News &
Updates

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March 2008

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

MEMBERSHIP

New Sustaining Member

Casella Waste Systems

Renewing Sustaining Member

Newspaper Association of America
Steel Recycling Institute

New Supporting Member

SCER Supreme

NERC NEWS

STATE UPDATES

CONNECTICUT

MAINE

MASSACHUSETTS

RHODE ISLAND

RI DEM & RIRRC Team Up to Take the Waste out of Business

ADVISORY MEMBER NEWS

WeRecycle!, Inc. Announces NAID Certification

OF GENERAL INTEREST

Cell Phone Recycling is an Easy Call

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.

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.

TOPICS

MEMBERSHIP

We are delighted to welcome Casella Waste Systems as a new Sustaining Member. Casella has been a Supporting Member for a number of years and has increased its support of NERC by joining as a Sustaining Member.

In addition, we thank the Newspaper Association of America and the Steel Recycling Institute for renewing as Sustaining Members.

And, we also welcome a new Supporting Member - SCER Supreme.

Thank you!

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

Don’t Miss NERC’s 20th Anniversary Celebration & Spring Conference – March 18 - 19

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet the visionaries who pioneered the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) as a multi-state recycling market development force. At the same, you will hear presentations and discussions about some of the most relevant issues to the recycling industry. The conference will be held at the Hotel Northampton in Northampton, Massachusetts. Visit NERC’s Web site for daily updates on the agenda.

And be sure to join us for NERC’s 20th Anniversary Gala. It will take place on Tuesday, March 18, 5:30 – 7:30, at Union Station in Northampton. Thanks to the generous support of PSEG, the Steel Recycling Institute, and the American Chemistry Council, all friends of NERC are invited to join us as our guests.

Lodging: There are a number of available hotels in the Northampton area, but staying at the Hotel Northampton will allow you easy access to the conference sessions and exhibitors. To reserve a room, call the Hotel at (800) 547-3529. Please note that reservations cannot be made online. Room reservations must be cancelled by noon one week prior to your arrival to avoid charges. The special conference rates have expired.

Exhibitors: Exhibit tables are available for the Conference. For more information, go to the exhibitor information page on NERC’s Web site.

For more information about the conference agenda or speakers, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Conference Organizer and Assistant Director.

Last Chance for a Few Lucky Companies

There are a few exhibitor tables left for NERC’s Spring Conference & 20th Anniversary celebration to be held on March 18 -19 at the Hotel Northampton in Northampton, Massachusetts. Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your company to a diverse audience from throughout the Northeast. No other event gives you the opportunity to display your company information in the same room as the conference sessions and allows you the chance to introduce your company with a five-minute presentation.

Watch for an Email Bulletin EXTRA Covering 20 Years of Impressive Accomplishments!
NERC can boast an amazing series of accomplishments over the past 20 years, breaking ground in a number of important areas. Watch for a summary of these accomplishments in the next couple of weeks, when NERC sends out an Email Bulletin EXTRA as part of our anniversary celebrations. It’s the result of extensive and loving research by Executive Director, Lynn Rubinstein.

First Pennsylvania State Electronics Challenge Partner
The Centre County Solid Waste Authority has signed up as the first Pennsylvania State Electronics Challenge (SEC) Partner! There are now nine Partners, representing Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The SEC is an opportunity for all levels of government to become involved in affecting the life cycle impacts of how they purchase, use, and dispose of computers. Partners receive free technical assistance, opportunities for recognition, and assistance in calculating the environmental impact of their activities.

For more information, visit the State Electronics Challenge Web site , or contact Lynn Rubinstein .

First SEC Partner-Only Teleconference to Focus on Purchasing Green

Sarah O’Brien, EPEAT© Outreach Director, Green Electronics Council, will present the first State Electronics Challenge (SEC) Partner-only teleconference on April 15. The topic will be how to procure “green” computers using EPEAT© - the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. The teleconference will include a presentation and an opportunity for discussion and information exchange among the Partners.

Currently, there are nine SEC Partners:

Teleconferences are one of the benefits of becoming an SEC Partner. Future topics will include power management and environmentally sound management of electronics at the end-of-life.

Any level of government is invited to join the SEC. The State Electronics Challenge is a voluntary program that encourages and helps state, regional, and local governments, including schools, colleges, universities, and other public entities, to:

Purchase greener computers.
Reduce power consumption of computers during use.
Manage obsolete computer products in an environmentally safe way.

Government agencies and organizations participate as "partners" in the program. The SEC provides partners with resources and technical assistance for improving electronics management practices, and offers annual recognition to Partners that have achieved specific goals.

It’s free to join, and the benefits are ample. For more information, visit the State Electronics Challenge Web site, or contact Lynn Rubinstein.

NERC Offers Manure Management Workshops in New Jersey

This March NERC will be offering eight free manure management workshops in Salem County, New Jersey. The workshops are designed to meet the needs of small farmers. Topics will include storage, land application, composting, manure marketing, and more. Specifics for all livestock — horses, cows, goats, sheep, llamas, pigs, chickens, and rabbits — will be presented. A free manure management handbook will be given to all participants; technical assistance in manure management is also available at no cost.

A special workshop for horse owners will be on Wednesday, March 26. This workshop, co-sponsored with the Rutgers Cooperative Research and Extension, will cover the topics of manure management and grazing techniques. The workshop will be held at the Salem County Extension offices in Woodstown.

Livestock owners are invited to participate in a Manure Management Basics for All Types of Livestock workshop on March 27, from 7:00-8:00 pm at the Elmer Grange. This workshop will specifically address composting of manure. It is being held in conjunction with the Salem County 4-H Livestock Group.

Other workshops are being held March 24 – 29 in Alloway, Upper Pittsgrove, Oldsman and Lower Alloways Creek, Mannington, and Woodstown.

Improper manure management can pollute waterways and be harmful to livestock. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s new Animal Waste Management Rules require all agricultural animal operations to follow the requirements of the rules — whether a farm has 1 horse, 25 goats, or 300 cows. At these workshops, the waste management rules for small farm operations will be reviewed along with low-cost ways to manage manure — from composting to land application.

This project is supported by a grant from the Rural Utilities Service, United States Department of Agricultural. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the Rural Utilities Service. The workshops are cosponsored by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the NJ Department of Agriculture.

For more information, please contact Athena Lee Bradley.

STATE UPDATES

CONNECTICUT

Solid Waste Committee Work Continues

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s (CT DEP) State Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee is continuing its work towards meeting the goals of the statewide plan. Upcoming meeting dates for the full committee are March 25, April 22, May 27, June 24, September 23, October 28, and November 25. There are no meetings scheduled for July, August, and December.

Everything You Wanted to Know about #1 & #2

What happens to my recyclables after they are picked up?” It’s a question we’ve often heard in Connecticut.

In the 1967 movie, “The Graduate,” Mr. McGuire told Ben there was a future for him in “plastics.” Flash forward forty years: Mr. McGuire was right! We find plastics in every kind of product -- from bottles to medical supplies; clothing and building materials, but nationwide only 3 - 5% of all plastics are recycled.

Plastics are not yet a state mandated recyclable in CT, but most towns collect #1 (PETE) – and/or #2 (HDPE) narrow neck bottles. The resin number is usually found on the bottom of the container surrounded by chasing arrows. You will find the #1 resin code on clear plastic water bottles and some food and other beverage plastic containers and the #2 resin code on plastic milk jugs and gallon water jugs, laundry and detergent bottles, and some food and beverage containers. Why are only # 1 and #2 plastic bottles collected in curbside recycling programs? They are the most common and there are markets for them. Generally, there are not enough bottles made of the other resins to market them for recycling.

Once your recyclables get to an Intermediate Processing Center (IPC), the plastics are separated, by resin type, sorted, bailed, and sent to plastic recyclers. They break the bales apart and go through processes that clean and granulate or pelletize the plastic. The plastic is then ready to be made into new products. Manufacturers re-melt the flakes or pellets and mold them into new plastic products such as plastic bottles, flowerpots, decking, or even clothing. PETE is typically recycled into carpeting, fleece clothing, comforter fill, tote bags, and new containers. Recycled HPDE is made into plastic bottles for non-food items, plastic lumber and pipe, garden edging, and floor tiles.

Don’t be tempted to put plastic other than what your town collects in your bin! They will have to be sorted out at the IPC. This not only makes recycling more costly, but it can also contaminate the other plastics because their chemical properties, such as melting points, are not compatible.

While separating plastic for recycling is important, you should also support plastics recycling with your purchasing decisions by buying products made from recycled plastic:

Purchase products with recycled content (e.g., carpeting, fleece clothing),
Look for recycled content on plastic containers,
Try to buy products in plastic packaging you can recycle, and
Let manufacturers know you want their packaging to be recyclable and be made of recycled material.

MAINE

Maine Recycles Week 2007 Reached a Proper Conclusion with Help of Maine’s First Lady & Staff of Blaine House

Students recognized as poster winners from the 2007 Maine Recycles Week Poster competition were welcomed at the Blaine House on January 30, 2008, to be awarded certificates for their efforts. Despite the weather, this was one of the best turnouts and the broadest of representation. Two students and their family members made an extra effort to come to Augusta from Isleboro, and yet it was agreed that the trek from Sacopee Valley High School might have been the longest. For the first time in the history of Maine Recycles Week, students were selected from the Portland area – South Portland’s Mahoney Middle School and Portland’s King Middle School. The even distribution presented a new picture to the Blaine House event. Only one student from Presque Isle could not make it but will be reached by the State Planning Office’s Waste Management and Recycling Team. The winning posters are featured in the 2008 Maine Recycles Calendar.

Jennifer Robitaille, teacher, Lily Darling, Student,

Leander Andrews and his teacher
Lisbon Falls with Mrs. Baldacci.

Jessica Porter from Belfast.

Posters, postcards, and magnets promoting the new recycling campaign greeted the guests and drew comments from the First Lady in the opening remarks. The center of attention was appropriately the students though. Pictures were taken with the awards and with Mrs. Baldacci. The real stars may have been the English Spaniels belonging to the Governor and First Family that had their own way of welcoming the children into their home. No one was in the doghouse though and the afternoon was considered by each and everyone as a total success.

Maine Recycles Competition Announces Winners
The State Planning Office is pleased to announce the results of its film and radio competition. The contest was designed to create 30 - and 60- second television and radio spots to promote recycling. Students from 25 high schools and 2 colleges submitted over 80 videos and 3 radio ads.

Four students from Georges Valley High School share the first place prize of $500 for their entry titled, There’s No Wrong Way to Recycle. Second place ($250) goes to George Murray of South Portland High School for The Shortest Essay in the World. The message, “Using Things Only Once Doesn’t Make Sense” ties in well with the Maine Recycles slogan, “Everything Deserves a Second Chance.” Libby Donovan, a participant of the Blunt Youth Radio Project at WMPG and a student at South Portland High School, won $100 for her radio ad about recycling paper.

Prizes will be awarded as part of the video viewing celebration on Tuesday, May 29, 2008 at the Samoset Resort in Rockland. All competition participants and their advisors are invited to attend this celebration showcasing the students’ work. The viewing will be during the state’s annual recycling conference sponsored by the Maine Resource Recovery Association.

The State Planning Office (SPO) is delighted with the creativity of all the entries. “Students are the next generation of recyclers and we particularly wanted their voices to come through in these ads,” said Martha Freeman, SPO Director. “Students speaking to students is powerful,” she said. The State Planning Office plans to air these ads this spring on public access television and radio. The effort is part of the state’s new recycling education campaign aimed at getting more young people to recycle.

MASSACHUSETTS

Climate Change & Sustainable Community Grants Go to 161 Municipalities & Regional Groups
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has conditionally awarded $957,885 in fiscal year 2008 for climate change, sustainability, and pollution prevention grants to 161 towns, cities, and regional organizations. The funding will support innovative local and regional efforts to save energy, throw away less, recycle and compost more, eliminate hazardous materials from school facilities and grounds, and reduce people’s exposure to air pollution from excessive idling of bus, car, and truck engines.

MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt announced that MassDEP has awarded:

Climate Change grants totaling $104,000 to six towns that are working to reduce greenhouse gases by using approaches such as researching and installing green roofs, using solar power, public outreach, and retrofitting traffic signals with LEDs. These grants were to Boston ($50,000), Cohasset ($17,050), Hull ($8,400), Marlborough ($12,000), Melrose (1,550) and Reading ($15,000).
School chemical management grants valued at $12,200 each to Falmouth, Framingham, Sturbridge, and Weston. Recipients will use the funding to target the removal of unwanted hazardous chemicals from storage and establish purchasing controls and management systems.
Vehicle idling reduction tool kits that 21 recipients – including Barnstable, Newton, Salem and Weymouth - will use to educate drivers about the importance of turning their engines off when they are parked or making deliveries. State law limits most engine idling to five minutes or less.
Mercury Collection Sheds to eight municipalities and regional groups – including Athol, Concord, Greenfield, and Norton for the collection and recycling or mercury containing products. The 8x10 storage sheds are for collecting universal wastes such as fluorescent lamps, certain batteries, mercury thermostats and other mercury containing devises in efforts to support the Massachusetts Mercury Management Act, which focuses on preventing the release of mercury into our environment.
Water Conservation equipment grants awarded to 59 municipalities. Equipment includes certificates for Rain Barrels and Water Conservation Toolkits that will help residents make their homes “water tight and waste free” by providing them with low-flow showerheads, rain gauges, dye-tablets, kitchen faucet aerators, outdoor hose nozzles, and educational materials.
Recycling equipment grants awarded include assistance to 19 composting programs, and 40 public area recycling programs. Also, 29 municipalities will receive educational outreach assistance with a customized recycling piece, and 53 municipalities will receive a Waste Reduction Toolkit filled with a variety of materials and resources to assist municipal recycling coordinators in promoting public participation in local waste reduction programs.

In addition, 20 municipalities that are hoping to implement “Pay-as-You-Throw” solid waste management programs this year have been conditionally awarded funding which would be used by the communities to help finance the program start-up costs. Also known as unit-based pricing, “Pay-as-You-Throw” is a system in which residents pay for municipal solid waste management services based on how much trash they discard. Over 120 communities in Massachusetts already have “Pay-As-You-Throw” programs with recycling rates an average of 40% higher than those without it.

MassDEP Hosts School Chemical Management Trainings

MassDEP held a School Chemical Management training at Weston High School on Feb. 6, 2008. Municipal and school officials from ten different school districts attended the training.

The training is part of MassDEP’s grant program for creating sustainable chemical management systems in public schools and clearing out stockpiled chemicals. Schools selected for this grant receive professional hazardous waste management services to perform a chemical inventory, training on chemical hazard awareness and 90 hours of on-site technical assistance in establishing and implementing a chemical management plan. Each grantee school district also receives up to $5,000 in clean-out expenses for unnecessary chemicals. Middle schools and high schools are the targeted audience.

The interest level in this topic is extremely high. The School Chemical Management Workshop filled to capacity within four days of posting and a dozen people are wait-listed for a second training to be held in May 2008.

MassDEP Announces Partnership with Thermostat Recycling Corporation

The Thermostat Recycling Corporation, a non-profit organization supported by four thermostat manufacturers (Honeywell, White Rogers, GE, and Nordyne Inc.) has announced the rollout of a recycling program for out-of-service mercury-added thermostats.

MassDEP is promoting TRC's program by facilitating delivery of one collection container per municipality and paying the $25 one-time registration fee. MassDEP will also provide mercury spill kits to any thermostat collection location that does not already have one. All transportation and recycling costs are funded by the TRC. As of mid-February 20, municipalities have signed up.

Two New Employees Join MassDEP’s Recycling Team

Jason Davis has joined MassDEP's Municipal Waste Reduction Branch as a Regional Planner. Jason comes to MassDEP from the National Park Service and the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation where he coordinated environmental education programs. At MassDEP, Jason will manage various components of the municipal grant program including vehicle idling reduction, public education, and technical assistance projects.

Sean Sylver has joined MassDEP's Commercial Waste Reduction Branch as a Regional Planner. Sean will be taking over the administration of the Massachusetts Bottle Deposit Law Program and working on other commercial waste reduction initiatives.

RHODE ISLAND

RI DEM & RIRRC Team Up to Take the Waste Out of Business

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management are engaged in a joint campaign to reduce business waste in Rhode Island. Commercial waste accounts for nearly 60% of material disposed at the Central Landfill in Johnston. The two agencies have made it a high priority to increase diversion from the commercial sector and to educate businesses about all the benefits of conservation, recycling, and waste reduction measures.

In recent months, representatives of the two agencies have teamed up to create an identity and logo for new campaign, and to “divide and conquer” tactics that include research, opinion polling, on-site waste audits and consultations, and informational sessions with legislative leaders.

The public kick-off date is Earth Day and is expected to be a multi-year effort. On February 15, DEM announced a soft-launch of the program, with a mailing to Rhode Island companies asking them to use its new online reporting program. All companies with more than 50 employees have one year to comply with recycling regulations before the department will begin enforcement procedures.

ADVISORY MEMBER NEWS

WeRecycle!, Inc. Announces NAID Certification
WeRecycle!, Inc is now NAID Certified for Mobile Computer Hard Drive Destruction. The National Association for Information Destruction's Certification program is provided to companies performing information destruction services. The program establishes standards for secure destruction processes.

Through NAID Certification, WeRecycle!, Inc. proves their overall secure processes, from employee hire to operations for destruction. All audits to complete the process are performed by Certified Protection Professionals (CPPs).

“Achieving NAID certification serves as a tremendous milestone for WeRecycle! Inc.,” said Andrew Vermette, Asset Recovery Manager at WeRecycle!, Inc.

OF GENERAL INTEREST

Cell Phone Recycling Is an Easy Call
The nation's leading cell phone makers, service providers, and retailers have teamed up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the States to answer the call for easy cell phone recycling in New England. As part of EPA's Plug-In to eCycling program, partners supporting the cell phone recycling campaign include AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, and T-Mobile.

"Thanks to our Plug-In partners' efforts, recycling an old cell phone has become a quick and easy way for consumers to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, keep valuable materials out of landfills and incinerators, and conserve natural resources," said Robert Varney, Regional Administrator of EPA's New England Office. "By dropping it off at a store or sending it through the mail, we have more recycling options today than ever before."

EPA New England has been donating cell phones to various women’s crisis shelters, the Stoughton Fire Department, U.S. troops in Iraq, and other organizations since 2004. In total, EPA New England has donated about 274 cell phones, 2 pagers, and numerous accessories.

To kick-off the campaign, EPA has released a series of print public service announcements, "Recycle Your Cell Phone. It's an Easy Call," which highlight the convenience and environmental and social benefits of recycling a cell phone. EPA also introduced a podcast that addresses many common questions on cell phone recycling.

EPA started the campaign because many consumers still do not know where or how they can recycle their unwanted cell phones. Consequently, fewer than 20 percent of unwanted cell phones are recycled each year.

Recycling a cell phone offers an opportunity for everyone to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy, and conserve natural resources. An estimated 100 to 130 million cell phones are no longer being used, many languishing in storage. If Americans recycled 100 million phones, we could save enough upstream energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. households for a year. If consumers were able to reuse those 100 million cell phones, the environmental savings would be even greater, saving enough energy to power more than 370,000 U.S. homes each year.