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July 2009

NERC’s Advisory Members

Distinguished Benefactors

Consumer Technology Association (CTA)

Benefactors

Coca-Cola

Samsung

Waste Management

Sustaining Members

  • Advanced Drainage Systems

  • American Beverage Association

  • Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR)

  • Blount Fine Foods

  • BlueTriton Brands

  • Bulk Handling Systems

  • Casella Resource Solutions

  • CLYNK

  • Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, Inc.

  • Council of State Governments/Eastern Regional Conference

  • Eco-Products

  • Fire Rover, LLC

  • GDB International

  • Glass Packaging Institute

  • Henkel

  • Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI)

  • International Bottled Water Association

  • Keep America Beautiful

  • Keurig Dr. Pepper

  • MRM

  • Nestle USA

  • NEWMOA

  • PaintCare

  • Plastics Industry Association

  • Re-TRAC

  • Recycling Partnership

  • Republic Services

  • Reverse Logistics Group

  • Revolution

  • Serlin Haley

  • Sims Municipal Recycling

  • Sonoco

  • Strategic Materials

  • Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC)

  • TOMRA

  • US Composting Council (USCC)

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

MEMBERSHIP

New Sustaining Member

Renewing Sustaining Members

New Supporting Member

NERC NEWS

STATE UPDATES

MASSACHUSETTS

ADVISORY MEMBER NEWS


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Send an email to executive.director@nerc.org making the request.  Please be sure to include your full name and organization.

NERC's mission is to advance an environmentally sustainable economy by promoting source and toxicity reduction, recycling, and the purchasing of environmentally preferable products and services.

State and Advisory Member Updates are provided as submissions to NERC and may not reflect the policy or position of the Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.

NERC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.


TOPICS

MEMBERSHIP

We are delighted to welcome many new and renewing members this month.  NERC has a new Sustaining Member — the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company (MRM) — and three renewing Sustaining Members: American Chemistry Council, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), and WeRecycle!, Inc.  In addition, NERC welcomes a new Supporting Member—the National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER).

Thank you to all of our members!  Especially in this troubled fiscal time, this demonstration of support for NERC is appreciated.

A hallmark of NERC is the strength of multi-stakeholder involvement and problem solving.  This is a direct result of the active participation and support of NERC’s Advisory Members.

To see a listing of Advisory Members and the benefits of membership, visit the NERC Advisory Membership web page .

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

NERC NEWS

Register Now for NERC’s Fall ’09 Conference!

NERC’s Fall ’09 Conference agenda is now available!  Don’t delay in registering for this regional event, taking place on October 27 and 28 in Northampton, Massachusetts, to discuss the political and economic issues effecting recycling today. 

Topics to be presented include:

  • Transitioning Recycling Towards a Climate Reduced Economy ~ Eric Harris,Associate Counsel & Director Government and International Affairs, Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI)
  • Strategies for Clarifying and Promoting the Message That Recycling = Energy Conservation
  • Examples of Energy Reduction Practices in Recycling
  • E-waste Legislation Implementation and Updates on Third Party Certification of Electronic Recyclers ~ Jason Linnell,Executive Director,National Center for Electronics Recycling
  • Current Issues Effecting E-waste Recycling Markets:  Export bans, third-party certification, and creating markets in tough economic times

Conference Location & Lodging - Hotel Northampton, Northampton, Massachusetts.  Rooms are available at the Hotel Northampton by calling (800)547-3529.  The discounted rates of $135 for a single and $145 for a double (plus all applicable taxes) are available on a first-come, first-served basis until September 21.  When making your reservation, refer to NERC to ensure that you receive the discounted rates.  Please note that reservations cannot be done online.  Room reservations must be cancelled by noon one week prior to your arrival to avoid charges.

NERC Staff Speak at NRRA Conference

NERC’s Assistant Director, Mary Ann Remolador, and Projects Manager, Athena Lee Bradley both spoke at the Northeast Resource Recovery Association’s 28th Annual Recycling Conference in early June.  The Conference brought together hundreds of participants from around New England and featured more than 60 exhibitors.

Mary Ann participated on a panel entitled Material Exchanges, Changing Reuse!  The session offered an overview of the networks and resources that are helping to advance Material Exchanges.  Mary Ann spoke about NERC’s EPA-funded project — “Creating a National Reuse Marketplace for Materials Exchanges.”  The project involves the development of a web-based network of eight Exchanges — the “Reuse Marketplace website” — that will allow browsers to easily search the available listings of the participant Exchanges. 

She also participated in a novel session that featured eight panelists from government agencies and non-profits.  Who’s Who in Recycling Resources provided attendees with an opportunity to learn about recycling resources available throughout New England.  It afforded a great opportunity for attendees to learn about some of NERC’s projects and how the tools and information it has developed can benefit their projects.

To find out more about the Material Exchange project, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC Assistant Director and Conference Manager.

In the Climate Change and Materials Management Connections session, Chris Beling with EPA New England, set the stage with an overview of the positive impact that materials management, waste reduction, and recycling programs can have on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.  Athena followed with an overview of NERC’s newly updated Environmental Benefits Calculator and how it is a practical tool to help communities, schools, and businesses measure the impact of their recycling efforts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving resources. 

Athena also participated in the Disaster Debris BMP’s: What You Need to Know to Clean Up session.  As a part of NERC’s EPA-funded Debris Management Project, Athena presented an overview of the types of debris generated from ice storms, flooding and hurricanes, and other disasters and how to prepare for managing the debris.  Michael Alexander, Senior Consultant with Kessler Consulting (and former NERC employee) followed with a more in-depth discussion of the best management practices for vegetative waste.  For more information on either of these projects contact Athena Lee Bradley, NERC Projects Manager.

NERC Spring Board Meeting Minutes Posted

The minutes from the NERC Spring Board of Directors meeting is now available on the NERC website.  For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, Executive Director. 

The next Board of Directors meeting will take place on October 28, after the Conference, in Northampton, MA.  The meeting is open to the public and all are welcome. 

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The State Electronics Challenge Has a Logo! 

As NERC prepares to launch the State Electronics Challenge (SEC) as a national program in October, a logo has been designed, added to its website, and made available to all Partners for use on their websites.  If you’d like more information about the SEC, or how you can decrease your carbon footprint through simple activities related to how you purchase, use, and dispose of computers, contact Lynn Rubinstein for more information.

STATE NEWS

MASSACHUSETTS
Schools in Pittsfield Recycle

Setting up a school recycling program can be accomplished in many ways.  For the City of Pittsfield, the first step toward expanding their school recycling efforts was to form a project team.  The team included the hauler, facilities manager, custodial manager, head of DPW, a recycling education specialist from the Center for Ecological Technology (CET) and MassDEP.  All decisions were team based.  CET’s role was to provide appropriate recycling signage and education as needed.  MassDEP’s role was to provide technical assistance.

The next step was to create a strategy for implementing recycling in all of Pittsfield’s 14 schools.  The team focused its efforts on paper and cardboard and divided the implementation schedule into three phases.  The first phase was a pilot program in an elementary, a middle, and a high school.  Information was gathered from each school in order to prepare for recycling.  What was already being recycled?  How many signs, blue bins, toters, and dumpsters were in place and how many more were needed?  Who will be the school’s recycling contact?  Is there a need and/or interest in recycling education presentations?  Everything was in place before the program began in each school, and enough time was taken to review lessons learned before proceeding to the next phase.  The team felt strongly that the school administrators had to be aware of each step in order for the program to be sustainable, so their feedback was solicited.

It took a full year to implement the program in all 14 schools.  Many lessons were learned along the way.  However, the icing on the cake occurred unexpectedly.  Allied Waste and the schools’ facilities manager negotiated a new collection and disposal contact that took into account the schools’ new recycling program.  The new contract assumes that waste will be reduced by 50% in most cases.  The new contract that will begin on July 1st  and reduces the size and frequency of collection of the trash dumpsters, adds paper and cardboard recycling dumpsters to each school, and will result in a 20% reduction in the annual solid waste budget costs for the schools. 

ADVISORY MEMBER NEWS

Northeast Resource Recycling Association to Collaborate with Association of Vermont Recyclers

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Two of New England’s leading state recycling organizations have announced a new initiative to increase school recycling throughout the northeast.  The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) and the Association of Vermont Recyclers (AVR) are actively considering ways to collaborate in the upcoming school year.

In order to better support school recycling programs and prevent duplication of efforts, the two organizations will coordinate efforts to provide better support options for school advisors and club members throughout the northeast.  NRRA has long supported the School Recycling Club, mainly in New Hampshire, but also in surrounding New England States.  Similarly, AVR has worked provided school recycling programs since 1982, primarily in Vermont, but in surrounding states as well.

Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania Seeking Executive Director

The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP), currently headquartered in Bellwood, PA, seeks a creative, service oriented individual to lead the 501(c)(3) organization.  Primary duties of this executive include fiduciary management and forecasting, funds expansion, programmatic development, supervision of staff, and the ability to build consensus amongst PROP’s Board of Directors and a diverse membership represented by government, industry and other non-profit organizations.

The ideal candidate will possess excellent written and oral communications skills and hold a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent with at least 5 years of relevant experience.  Requirements include demonstrated success in income generation, budget development and administration; personnel management; legislative and regulatory advocacy; Board relations; governmental relations; negotiations; and a working knowledge of the solid waste and recycling industry, preferably in Pennsylvania.

Qualifications will be accepted until the position is filled and can be submitted to:
PROP Executive Director
C/o Ms. Brenda Schmidt, PROP Secretary
Crawford County Solid Waste Authority
231 Chestnut Street, Suite 310
Meadville, PA 16335

All questions should be submitted to president@proprecycles.org.

PROP is an Equal Opportunity Employer EOE/M/F/D/V.