procurement at KW Plastics. “By combining efforts with the states through a partnership with NERC, we hope to drive even greater demand in the government marketplace, and include the concept of utilizing recycled content as a key component of state procurement programs.”

Click here for more information, or contact Lynn Rubinstein.

State Electronics Challenge Annual Awards & Environmental Results

Congratulations to the 28 State Electronics Challenge (SEC) Partners that submitted annual reporting data and received individualized sustainability reports. Fourteen (14) of those Partners are being recognized for their achievements with awards.

2019 Partner Environmental Benefits

	Purchasing EPEAT^®Products & Paper Use Reduction	Use	Reuse & Recycling	TOTAL BENEFITS
Reduction In	How Much?			How Much?	Equivalent To
Energy use	14,094,675 kWh	9,893,996 kWh	25,570,814 kWh	433,331,085 kWh	Electricity to power 39,494 U.S. households/ year
Greenhouse gas emissions	1,598,444 metric tons of carbon equivalents	1,840,882 metric tons of carbon equivalents	1,373,713 metric tons of carbon equivalent	4,813,063 metric tons of carbon equivalents	Removing 1,046,318 cars from the road/year
Toxic materials, including lead & mercury	6,085 lbs.	26 lbs.	15 lbs.	6,125 lbs.	Weight of 1,225 bricks
Municipal solid waste	695,979 lbs.	629,131 lbs.	1,229,894 lbs.	3,037,191 lbs.	Waste generated by 710 households/year
Hazardous waste	158,855 lbs.	5,338 lbs.	216,599 lbs.	380,792 lbs.	Weight of 1,269 refrigerators

2019 Award Winners

SEC Partner	Recognition	Lifecycle Phases
Borough of State College, Pennsylvania	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority, Pennsylvania	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
City of Corvallis, Oregon	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
City of Fort Collins, Colorado	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
City of La Crosse, Wisconsin	Gold	Purchasing Use, & End-of-Life Management
City of Providence School Department, Rhode Island	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)	Gold	Purchasing, Use, & End-of-Life Management
Ball State University, Indiana	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
City of Columbia, South Carolina	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
City & County of Denver, Colorado	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
City of Keene, New Hampshire	Silver	Purchasing & Use
State of Maryland	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources	Silver	Purchasing & End-of-Life Management
Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania	Bronze	Purchasing

The environmental results and award winners are listed on the State Electronics Challenge website.

Newly Posted

Another Update Released - Summary of Announced Increased Capacity to Use Recycled Paper

As a result of continuing announcements about new paper recycling investments, and updated information about capacity, input, and opening dates, NERC has published an updated recycled paper capacity report. The most recent report can be downloaded here.

The Northeast Recycling Council's (NERC) has been reporting on national investment in paper recycling infrastructure since November 2018. The report has been updated six times - April, June, August, and November 2019, and now March 2020.

For further information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director or Chaz Miller, Chair of the NERC-NEWMOA Regional Recycling Markets Committee.

Rethinking Recycling Webinar Presentation & Recording Available

On March 19, NERC featured the Rethinking Recycling webinar with David Allaway of the Oregon DEQ. Mr. Allaway’s presentation focused on thinking about recycling from a larger policy framework that includes the environmental benefits and limitations of recycling. He also summarized the OR DEQ’s research and suggested a path forward that will help communities and policymakers to improve and optimize recycling while simultaneously activating additional solutions that achieve higher order goals of conserving resources and reducing pollution.

The webinar recording and presentation are now available on NERC’s website.

Webinar Contact: Mary Ann Remolador, Assistant Director.

State Updates

MASSACHUSETTS

MassDEP’s Reduce & Reuse (R&R) Working Group Kicks off

On March 4, 2020, MassDEP kicked off the Reduce & Reuse (R&R) Working Group. Forty-five external stakeholders participated in the inaugural gathering of this new MassDEP advisory group in Boston. The agency established the R&R Working Group to help with the development of a Strategic R&R Action Plan as outlined in the draft 2030 Solid Waste Master Plan. The initial meeting focused on the process for developing a plan; the sectors to be targeted (e.g. building materials, single-use packaging, textiles, household goods, office furniture); and how to engage the broadest number of stakeholders to create a “reduce, reuse, repair” culture across Massachusetts. The working group will meet monthly through the end of this year to guide development of the R&R Action Plan. More information: https://www.mass.gov/service-details/massdep-reduce-reuse-rr-working-group

VERMONT

Let's Scrap Food Waste

As part of Vermont’s Universal Recycling law (Act 148), a statewide landfill ban on all food and food scraps will go into effect July 1, 2020. In 2018, food scraps made up nearly 20% of Vermont’s trash, representing approximately 77,000 tons of waste. While some of this was inedible food scraps (banana peels, coffee grounds, bones, etc.), much of the food thrown away could have been eaten. To raise awareness of the landfill ban and help Vermonters take action to reduce and divert food waste, the State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) launched the “Let’s Scrap Food Waste” campaign in February.

The goal of “Let’s Scrap Food Waste” is to create a movement and make reducing food waste, separating food scraps from the trash, and composting actions that all Vermonters take part in. These actions will become daily habits, as automatic as putting on a seat belt. Currently, the campaign consists of a 30-second video featuring real Vermonters that grow, cook, serve, and eat food and compost the scraps. The ad demonstrates all the effort that goes into growing and cooking food and discusses the money saved if food is not wasted. The ad is being shown on broadcast and cable TV, digital and social media channels. It sends people to a new website, scrapfoodwaste.org, with tips on how to reduce food waste and what to do with inevitable food scraps.

Please help grow this movement by sharing the video and practicing the tips on scrapfoodwaste.org.

Advisory Member Updates

The 2020 State of Curbside Recycling Report

The Recycling Partnership has published its 2020 State of Curbside Recycling Report. It unveils strategies to help the U.S. Recycling System unlock its full potential.

This report calls for these clear, integrated strategies:

substantially greater support for community recycling programs with capital funding, technical assistance, and efforts to strengthen and grow political commitment to recycling services
new and enhanced state and federal recycling policies
continued investment in material processing and end markets
resident education and engagement to help Americans recycle more, better
continued innovation in the collection, sorting and general recyclablity of materials
broader stakeholder engagement in achieving all elements of true circularity

Only together can we drive the necessary change to transform recycling across the United States.

Get Inspired for Earth Day's 50th Anniversary - April 22

Earth day isn't just a day - it's a movement, marketing the beginning of the modern environmental movement. And, this year, Earth Day 2020 will mark 50 years of Earth Day, a movement that has mobilized more than 1 billion people across 190+ countries.

How is your community preparing to activate residents to recycle more, better on Earth day [and every day]? The Recycling Partnership has gathered some ideas to inspire you and help your community prepare.

CURC Webinar - Strategies & Solutions Surrounding Plastic Product Sales on Campuses

CURC’s second webinar of 2020 will explore strategies and solutions CURC 2020 webinar series surrounding plastic product sales on campuses in the CURC network. What innovative policies have led to higher diversion rates and productive programs? Tune in on April 16th from 2-3pm (EST) to hear three presentations on what works best for colleges and universities navigating policies towards reducing plastic waste. Register for free today.

ISRI Offers Fire Prevention & Management Plan for Recycling Facilities

As an aid to helping scrap recycling facilities develop strategies for reducing the risks of fire, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) released a new electronic publication, Creating a Fire Prevention and Management Plan. The book was developed by fire science, insurance, and scrap recycling industry professionals. It is meant to be used as a guidance document to help business owners, operators, and EHS professionals better understand and mitigate potential risks before they become bigger problems.

“The Creating a Fire Prevention and Management Plan is a terrific resource for any scrap processing operation seeking guidance on preparing a plan,” said Scott Wiggins, vice president of environment, health and safety for ISRI. “This guidance document provides information on how-to prepare a fire prevention plan, fight incipient stage fires, and to be prepared in the event of a crisis management scenario. Even if your facility has an existing plan, this is a valuable tool to help you review your operations and make any necessary improvements.”

Creating a Fire Prevention and Management Plan serves as a living document, and ISRI plans to review and update it at least once every year. While the document does provide a detailed, and scalable overview of developing a plan, each site is different. Plans should be prepared according to the type and size of the facility, and depending on the size, not all suggestions may be appropriate.

The document is available for free to those in the recycling industry. ISRI members may download it by logging into the ISRI website. Non-ISRI members can contact ISRI Safety for more information.