January 2017
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 Distinguished Benefator
Renewing Sustaining Members
Renewing Supporting Member
NERC NEWS
- Planning for NERC’s Spring 2017 Conference Underway!
- Celebrating 30 Years
- NERC Receives Contract to Pilot Model E-scrap Collection/Recycling Program in Nebraska
- Green Procurement - Stay in the Loop
NEWLY POSTED
- Recycling Resources for the Recycling Public
- Minutes from the NERC Board of Directors Meeting, November 2016
STATE UPDATES
VERMONT
ADVISORY MEMBER NEWS
- A&E Auto Electric Chooses swissRTec America
- Mike Rowe “The Dirtiest Man on TV” Headlines the 2017 ISRI Convention & Exposition
NEW & RENEWING MembershipS
Membership is key to NERC's regional and national commitment to sustainable materials management. We are delighted to welcome renewing Distinguished Benefactor the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), as well as renewing Sustaining Members Casella Resource Solutions, the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), swissRTec America, and TOMRA, and renewing Supporting Member the Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority (Pennsylvania).
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.
Member Spotlight - Sony
When it comes to electronics, Sony is an iconic name. The company, headquartered in 
Tokyo, is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products for both the consumer and professional markets. Sony has a widely diversified presence in electronics, gaming, entertainment (including motion pictures and music), semiconductors, network services, medical business, and financial services. Its products cover the gamut from televisions to cameras, and headphones to tablets—and, of course, PlayStation®.
Sony, NERC, & the Environment
Sony’s corporate social responsibility initiatives dictate that each of their businesses will operate in an ethical, sound and responsible manner. Using an innovation-driven approach, the Company strives to generate maximum social value with its technologies and content. According to Doug Smith, Director of Corporate Environment, Safety and Health, “innovation is how the Sony Group enhances its corporate value and helps to build a better, more sustainable world for everyone.”
With a changing world, global climate change, and rising social unrest, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals at the Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. As a global corporate citizen, Sony embraced these goals as a roadmap to building a more sustainable world.
Stated Smith, “Sony joined NERC as an Advisory Member because of its long-standing work in electronics recycling and its openness to varying perspectives and priorities. Sony believes in the importance of engaging with its stakeholders and others in a continuous dialogue and NERC shares that value.”
Innovating for the Future
In 1946, Masaru Ibuka, started an electronics shop in Tokyo with eight employees. Joined by a colleague, Akio Morita, in the following year, they founded a company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). The small company successfully built Japan's first tape recorder, called the Type-G. In 1958 the company adopted the name "Sony".
Today, Sony’s approximately 125,300 employees provide the company with a diversity of skills and backgrounds to help realize the Sony mission in the same vein as the company’s founders—through innovation and challenge.
In 2016, marking the 70th anniversary of Sony's founding, Kazuo Hirai, President and Chief Executive Officer, announced that the Company has set its sights on “sustainable growth. . . laying the foundations for the future by boldly pursuing new businesses, and continuing to strive toward the creation of new value.”
The Future of Communication
Sony has a mission to be a company that “inspires and fulfills curiosity.” The Japanese word KANDO means “to move people emotionally, and it is rooted in our brand philosophy to deliver moving experiences to Sony consumers by innovation and challenge. This ‘Spirit of innovation and challenge’ is detailed in our Founding Prospectus, written by one of our Founders, Masaru Ibuka.” Indeed, this innovation and challenge is evident in its products.
NERC News
Planning for NERC’s Spring 2017 Conference Underway!
NERC is working with a group comprised of its Board and Advisory Members to develop the agenda for the Spring 2017 Conference. The volunteer Agenda Planning Committee includes the following people:
- Jaclyn Hochreiter, Addison County Solid Waste District (Vermont)
- Liz Bedard, Association of Plastics Recyclers
- Peter Shirk, BHS Sonthofen
- Barbara Heineken, Carton Council
- Joanne Shafer, Centre Country Recycling & Refuse Authority (Pennsylvania)
- Sarah Reeves, Chittenden Solid Waste District (Vermont)
- Robert Isner, Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
- Billy Johnson, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
- Peter Engel, Kessler Consulting
- Jason Linnell, National Center for Electronics Recycling
- Chaz Miller, National Waste & Recycling Association
- Kayla Montanye, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
- Samara Norman, Trex
- Bryn Oakleaf, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
- Chip Foley
The draft Conference agenda and registration will be available on the NERC website in January.
Conference Dates – March 15 – 16, 2017
Location – Sheraton Burlington Hotel, Burlington, Vermont
If you have any questions regarding the Conference, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Event Organizer.
Celebrating 30 Years
Time certainly flies when you're effecting change, growing an industry, and establishing collaborative networks. And 30 years have flown by for NERC. In 2017, NERC is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The anniversary will be recognized in a variety of ways beginning this month, so stay tuned.
If you have memories or anectdotes you'd like to share, please send them along. We'll also be encouraging guest blogs about NERC's history. For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, Executive Director.
NERC Receives Contract to Pilot Model E-scrap Collection/Recycling Program in Nebraska
NERC is delighted to report that it has been awarded a contract by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) to support a pilot a consumer electronics recycling program in Nebraska. The 18-month project will focus on the Lincoln and Omaha areas, as well as in a rural community. Among the project priorities will be to assist with the establishment of collection sites that are open on an ongoing basis, to provide site operators training in best management practices, and to assist with public education and promotion about the importance and availability of e-scrap recycling.
For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director.
Green Procurement - Stay In the Loop
NERC offers a unique national resource for public sector and nonprofit professionals interested in green procurement: EPPnet.
EPPnet provides a forum for open discussion and news sharing about green products, services and policies. Partication is free. Learn more here.
Composting Collaborative Launched
The Composting Collaborative is a new organization created to foster sustainable materials management of food scraps and other organics. The Collaborative was officially launched on November 17 in Washington, D.C. Founded by GreenBlue, in partnership with BioCycle and the US Composting Council, the Collaborative seeks to accelerate development of composting access and infrastructure that diverts food scraps and other organics from disposal, resulting in value added products to improve soil health.
The Composting Collaborative Imperatives:
1) Accelerate composting infrastructure and landfill diversion in the United States
2) Coordinate national composting initiatives across the composting value chain.
3) Support the competitiveness and long-term viability of compost manufacturing.
4) Determine gaps and prioritize initiatives in the composting space.
5) Educate diverse audiences on the environmental benefits and resilient infrastructure compost manufacturing provides.
NERC staff, Athena Lee Bradley, had the pleasure of attending the Collaborative’s “Inaugural Dialogue” on November 17th. A diversity of compost leaders from around the country were gathered together for the meeting. Discussion included evaluation of opportunities and identifying key leverage points to drive composting innovation; setting priorities for project action; and, a preview of the Collaborative’ s website—designed to be a web-based platform for showcasing projects and initiatives across the country and for the cross-promotion of resources.
The group has identified four strategic areas of focus:
- Policy – which includes state and local level regulations, incentives, and practices
- Markets - including compost operator ability to operate and sell product, including value-added products
- Technical – focusing on effective composter operations, and compost processing standards
- Social - includes overall education on the value of compost and the compost manufacturing process, as well as compost education
The next meeting, to be held at the upcoming United State Composting Council Conference, will focus on building upon the identified action steps.
For more information contact Athena Lee Bradley, Projects Manager.
newly posted
Recycling Resources for the Recycling Public
NERC Advisory Members take on many shapes and forms – including regional recycling authorities and districts, recycling industry trade associations, individual companies, consultants, and municipalities. And, many of them offer wonderful resources for the recycling public. This document - Recycling Resources for the Recycling Public - offers a compendium of links to these resources, organized by topic. Take a look!
Minutes from the NERC Board of Directors Meeting, November 2016
The NERC Board of Directors held its annual meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in November. Minutes from that meeting are now posted.
State updates
VERMONT
State Releases Universal Recycling Status Report
On the heels of America Recycles Day—a national celebration of recycling held each November 15th—the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) released it’s first “Universal Recycling Status Report.” The 16-page report summarizes the status of recycling, composting, and food donation across the state.
Vermont’s Universal Recycling law (Act 148) passed unanimously in 2012. The law’s goal was to reverse decades-long stagnant recycling and composting rates and it is working.
The law requires recycling of "blue bin" recyclables (paper, cardboard, steel and aluminum cans and tins, glass bottles and jars, and plastic bottles and containers #1 and #2) and not disposing of leaf and yard debris, clean wood and food scraps over a six-year timeframe. Universal Recycling also makes it easier and more convenient for Vermonters to recycle and compost by ensuring that services are available for the collection of recyclables, leaf and yard debris, and food scraps at transfer stations around the state.
As of July 2016:
- Trash disposal decreased 5% statewide from 2014 to 2015;
- Recycling and composting increased by 11,793 tons from 2014 to 2015 (2%);
- Food donation grew by nearly 40%, according to the Vermont Foodbank; and
- More Vermonters have access to recycling collection than ever before.
“Vermont’s waste haulers and managers deserve a great deal of credit for these recycling achievements. They are out there every day, helping people recycle and teaching them how to compost,” said DEC Commissioner Alyssa Schuren.
“Act 148 is another step in the strong history and already robust ethic of recycling in Vermont. It is certainly a crucial element in the progression of the value of resource renewal and conservation across Vermont’s economic and environmental landscape,” said John Casella, CEO of Casella Resource Solutions.
“Since state recycling kicked-in, we have seen a huge jump in recyclables from both residential and commercial customers. Most people already did this, but now there is a little extra motivation,” said Jeff Myers, President, Myers Container Service.
Universal Recycling benefits Vermont by:
- Saving valuable resources and promoting sustainability;
- Reducing GHG emissions from solid waste by an estimated 37%;
- Supporting green jobs, creating new markets and business opportunities; and
- Reducing the need for landfills, improving the health of our environment.
“Organic materials—food scraps, leaf and yard debris, clean wood, and compostable dirty paper—make up almost a third of our waste. Every year, nearly 100,000 tons of organic material is estimated to be landfilled in Vermont,” said DEC Solid Waste Program Manager, Cathy Jamieson.
To help implement the Universal Recycling law, Vermont currently has:
- 10 certified food scrap composting or anaerobic digestion facilities
- 13 permitted food scrap haulers that offer services from areas such as Bennington and Brattleboro to St. Johnsbury and St. Albans.
- 17 farm digesters—many already taking food processing residuals
- 100s of businesses, schools, and institutions that have recycled and composted for years–like UVM Medical Center, The Wayside Restaurant, and Bennington College.
Eric Paris, Owner of Kingdom View Compost in Lyndonville said, "We consistently sell out of our compost in the spring and continue to get calls for it into the fall. This is an important source of revenue for our farm and we hope to expand to accept more food scraps and create more high quality compost. We are very excited about this."
“Vermont’s Universal Recycling law has shifted the focus from feeding landfills to feeding hungry Vermonters,” said DEC Commissioner Alyssa Schuren. “What is not donated can be fed to animals, composted, or used to create renewable energy in anaerobic digesters.”
To view the full report, go to: http://dec.vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/wmp/SolidWaste/Documents/Universal.Recycling.Status.Report.Dec_.2016.pdfadvisory member news
A&E Auto Electric Chooses swissRTec America
swissRTec America of Kensington, NH, a company specializing in recycling technology, was recently selected by A&E Auto Electric of Spartanburg, SC to aid in their plant expansion. swissRTec America, Inc., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of swissRTec International of Switzerland. The company sells technology and mechanical systems to the recycling industry on an international scale, and is a leader in designing, building and commissioning turnkey e-waste, scrap metal and ASR (automotive shredder residue) recycling facilities.
A&E Auto Electric has manufactured alternators and starters for 36 years. According to Don Willis, owner and CEO, the company recently decided to venture into the reclamation field because of the valuable copper in their manufacturing byproducts. "Initially, we sold our waste material to China," he says. "We then realized we could profit from this waste material as well. About eight years ago, we invested in a shredder. However, it quickly became apparent that there was more that could be done in terms of extracting valuable material if we had the right equipment, and that brought us to swissRTec."
swissRTec¹s core focus is the shredding, delamination and separation of valuable raw waste materials from waste compound materials such as electronic scrap, cables, printed circuit boards, mixed scrap metal, aluminum composites and other items.
According to Willis, A&E Auto Electric had looked at several different shredders but had not found one that could reduce material to the size they wanted. "With copper bearing-material, in order to get the most value out of it, you need to shred the material as fine and as cleanly as possible."
"swissRTec had a shredder that did this, using adjustable choke rings at the base of the shredder. No one else had that feature. With the swissRTec shredder, the output particle size can be as small as one-quarter inch when processing ASR, and the choke rings allow for adjustment of particle size--no screens required. It¹s also designed for continuous operation and is very efficient to operate. Finally, we liked the fact that they were in partnership with Kubota Environmental Services Co., Ltd. Kubota is a good name, so that weighed favorably with us."
swissRTec¹s mighty Kubota Vertical Shredder has been an industry leader for decades; it can process large and small domestic appliances, metal scrap and other bulky items. According to Bernhard Mueggler, president and CEO of swissRTec America, it breaks down and grinds up all kinds of materials down to one inch or less in size in a single pass. "The technology available with this shredder meets the operating needs of today¹s companies," he says. "It provides optimal flexibility for serving various industries, and that allows companies to process waste more efficiently. When you recycle, you cannot control your intake--you have to deal with the materials that come your way, but our shredder allows you to better adapt to what comes in, thus making processing more productive and economical. This shredder can also be used as a stand-alone unit, or in combination with other processing technology, which is the case with A&E Auto Electric."
Since installing the Kubota vertical shredder, Willis has seen a huge difference in the efficiency of his recycling operation. "We are making good headway in terms of getting the copper out of the alternator components, he says. We have gotten millions of pounds out and we are just getting started. Our scrap metal dealer could not believe how much we had retrieved, or the quality of the copper. Alternator components have four or five different metals within them, and there is also plastic and trash residue to be removed. From this process, we get #1 copper and busheling steel."
Willis also had words of praise for Mueggler and swissRTec who have walked him through much of the process. They have been an invaluable resource, he says. "We are new to this business and they have taken the time to educate us. Our employees are getting up to speed and I know we are going to keep on getting better and better at what we are doing and reap the rewards."
To learn more about swissRTec America and their products, visit www.swissrtec.com or call (603) 435-3440.
Mike Rowe “The Dirtiest Man on TV” Headlines 2017 ISRI Convention & Exposition
Opera singer, TV host, executive producer, narrator, and philanthropist Mike Rowe will headline the Closing General Session of ISRI2017 on Thursday, April 27. Throughout his career, Mike Rowe has had hundreds of jobs, including in recycling. He’s best known as the “dirtiest man on TV,” a title he earned on the hit TV series Dirty Jobs, where he completed 300 different jobs traversing all 50 states and transformed cable television into a landscape of swamps, sewers, and coal mines. He has narrated hundreds of documentaries about space, nature, dinosaurs, serial killers, and how stuff works. Through his thought-provoking, energetic, and humorous presentation, Mike will share the lessons he has learned as a perpetual apprentice about work ethic and the jobs that make civilized life possible.
In addition to Rowe, the ISRI2017 Opening Session will feature a presentation on The Art of Perception by author, lawyer, and consultant Amy Herman. Amy originally developed The Art of Perception in 2000 to improve medical students’ observation and communication skills with their patients when she was the Head of Education at The Frick Collection in New York City. She later adapted the program for a variety organizations and institutions including the New York Police Department, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Defense, as well as for universities, Fortune 500 companies, and medical institutions. In her presentation, Ms. Herman will discuss the applicability and relevance of visual literacy across the professional spectrum and how the analysis and perception of works of art affords the participants in her program a new and innovative way to refresh their sense of inquiry and reconsider the skills necessary for effective leadership both within a company and among its clients and constituents.