News &
Updates

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

December 2021

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

Happy Holidays graphic

Happy Holidays from NERC!

New & Renewing Memberships

New Sustaining Members

New Supporting Member

RECYC-QUÉBEC

Renewing Sustaining Members

Renewing Supporting Members

Member Spotlight - Eco-Products

NERC News

Newly Posted

State Updates

MASSACHUSETTS

Advisory Member Updates

New & Renewing Memberships

Membership is key to NERC's regional and national commitment to sustainable materials management. As 2021 winds up, we continue to see tremendous support and growth in membership. Consider joining us in 2022!

Thank you to our newest Sustaining Members Blount Fine Foods and Eco-Products, as well as newest Supporting Member RECYC-QUÉBEC.

We also are very appreciative of the ongoing participation of renewing Sustaining Members:

As well as our renewing Supporting 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.

Member Spotlight - Eco-Products

Founded in Boulder, Colorado in 1990, new NERC Advisory Member Eco-Products® has grown from a distributor of recycled content products to a Eco-Products logo manufacturer of green serviceware products. The company’s GreenStripe® cup, launched in 2007, replaced traditional petroleum-based plastic with corn plastic (PLA).

In the years since, Eco-Products has expanded its business model in a number of ways. Its growing roster of serviceware products—cups, containers, plates and bowls, utensils, and other items—are made from either plant-based renewable sources or post-consumer recycled content. Additionally, the company’s plant-based products are BPI-certified compostable.

“As a leader in environmentally preferable foodservice packaging, we offer ethically sourced products made from renewable materials that meet stringent global standards for compostability or recyclability. That means each item can be returned to the earth or made into something new,” Eco-Products President Ian Jacobson said.

A video, Creating Zero Waste Success in Colorado - Field Testing Compostable Packaging, demonstrates these accomplishments.

Eco-Products was recently awarded the GreenScreen Certified Silver designation for its line of compostable plates and containers made from sugarcane. The products use a proprietary chemistry to achieve grease resistance without the use of PFAS or other known regrettable substitutes. Eco-Products is the first manufacturer to earn the GreenScreen designation for a foodservice ware product line.

“We are incredibly proud to be the first manufacturer to offer an innovative foodservice product with a preferred chemistry,” Jacobson said.

The company’s 2021 Sustainability Report details how its focus on Zero Waste infrastructure has helped the commercial composing industry, both through its own efforts and its partnerships with the US Composting Council and the Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA). Through its alliance with CMA, for example, Eco-Products field tested its products for degradation in compost piles in various types of composting facilities.

To help expand the commercial composting infrastructure, Eco-Products has embraced the following initiative:

connect composters to new sources of feedstocks;
support haulers and compost manufacturers that are entering new markets; and
identify key areas for potential expansion of composting infrastructure.

In the Sustainability Report, Jacobson wrote, “We continue to call on a plurality of voices to create enduring solutions to the lack of infrastructure and end-markets required to reclaim our global packaging waste. This necessity leads to productive and lasting partnerships with like-minded organizations also willing to do the hard work.”

In that same spirit of stakeholder collaboration, NERC welcomes Eco-Products as its newest Sustaining Advisory Member, and looks forward to continuing the development of effective strategies that reduce waste.

NERC News

NERC’s Spring & Fall 2022 Conferences

We began the planning of NERC’s Spring ’22 Conference in the usual way of considering dates that don’t overlap with other recycling events. This time we added another step by considering and discussing the question of whether it should be a virtual or in-person event. In addition to discussing the matter with NERC’s Board of Directors, we also asked all of you who attended NERC’s Fall ’21 Conference (via the Conference evaluation) what your preference was for both the Spring and Fall Conferences. The results of the poll and discussions led us to the decision to hold the Spring Conference virtually and we anticipate the Fall Conference to be in-person.

Spring ’22 Conference Date & Time: April 12 – 13, 1:00 - 5:00 eastern

Conference Contact: Mary Ann Remolador

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Training Series for Recycling & Solid Waste Industries

NERC invites you to join us in learning and discussing how to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) practices into the workplace. NERC is developing the DE&I Training series with a Planning Committee including companies, organizations and individuals who are dedicated to this effort.

Training 1 - Making the Case for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion on December 9, 1:30 – 3:00 eastern. The Training will focus on building the foundation for DE&I in the workplace.

Presenters include:

Tamara Lundgren, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and Stef Murray, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer and Vice President, Human Resources of Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.– will present the direction their company has taken in making the business case for DE&I, including data and other resources used.
Cheryl Coleman, ISRI – will focus on how to make diversity, equity and inclusion part of sustainability goals and workplace culture by prioritizing it in everyday practices.

Thank you to West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum for hosting the Training.

Training 2 – Recognizing & Addressing Unconscious Bias on February 2, 1:30 – 3:00 eastern. The Training offers a practical approach to identifying and addressing unconscious bias and it’s negative impact in the workplace; as well as providing strategies that promote inclusion.

Presenter are:

Nidhi Turakhia, Executive Vice President of Allied Alloys
Willie Johnson, CEO of Willie Johnson Communications

Go here for more details about the Training Series presenters.

Training 3 Topic: Building Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for Government

Training 4 Topic: Engaging with Diverse Communities

A special thanks to the sponsors for the DE&I Training and NERC’s work on DE&I:

A special thanks to the sponsors for the DE&I Training and NERC’s work on DE&I:

DE&I Training Series Contact: Mary Ann Remolador

Austin, Texas Becomes Government Recycling Demand Champion

City of Austin logo

We are delighted to announce that the City of Austin, Texas, has become a Champion in the Government Recycling Demand Program. They are the sixth Champion, joining organizations from California, Maryland, New York, and North Carolina.

The Program is intended to increase the purchase of products with post-consumer resin by the public sector and educational organizations. For more information contact Lynn Rubinstein, Program Manager.

Recycled Content Mandates: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly - Webinar January 6, 12:30 eastern

Recycled content mandates are growing in popularity as a policy mechanism to engage producers in responsibility for recycling markets, sharing in the costs of a functioning recycling system, and reducing climate change impacts. But not all recycled content mandates are the same, and some have the potential for unintended consequences.

This webinar will take a closer look at:

The state of California’s experience with several, very different recycled content mandates
Whether or how mandates might support, or conflict with, broader extended producer responsibility policies
Potential economic and environmental limitations of recycled content mandates, and some possible solutions

Speakers:

Mark Murray, Executive Director, Californians Against Waste
Steve Alexander, President and CEO, Association of Plastics Recyclers
David Allaway, Senior Policy Analyst, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality

Moderators:

Terri Goldberg, Executive Director, NEWMOA
Lynn Rubinstein, Executive Director, NERC

This webinar is co-sponsored by Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), the Northeast Waste Management Officials’ Association (NEWMOA), and the West Coast Forum on Climate and Materials Management.

NERC thanks the following sponsors for supporting its webinar series.

Webinar sponsor logos

Thank you to NERC’s Spring ’22 Conference Agenda Planning Committee

One strategy employed by NERC to develop its Conference agendas is to include the voices of its Board of Directors and Advisory Members in the planning process. For the Spring ’22 Conference, NERC has convened the following list of volunteers to serve on the Agenda Planning Committee:

Board of Directors

Robert Isner, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
Rick Watson, Delaware Solid Waste Authority
Megan Pryor, Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Anne Bijur, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
Chaz Miller, Ex Officio

Advisory Members

Kelli Timbrook, Casella Recycling
Robin Ingenthron, Good Point Recycling
Lucy Pierce, GreenBlue
Joanne Shafer, Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority
David Aldridge, Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resource Recovery Authority

NERC would like to thank the Committee in advance for working with staff to create the Conference Agenda. The Agenda will be available in January.

Agenda Planning Committee contact, Mary Ann Remolador.

Follow NERC & Stay Up to Date with Sustainability

LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are all tools that NERC uses to keep the recycling community current on NERC and news in the sustainability world. Please follow us!

We also have a YouTube Channel where all webinar recordings are published, as well as a weekly blog with opinions and news from all perspectives of the sustainability lens.

Don't miss out!

Newly Posted NERC Recycling Markets Report Published – Continued Positive Growth

The 10th in NERC’s series of quarterly reports on the market value of commodities from MRFs in the Northeast. The report covers the period July – September 2021. Ten states are represented in the report, including Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

Overall, values were up significantly from the previous quarter. The only commodity grade that did not increase in value was glass, which remained essentially static.

October 2021 Recycling Markets Chart

Average value per ton with the expense of handling residuals: $174.95 – up 41% from the previous quarter.
Average value per ton without residuals: $184.63 - up 43% the previous quarter.

These survey results reflect the differing laws and collection options in the participating states. Four of the states have beverage container deposit laws. As a result, fewer glass bottles, PET bottles and aluminum cans are processed in MRFs in those states. Those MRFs are also likely to have less revenue from those recyclables. In addition, the report reflects a mix of single stream, dual stream and source separation to collect recyclables with single stream being the most common approach. The type of collection used will have an impact on MRF design and operation. Thus, the data from this report reflects the unique blend of facilities and statewide laws in the reporting states.

The study was made possible with a grant from EPA Region 3.

Current report: NERC Northeast Recycling Market Report October 2021

Previous reports:

For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein.

NERC Annual Meeting & Board Minutes - October 2021

The minutes from the NERC Board of Directors Annual Meeting are now available.

Webinar Recordings & PowerPoint Presentations

Fate of Non-organic Packaging Materials from De-packaging Operations – How Much is Recycled and Into What? Webinar Recording & Presentations

All NERC webinar Recordings & Presentations can be found on the NERC webinar page.

State Updates

MassDEP Awards $3.1 Million to Support Recycling, Waste Reduction in 268 Municipalities

To mark America Recycles Day, the Baker-Polito Administration announced $3.1 million in grant funding to 268 municipalities and regional solid waste districts across the Commonwealth. The grants, made available through the Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP), will help municipalities and solid waste districts maximize recycling, composting, and waste reduction programs.

This year, under SMRP, 226 communities qualified for the Recycling Dividends Program (RDP) and will receive payments ranging from $2,100 to $97,500 for a total of $3,120,300. The RDP recognizes municipalities that have implemented policies and programs proven to maximize the reuse and recycling of materials, as well as waste reduction. Communities that earn RDP payments must reinvest the funds in their recycling programs for things such as new recycling bins or carts, public education and outreach campaigns, collection of hard-to-recycle items, and the establishment of recycling programs in schools, municipal buildings, and other public spaces.

As part of this SMRP grant round, 42 municipalities that did not apply for or qualify for an RDP payment will be awarded a total of $46,250 for a Small-Scale Initiatives Grant. These population-based grants range from $500 to $2,000 each and help communities purchase modest, but critical recycling materials and outreach tools needed to sustain their existing recycling program or to facilitate new, low-cost initiatives. Each of these SMRP programs are administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

The RDP was rolled out in 2014 under MassDEP’s Sustainable Materials Recovery Program, which was created by the Green Communities Act of 2008. The Act requires that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Waste Energy Certificates (WECs) be directed to recycling programs approved by MassDEP. The SMRP initiative has provided more than $46 million to recycling programs since 2010. The WEC payments received by MassDEP are deposited into the SMRP Expendable Trust, which is used to fund grants, technical assistance, and education to help communities, businesses and institutions increase recycling and reduce waste.

Nine municipalities will receive payments of at least $50,000: Cambridge and New Bedford at $97,500; Springfield at $71,500; Boston at $70,000, Brockton, Lowell, Newton, and Worcester earning between $60,000 and $70,000; and Chicopee at $52,500. Six municipalities are first-time recipients of Recycling Dividends Program funds, including the Town of Swampscott, which adopted a Pay-As-You-Throw trash reduction program in the last year.

See a list of the 268 RDP and Small-Scale grant awards here.

Fall 2021 WasteWise Forum Presentations Available Now!

Presentations from the RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts (RecyclingWorks) Fall 2021 WasteWise Forum are now available on the RecyclingWorks website. The Forum included important updates from US EPA and MassDEP, as well as presentations from Northeastern University, Green Mattress Recycling, Nashoba Brook Bakery, and Too Good to Go. Northeastern University described their campus’ waste and recycling infrastructure, waste diversion data, food waste prevention and management strategies, and thorough mattress recycling program. Nashboa Brook Bakery, a retail café and wholesale bakery in West Concord, highlighted their efforts across the food recovery hierarchy, including partnerships with local food rescue organizations and app-based solution provider, Too Good To Go, that expand access to their artisan breads. Visit the RecyclingWorks website to view the presentations, and contact RecyclingWorks to learn more about no-cost technical assistance for Massachusetts businesses and institutions: (888) 254-5525 or info@recyclingworksma.com.

Massachusetts Announces 2030 Solid Waste Master Plan

In an effort to expand recycling of certain materials throughout the Commonwealth, the Baker-Polito Administration announced new goals and strategies to further its efforts and published regulations to require recycling in several areas. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s (MassDEP) Final 2030 Solid Waste Master Plan: Working Together Toward Zero Waste, sets a goal to reduce disposal 30 percent by 2030 and 90 percent by 2050, along with strategies to meet those goals. The final master plan followed an extensive public comment period and engagement on a previously published draft plan. Additionally, MassDEP issued revised waste ban regulations for mattresses, textiles and food materials.

The Final 2030 Master Plan sets a goal to reduce disposal by 30 percent from 5.7 million tons in 2018 to 4 million tons in 2030, as well as a long-term goal to achieve a 90 percent reduction to 570,000 tons by 2050. The Plan also includes measures to align the 2030 Master Plan with the 2030 Clean Energy and Climate Plan and the 2050 Decarbonization Roadmap, linking with the Baker-Polito Administration’s goal to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 by reaching a reduction of 300,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions annually from municipal waste combustors by reducing disposal of plastic materials at these facilities.

Furthermore, the plan includes initiatives to strengthen engagement with and support of Environmental Justice communities, including increasing engagement with EJ populations in all phases of MassDEP’s regulatory process, improving recycling grant evaluation criteria to recognize EJ community issues, promoting small-scale composting assistance to enable composting at community gardens in EJ areas, and promoting and encouraging the use of electric and hybrid trash and recycling collection vehicles in EJ communities. It also announces increased recycling business development grants and a new recycling research and development grant program to drive innovation in recycling and waste reduction. This program will be developed in consultation with a new Recycling Market Development Council that will promote the use of recycled materials by state agencies.

MassDEP held an initial round of public hearings and a comment period in the fall of 2019 to gather public input on the Draft Solid Waste Master Plan. Then, with the urging and support of environmental advocacy organizations, MassDEP held a second round of public meetings and a second public comment period in the summer of 2020. In this second comment period, MassDEP sought comment specifically on concerns of Environmental Justice communities, connections between solid waste management and climate change, and COVID-19 impacts.

MassDEP expects to publish the initial Reduce and Reuse Action Plan later this year, and then to continue to engage with stakeholders on a regular basis as the Plan is implemented and updated over the coming years. The agency will also form a Recycling Market Development Workgroup to obtain stakeholder input and engagement into the development of a comprehensive Recycling Market Development Action Plan.

While the Master Plan will be implemented over a 10-year period, and beyond, MassDEP is focused on launching major initiatives within one year of publishing the Final Plan. These key short-term initiatives include:

Finalizing waste ban regulation amendments concurrent with this announcement that will ban the disposal of mattresses and textiles and lower the commercial food waste ban threshold from one ton to a half-ton per week effective November 2022.
Completing Massachusetts’ first comprehensive Reduce & Reuse Action Plan by the end of 2021.
Launching a new Recycling Market Development Workgroup and State Agency Recycling Market Development Council.
Engaging stakeholders in developing revisions to MassDEP’s solid waste regulations, a process that will lead to publishing draft regulations in 2022.
Modifying grant, assistance, education, and outreach programs to deliver increased assistance and resources and improve engagement with EJ communities. This will include expanding the availability of outreach materials in multiple languages.
Working with the Legislature to share information on MassDEP’s programs and policies and to develop effective approaches to reduce the use of single-use packaging, advance extended producer responsibility systems for paint, mattresses, electronics, and other products and packaging, and develop approaches to ensure convenient statewide recycling access.
Implementing MassDEP’s Minimum Performance Standard for facilities that process construction-and-demolition materials. This will ensure a level playing field across the industry and support increased recycling of these materials.

Finally, MassDEP will conduct a program review in 2025, including exploring the potential to establish a declining cap on carbon dioxide emissions from municipal waste combustors.

MassDEP Announces 2021 Recycling & Reuse Business Development Grant

The Recycling & Reuse Business Development Grant (RBDG) program is intended to help Massachusetts recycling processors and manufacturers create sustainable markets for eligible materials, and to add value to municipal and business recycling efforts. Selected applicants will receive grant awards of between $50,000 and $400,000.

Targeted materials for the 2021 RBDG are:

Container glass: developing market outlets and uses for container glass sourced from MRFs
Furniture: reuse or recycling of household, business, or institutional furniture
Construction & Demolition Materials: project proposals targeting cardboard, wood, metal or clean gypsum wallboard that will increase the process separation rate at C&D handling facilities
Textiles: recycling of textiles such as clothing, clean footwear, bedding, towels, curtains, and fabric into new products.
Food Materials: use of source separated food scraps, with a particular focus on food material streams that may contain packaging or other contamination, for composting, intermediate processing to supply anaerobic digestion facilities, or similar processes
Mattresses: dismantling and recycling of mattresses at a processing facility

Eligible grant funded activities include:

Processing activities, which include those reclaiming activities that aggregate, dismantle, densify, shred, bale, culletizeor otherwise process eligible materials.
Manufacturing activities, which include those activities that manufacture products with eligible materials.
Reuse activities, which includes those activities that use an eligible material again, either in its original state or with refurbishment, for its original purpose or for a nontraditional purpose.

2021 applications are due April 8, 2022 by 5:00pm.

Visit the MassDEP RBDG webpage or for more information about eligibility and material requirements, and a link to the application.

Advisory Member Updates

America Recycles Week 2021: Free Tools & Resources to Inspire Recyclers November 15 & Beyond

As the pandemic continues, we’ve not only seen increased awareness around recycling as a valuable and essential service, but the U.S. supply chain has increased demand for recycled materials to support American manufacturing of new products and packaging.

What better time to position the unique ways that #recyclingmatters than celebrating America Recycles Week this November? To help your community or workplace in this celebration, we compiled the top motivators for recycling based on our recent behavior change research and built a weeklong campaign, ready to deploy via your organization’s social media. Whether you post each day, schedule out the full week, or share/repost them directly from The Recycling Partnership’s Communities for Recycling Facebook and Instagram, don’t miss the opportunity to inspire participation in recycling across your community.

Download The Social Kit

ICYMI Data-Backed Resources to Improve Your Recycling Program

While we at The Recycling Partnership are always expanding our content and resource library, America Recycles Week is the perfect time to inventory the unique needs of your community and how to best meet your residents where they are. Whether or not we’ve partnered on the ground to decrease contamination or expand equitable access to recycling – making it as easy for residents to recycle as it is to throw something away – we have free resources, guides, and toolkits to inspire, educate, and engage your community to recycle the right way for your program.

In case you missed it, here are some of the top community recycling resources, guides, and toolkits released in the past few weeks.

Start at the Cart™: Key Concepts of Influencing Recycling Behaviors: This recycling behaviors paper examines what precedes resident’s recycling behaviors and our stage-gated process for planning behavior change tactics. Recycling behaviors need ongoing support but together, with infrastructure, education, and engagement we can influence better quality, more participation, and an increased amount of recyclables.
Multifamily Recycling Guide and Community Toolkit: Whether your community is getting started in engaging multifamily residents or searching for new tools and resources, this guide and toolkit provides tested best practices and free educational resources to customize and leverage in your community.
Personal Electronics & Battery End-of-Life Management Guide: With the holidays just around the corner, now is time to begin educating your residents about the proper disposal for end-of-life batteries and personal electronics. The free guide and educational assets leverage tested best practices to provide your community with the information and resources you’ll need to implement the most effective collection and management program available today.
User Testing and Best Practices for Designing Educational Materials for Recycling Guide: When educating around what goes in – or doesn’t go in — a recycling container – messaging space is limited and attention spans are short. Through data from a two-part study, this guide uncovers what really helps people better understand recycling instructions.

Community Program Favorites

When you’re ready to update members of your community on what is and isn’t recyclable, you can use free resources like Campaign Builder and DIYSigns. The Recycling Partnership offers free, professional, easy-to-use online software for mailers, signs, design files, and image libraries.

Campaign Builder: Create a better recycling education campaign with our free, easy-to-use online campaign builder. This tool lets you take the reins to customize your community’s recycling campaign. It’s as easy as answering five questions to customize your educational materials to help tackle even the toughest contamination issues in your community. Your new promotional materials will highlight what’s accepted for recycling in your program with your community’s name and contact information. And now, the newest graphics align with our free DIYSigns for Recycling.
DIYSigns: Speaking of DIYSigns, you and your residents can use this free online tool to customize and download signage to show where and what discarded materials belong in the recycling container. Improve recycling where people across your community live, work, play, and learn by using this free Know What to Throw resource.

Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center launches Circular Merchant Technology on America Recycles Day

Circular Merchant logo Finding real-time solutions for recycled materials and items, on America Recycles Day, Monday, November 15, 2021, the Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, launched the new Circular Merchant online network and mobile app platform.

The Circular Merchant is a platform where interested citizens, businesses, or public officials can post items and materials for recycling or reuse for others who may be interested in acquiring these items. The Circular Merchant is equipped with reactive, smart device capabilities such that photos of items or materials can be immediately uploaded; built-in mapping is available to locate the desired pick-up or send locations; and emails are automatically sent to notify interested parties of postings.

In a recent America Recycles Day Program at the York County Solid Waste Authority, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell remarked, “The Circular Merchant will aid the public in finding uses for Pennsylvania’s recycled items as feedstocks in newly manufactured products while allowing individuals to advertise items for reuse. It is a compliment in building Pennsylvania’s recycling markets capacities.”

After seeing the Circular Merchant, Dave Vollero, Executive Director of the York County Solid Waste Authority commented, “This looks like a great platform for use in York County to help our residents maximize the opportunity for recycling. It is timely in that it coincides with the increase in value of commodity markets. We will make every effort to advertise this app and its benefits to York County residents.”

The Circular Merchant is accessible through device browsers at CircularMerchant.com and available via download at the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center will host Circular Merchant Instructional Webinars in December and January; please go to PennRMC.org/register-cm to register.

Beyond Recycling: Policy to Achieve Circular Waste Management

Cities are eager to accelerate the transition to a circular economy and the benefits it brings communities. Even in these challenging times, cities have immense opportunity to promote circular waste in their policies. However, additional state and federal legislation is needed to fully close the loop.

Reloop and the National League of Cities have collaborated to publish Beyond Recycling: Policy to Achieve Circular Waste Management, which scopes out the policy tools to promote circular waste policies at the local, state and federal level.

It’s time to go beyond recycling.

To join the public dialogue, visit Twitter and LinkedIn