March 2007
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
Renewing Supporting Member
· Good Point Recycling
NERC NEWS
Register Now for the NERC Spring Conference ~ Focus on Sustainability of Plastics Recycling
· Asphalt Shingle Waste Management Fact Sheet Now Available
· NERC Staff Speaks at Massachusetts Event
· NERC Staff Attends the North American Plastics Recycling Conference
STATE UPDATES
· Businesses Still Throwing Too Many Recyclables Away as Sweep Finds Excessive Cardboard Disposal
· SAVE THE DATE! For the 7th Massachusetts Organics Recycling Summit : “Gaining Ground in Organics Recycling”
· Idling Reduction Workshops
· FY2007 Municipal Grant Awards
· School Chemical Management Update
· Rhode Island Resource Recovery Awards Grants to Nonprofit Programs
NEWS FROM ADVISORY MEMBERS
· 2007 Pennsylvania Waste Watcher Award Application Released
· Connecticut Recyclers Coalition Supports Shared Responsibility E-Waste Legislation
· Connecticut Recyclers Coalition’s “Recycling is Magic” Show Reaches Kids and Grown-ups
OF GENERAL INTEREST
· Preparing for Disaster
To join the EMail Bulletin list…
Send an email to executive.director@nerc.org making the request. Please be sure to include your full name and organization.
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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. |
TOPICS
MEMBERSHIP
We are very pleased to share with you the following:
Renewing Supporting Member
Thank you one and all!
It is through the active participation and support of its Advisory Members that NERC is able to provide the strength of multi-stakeholder involvement and problem solving.
To see a listing of Advisory Members and the benefits of membership, visit the NERC Advisory Membership web page.
It is the broad spectrum of interests represented by NERC’s Advisory Members and Board Members and their willingness to participate that significantly contributes to the unique and important role that NERC plays in recycling in the region.
NERC NEWS
Register Now for the NERC Spring Conference – Focus on Sustainability of Plastics Recycling
Join us on March 13th and 14th at the Hotel Northampton to discuss the sustainability of plastics recycling with industry leaders.
Specific topics will include: bio-plastics packaging, zero plastics packaging waste, plastic markets update, marine shrink wrap recycling, and issues effecting the recycling of plastic films.
Speakers include:
- John Warner, UMASS Lowell, Green Chemistry Department
- David Cornell, Association of Post-consumer Plastics Recyclers
- Ashley Rosebrook, Aveda/Estee Lauder
- Glenn Johnston, NatureWorks
- Steve Mojo, Biodegradable Products Institute
- Tony Gioffree, Novamont
- Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self Reliance
- Steve Navedo, Puretech Plastics
- Patty Moore, Moore Recycling Associates
- Andrew Martin, Trex Company
- Harry Powers, AEP
- Chris Steely, Poly-America
- Clifton Berner, Cape Cod Marine Trade Association
- James Short, Delaware Department of Resources and Environmental Control
- Gordon McCown, Northeast Resource Recovery Association
For more information, contact Mary Ann Remolador , NERC’s Conference Organizer.
Asphalt Shingle Waste Management Fact Sheet Now Available
In direct response to requests made at the NERC/NEWMOA Construction & Demolition Debris Workshop in 2006, NERC developed a fact sheet on the waste management of asphalt shingles. It may be found on NERC's website by clicking here. For more information, contact Mary Ann Remolador.
NERC Staff Speaks at Massachusetts Event
NERC Staff presented lessons learned from USDA-funded rural special events project at the 2nd Annual Massachusetts Municipal Recyclers’ Workshop in Leominster , Massachusetts on January 8th. Organized by MassRecycle, this day-long event was attended by more than 100 municipalities throughout the state. For more information, contact Mary Ann Remolador.
NERC Staff Attends the North American Plastics Recycling Conference
NERC staff attended this two-day conference in Dallas , Texas on February 13 - 14. Organized by Resource Recycling, more than 450 attendees from around the globe participated in this event to discuss the newest developments in plastics recycling.
STATE UPDATES
MASSACHUSETTS
Businesses Still Throwing Too Many Recyclables Away as Landfill, Combustion Facility Sweep Finds Excessive Cardboard Disposal
A number of well-known Massachusetts businesses and institutions continue to throw away large volumes of easy-to-recycle cardboard in spite of a state ban on its disposal, savings on disposal costs and its value as a commodity, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has reported. For the first time, the agency has taken enforcement actions against waste ban violators.
“Continued disposal of recyclables is a needless waste of money, raw material, and in-state disposal capacity,” said MassDEP Acting Commissioner Arleen O’Donnell. “Diverting material from trash dumpsters to recycling bins saves everyone money. Recycling creates feedstock for companies that manufacture products with recycled content and employ thousands of people across the Commonwealth.”
MassDEP estimates that over 1.5 million tons of paper products are still being disposed in landfills and incinerators across the state every year at an average cost of $70 per ton – up to $105 million in recycling savings for business and communities.
As part of a statewide campaign to cut down on continued disposal of cardboard and other easy-to-recycle materials, MassDEP sent inspectors to a number of solid waste facilities during the fall to monitor compliance with a state regulation that prohibits throwing those materials away.
One of every five truckloads of solid waste that inspectors observed were found to be in violation of state bans on disposal of large amounts of recyclables. One-third of the violations involved excessive amounts of cardboard – up to 40 percent of the material being thrown away, in some cases.
MassDEP cited 12 companies and organizations for illegal cardboard disposal from nine locations, with the following waste hauling companies cited: Allied Disposal of Quincy, BFI Waste Systems of Revere and Yarmouth, Frade’s Disposal of New Bedford, and Waste Management of South Hadley and Stoughton; and nine facilities that generated the material: American Red Cross of Dedham, Building 19 of Lynn, Ethan Allen Furniture of Bellingham, Friendly Fruit of New Bedford, Home Depot stores in Hyannis and Wareham, Lindenmeyr Munroe of Franklin, Westfield State College of Westfield, and Wright Line of Worcester.
The violators were continuing to throw cardboard away in spite of MassDEP’s efforts to educate waste haulers and generators about the disposal bans last spring, and ongoing opportunities for businesses and municipalities to become better acquainted with waste ban requirements.
Each violator was issued a notice of noncompliance with the waste ban regulation, and required to draw up a plan to stop the disposal of banned materials and submit the plan to MassDEP for approval.
SAVE THE DATE! For the 7th Massachusetts Organics Recycling Summit : “Gaining Ground in Organics Recycling”
When: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 from 8:00 - 4:00 (conference & exhibit hall) and Wednesday, March 7, 2007 (optional tours to WeCare Organics, Whole Foods, Bellingham and Newland Farm in Norton).
Where: Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center , Marlborough , Massachusetts
Join MassDEP for a professional conference and vendor exhibit hall focused on organics waste reduction in Massachusetts . A second day includes off-site tours. Last year’s Summit attracted 225 professionals from 14 states.
Who should attend? Businesses and state and municipal governments seeking innovative solutions and cost-saving opportunities for managing organic materials such as commercially generated food waste and residential leaf and yard waste.
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s to Hold Idling Reduction Workshops
Idling reduction workshops will be held on March 15 in Newton and March 20 in Chicopee . The workshops will feature speakers from several Massachusetts communities that have successfully implemented local idling reduction campaigns. Attendance in one of the workshops is required for grantees that received the FY07 idling reduction toolkit from MassDEP. The workshops will have space for additional community, municipal and school representatives to attend.
Fifteen (15) municipalities were awarded the idling reduction toolkit grant. The grant provides each municipal awardee with assistance and materials to develop a local idling reduction campaign. Materials provided in the grant may include but are not limited to “no idling” signs, palm cards to distribute to residents, windshield stickers for cars and buses, bumper stickers, and anti-idling pledge card that can be used by schools.
FY2007 Municipal Grant Awards
In December 2006, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) awarded 30 communities and regional organizations technical assistance grants and in-kind services totaling more than $100,000, including over 1,100 hours of dedicated MassDEP staff time to work on waste reduction projects. MassDEP also awarded school chemical management grants of $5,000 each to Boston , Cambridge , Chelsea , Hadley, Lunenburg, Spencer, and Swampscott. Recipients will use the funding to identify and remove unneeded and/or improperly stored laboratory chemicals, art supplies, mercury-bearing devices in school nurse’s offices and science labs. Grantees will also receive 50 hours of expert technical assistance to develop long-term strategies for responsible chemical storage and management.
Additionally, MassDEP awarded approximately $250,000 in grant awards to communities for Home Composting Bins and Kitchen Scrap Buckets; Public Space Recycling Containers; Water Conservation Equipment including Rain Barrels and Water Conservation Kits; Idling Reduction Toolkits; Healthy Lawn Workshops; Consumer Education Materials. Finally, eight communities were conditionally awarded Pay-As-You-Throw Assistance grants totaling $162,000.
School Chemical Management Update
MassDEP awarded seven communities the school chemical management grant. The program provides $5,000 to be used towards the cleanout of obsolete and stock-piled chemicals, and 90 hours of professional hazardous waste management assistance over a two year period to assist the school with the creation of a comprehensive chemical inventory, the development of a purchasing policy to prevent the purchase of unnecessary or highly toxic chemicals, and the development of an emergency response plan. Each school receiving the grant must commit to forming an Environmental Health and Safety Team with representatives from Science, Facilities, Administration and the Fire Department. While the bulk of the chemicals to be managed are generally found in science labs, the program encourages the management of toxic materials in all departments, e.g. cleaning products, art department, nurses’ office, grounds maintenance, fleet maintenance. It is not unusual to find old chemicals in deteriorating containers, storage rooms without adequate ventilation, corrosion compromising metal shelving storing acids, or 10 year supply of other chemicals.
Trainings were held, December 11, 2006 in Spencer and January 10, 2007 in Cambridge , and were attended by 46 officials from 16 municipalities. Chemical cleanouts will occur during the school's winter or spring break while students are not present.
RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island Resource Recovery Awards Grants to Nonprofit Programs
Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation recently awarded $70,000 in grants to two local nonprofit organizations to fund recycling education programming. The following nonprofit organizations recently received grants from RIRRC:
The Arthritis Foundation, Southern New England Chapter
Resource Recovery awarded the organization a $40,000 grant to continue the “E-Z Recycler” program which facilitates recycling for individuals with arthritis. Many persons with arthritis find it difficult to carry their recycling bins to the curb for collection. The program provides those in need of assistance with a wheel kit which allows them to simply roll their bin out to the curb on collection day. The grant will be used to purchase and distribute 2,500 wheel kits and bins. In addition, a comprehensive educational campaign will be launched to educate members about this unique program.
Instituted in 2005, the “E-Z Recycler” program was overwhelmingly successful and the current demand exceeds the available supply.
Recycling for Rhode Island Education
A $30,000 grant was awarded to Recycling for Rhode Island Education (RRIE) and will be used for the operation of the RRIE Recycling Center .
The Recycling Center promotes reuse and recycling initiatives by providing clean, non-toxic, manufacturer surplus, obsolete finished products and fall-off to teachers, child-care providers, senior programs, religious education and other nonprofits. Given the limited resources available to educators, RRIE provides a valuable source of useful materials that would otherwise be landfilled.
Due in large part to funding by Resource Recovery, the program has grown to over 2,400 members and distributed more than 297,000 pounds of materials last year. The grant provides funding for the Recycling Center and also includes free membership for Johnston Public Schools. Resource Recovery has supported RRIE for nine years.
NEWS FROM ADVISORY MEMBERS
2007 Pennsylvania Waste Watcher Award Application Released
Once again, three prominent recycling and solid waste agencies in Pennsylvania offer the chance to have outstanding programs recognized. The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, the Solid Waste Authority of North America, and the Pennsylvania Waste Industry Association have released the 2007 Waste Watcher Award application. Pennsylvania recycling, composting, and processing systems are all eligible for this prestigious honor.
Connecticut Recyclers Coalition Supports Shared Responsibility E-Waste Legislation
The Connecticut Recyclers Coalition (CRC) is working to pass e-waste legislation that uses shared responsibility with a strong extended producer responsibility (EPR) component. This effort is being made after months of research and discussion with experts, administrators, and stakeholders from around the country. CRC members felt that the Advanced Recycling Fee (ARF) model created a tax-fed bureaucracy that neither took advantage of corporate efficiencies nor provided an incentive to equipment manufacturers to improve product design. In contrast, shared responsibility with an EPR component allows each player to do what it does best.
Connecticut Recyclers Coalition’s “Recycling is Magic” Show Reaches Kids & Grown-ups
Over the last year the CRC has educated and entertained nearly 1,000 Connecticut residents with its “Recycling is Magic” show. The fantasy story of how a wizard saves a town from an army of ogres shifts to the real-world challenge faced in fixing all that was broken and used up. The audience sees how the wizard uses magic to restore ripped newspapers, make cans into cars, magic bags to make tissue from junk mail. In the end, however, they learn that they can do the same magic with their own blue bin and recycling program…no wand required. For older audiences the story and magic show shifts to a discussion. Audience members take turns picking items out of the pile of “trash” created by the ogres during the performance. They discuss whether each item should be reduced, reused, recycled, trashed or handled as special waste.
OF GENERAL INTEREST
Preparing for Disaster
This past December, agricultural officials, emergency first-responders, and a few of solid waste professionals gathered in Beltsville , Maryland for the National Symposium on Carcass Disposal. The event, sponsored by the Maine Compost Team, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cornell Waste Management Institute, Penn State Cooperative Extension, and other agencies, was organized to discuss emergency and large-volume animal carcass disposal. Topics discussed included: bio-security and pathogen issues; carcass disposal technology; past experiences and lessons learned; and planning for catastrophic events.
Recent world events have heightened concern over animal disease outbreaks and natural disasters. In 2002, 4.7 million birds were destroyed in Virginia due to an outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza. About 60 percent of the infected poultry — more than 13,000 tons — were landfilled. Hurricanes in the last several years have left thousands of pets and livestock stranded or dead. Countries around the world have had to deal with the mass slaughter and burial of livestock and poultry due to disease.
Many Northeast states have sizable poultry and livestock farms. “Backyard” or “hobby” farming continues to grow in popularity around the region. Chronic wasting disease in deer is on the rise in Northern states. Road kill is also an issue impacting all states.
There are unique challenges to overcome during a crisis requiring large volume carcass disposal. It is important that agriculture, emergency management, and solid waste professionals work together to prepare. The following general steps can be used by state and local officials to prepare for potential disasters:
· Determine the disposal practices that are environmentally acceptable according to the area’s geography (e.g., soil type);
· Identify resources available to the region, including agricultural, solid waste and composting facilities, haulers, veterinary services, and existing emergency management plans;
· Identify state environmental regulations and guidelines for carcass disposal.
To test your readiness for a disease outbreak or natural disaster, ask the following questions:
· Is your agency ready to deal with the multifaceted dynamics of carcass disposal-from public relations and pathogen control to large-scale carcass disposal?
· As a solid waste professional do you know how to ensure the safety and personal protection of clean-up personnel involved in carcass transport and burial?
· Do you have contracts in place that can be implemented during an emergency to provide for transportation of carcasses?
· Do the haulers have the proper transportation equipment to prevent the spread of disease pathogens?
· Have you contacted your regional landfill to see if they will allow the disposal of infectious animals?
· Are local composting operations prepared and permitted to compost carcasses?
· Are the soils in your region acceptable for environmentally safe carcass burial?
· Will you be able to provide rapid response in order to protect your agricultural production from severe disruption?
· Do you know the agricultural, human health and environmental concerns pertaining to carcass disposal?
To find out more contact Athena Lee Bradley , NERC Projects Manager.