May 2006
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 Members
- Newspaper Association of America
- Public Service Enterprise Group
Renewing Supporting Member
NERC NEWS
- Model Legislation Targeting Electronic Waste Recycling Announced
- NERC, MACRO, & MACREDO – A Super-Regional Commitment to Source Reduction & Recycling
- NERC Sends Letter to Federal Senators Asking for Support of National Recycling Database
- Special Thank You to EPA Region III
- Resolution Adopted in Support of Model Regional Electronics Legislation
NEW PUBLICATIONS
STATE UPDATES
DELAWARE
- Curbside Recycling Increasing in Delaware
- Delaware Announces Recycling Grant Recipients
- Recycling Requirements Included in Landfill Permit Conditions
MAINE
NEW YORK
PENNSYLVANIA
RHODE ISLAND
VERMONT
OF GENERAL INTEREST
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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. |
MEMBERSHIP
We are delighted to announce that Newspaper Association of America and Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) have renewed their Sustaining Memberships, and that Casella Waste Management has renewed as a Supporting Member
Thank you to one and all!
It is through the active participation & 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 & CSG/ERC Announce Model Legislation Targeting Electronic Waste Recycling
States will be better prepared to address the challenges of electronic waste management thanks to model legislation released by the NERC and the Council of State Governments/Eastern Regional Conference (CSG/ERC). An Act Providing for the Recovery and Recycling of Used Electronic Devices seeks to ensure the environmentally sound management of discarded electronic devices -- which are the fastest-growing components of America’s waste stream, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency -- and promote the development of statewide infrastructures for their collection and recycling.
Throughout the 14-month project, CSG/ERC and NERC facilitated an effort among more than 50 state legislators, legislative and environmental agency staff to craft a coordinated, legislative approach for the collection and recycling of desktop and personal computers, computer monitors, laptops, and televisions in the region. Participants hailed from the ten NERC states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Québec. The group regularly solicited input from a variety of stakeholders - including electronics manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, environmental groups,and local government.
A Discussion Document that explains the background about legislators’ and other state participants’ deliberations regarding some of the key issues that were raised during the process of drafting the model regional electronics legislation is available. Another document highlights the Key Elements of the legislation.
A special thank you to the almost 100 stakeholders that participated in this process. For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein.
NERC, MACRO, & MACREDO – A Super-Regional Commitment to Source Reduction & Recycling
The recent NERC Conference was an historical event, bringing together the Boards, members, and friends of the Northeast Recycling Council, Inc. (NERC), Mid-America Council of Recycling Officials (MACRO), and the Mid-Atlantic Consortium of Recycling and Economic Development Officials (MACREDO). Combined, we represented more than half the United States. The conference also brought together EPA officials from around the nation: Headquarters and Regions 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9. In all, more than 100 individuals attended the three-day conference.
The Executive Directors of NERC and MACREDO, and the Chair of the Board of MACRO reviewed recent projects and presented ideas for super-regional collaboration.
Betsy Dorn, R.W. Beck, used the presentations as a launching point for facilitating a brainstorming session and group discussion about opportunities for collaboration between NERC, MACREDO, and MACRO. Several areas of opportunity were highlighted:
- Develop standardized recycling performance metrics and messages.
- Develop an ongoing system for information exchange and benchmarking purposes among the three organizations.
- Collaborate on selected waste reduction and recycling projects that address agreed upon priorities; for example
- Targeting priority materials such as C&D, electronics, and organics
- Support a meta-search engine for materials exchanges
There was also discussion about submitting multi-organization project proposals to EPA, particularly in the areas of updating the Recycling Economic Information Study, and for organics management.
NERC Sends Letter to Federal Senators Asking for Support of National Recycling Database
At the request of the Steel Recycling Institute, the NERC Board of Directors voted to send a letter to each of the NERC Federal Senators requesting an appropriation to EPA for the development and maintenance of a national recycling database. The letter was sent in early April. A copy of the letter is available upon request. Contact Lynn Rubinstein for more information.
Special Thank You to EPA Region III
NERC staff returned to Vermont from its Joint Meeting and Conference with MACRO and MACREDO held in Philadelphia feeling very satisfied and well taken care of. This was in large part due to the care and attention we received from our gracious host – EPA, Region III. NERC would like to thank EPA for the use of their meeting rooms, as well as EPA staffer Mike Giuranna for accommodating our event needs (and last minute requests) and for actively participating in the Meeting planning discussions. We’d also like to thank Sue & Danny, EPA staff on the 4th Floor where we held our meetings. They were a delight to work with. And, we also appreciated the lobby security guards, whose friendly nature made the entry screening process easy.
Resolution Adopted in Support of Model Regional Electronics Legislation
On April 1, the Executive Committee of the Council of State Governments/Eastern Regional Conference adopted the following resolution:
Development of a Coordinated, Regional, Legislative Approach to End-of-Life Electronics Management
WHEREAS, the officers and members of the Energy & Environment Committee of the Council of State Governments’ Eastern Regional Conference (CSG/ERC) in the fall of 2004 established as a top priority the development of policies to address the rapid proliferation of electronic waste in the Northeast; and
WHEREAS, while electronic waste – including discarded computers, televisions and other electronic devices – is considered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to be the fastest-growing form of consumer waste in the U.S., there is no national system in existence governing electronics end-of-life management; and
WHEREAS, given the absence of significant activity at the federal level, Committee officers authorized the CSG/ERC Energy & Environment Program to engage in a collaborative effort with the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) to facilitate a dialogue among state legislators, legislative and agency staff in the ERC’s fifteen member jurisdictions to develop a coordinated legislative proposal governing end-of-life electronics management in the region; and
WHEREAS, establishment of a unified legislative approach would avoid a patchwork quilt of laws and regulations in the Northeast that could increase management and compliance costs among government and business and reduce recycling opportunities; and
WHEREAS, since the project’s inception in February 2005, CSG/ERC and NERC have facilitated regular conference calls with policymakers, and planned and coordinated two multi-stakeholder meetings and additional single-stakeholder meetings between policymakers and manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, leasing companies, environmental groups and local government – and each meeting has become a major source of information for policymakers; and
WHEREAS, since February 2006, CSG/ERC and NERC staff have also collaborated with staff from state environmental agencies in six Midwestern states to develop a harmonized policy for electronics management systems among the two regions; and
WHEREAS, the CSG/ERC – NERC effort is nearing completion of a final legislative proposal based on the guidance received from the more than fifty legislators, legislative and environmental agency staff that have participated in the project since its inception, and substantial input from stakeholders at the regional and national level; and
WHEREAS, consistent with the guidance provided by policymakers, the proposal calls for manufacturers to assume responsibility for the collection, transportation and recycling of discarded electronics, and, among other provisions, would establish collection programs that are convenient for consumers, create environmentally sound management standards, set clear performance goals, and allow opportunities for multi-state collaboration;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the CSG/ERC Executive Committee supports the efforts of the Energy & Environment Program to inform and educate policymakers about the issues associated with end-of-life electronics management and believes that the CSG/ERC – NERC project has made a significant contribution to the national discourse on this critical policy matter; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Executive Committee authorizes Energy & Environment Program staff to perform outreach to members of state legislatures and their staff throughout the ERC, and elsewhere in the U.S., to inform them of the process that CSG/ERC and NERC facilitated among state officials to develop a coordinated legislative proposal governing end-of-life electronics management, and the content of that proposal.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Many New Resources on the NERC Website: Anaerobic Digestion, Green Procurement of Computers, Conference Presentations
Once again, the NERC website has expanded the resources that it offers. A new drop-down section has been added for the “Green Procurement of Electronics”. This area includes links to documents related to NERC’s EPA Regions 1 & 3 grants to promote the use of EPEAT (electronic product environmental assessment tool) by public sector and institutional purchasers. The section will expand over the next several months, and will include information and announcements about upcoming educational teleconferences. In the meantime, it already includes:
- A Project Description: Promoting Source Reduction & Increasing the Use of Recycled Materials through the Green Procurement of Electronics
- A presentation about EPEAT, what it does and how it is useful
- A link to the official EPEAT website
STATE UPDATES
DELAWARE
Curbside Recycling Increasing in Delaware
More and more Delawareans are being offered the opportunity to participate in curbside recycling as private haulers, municipalities, and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority (DSWA) make the service available to residents. Here are noteworthy recent developments:
- The City of Wilmington, in partnership with RecycleBank, has announced plans to institute a pilot single-stream collection program in about 8,000 households, with the intention of expanding the program citywide if the pilot is successful.
- Two independent haulers in New Castle County are partnering with the DSWA to offer single-stream curbside recycling, one to residents of a small municipality and the other to residents of an unincorporated area of the county. The program in the town of Townsend is being offered at no charge to all residents, on a trial basis. The service provider is Independent Disposal Services, the hauler currently under contract to collect the town’s trash. Residents of the Brandywine Hundred area of the county may subscribe for curbside service through Tri-State Waste Solutions.
- The DSWA’s subscription source-separated curbside recycling program will expand into the state’s southern-most county, Sussex, no later than July 2006. This program is already available to all residents of Delaware’s other two counties.
Delaware Announces Recycling Grant Recipients
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Governor’s Recycling Public Advisory Council have announced the recipients of Recycling Assistance Grants for Fiscal Year 2006. Five proposals were approved for funding.
The largest grant, $24,679, was awarded to the City of Wilmington, to help cover administrative and outreach costs associated with the implementation of a pilot curbside recycling program involving approximately 8,000 households. In providing this service for city residents, Wilmington is partnering with RecycleBank, a Philadelphia-based company that has developed an innovative incentive program that rewards people for recycling. When a resident’s recyclables are picked up, they are weighed, and the household is rewarded in the form of discount coupons redeemable at many local businesses such as supermarkets, restaurants, jewelry stores, pharmacies, and movie theaters. If the pilot is successful, the City will expand the program to include all Wilmington residents.
Other projects receiving grants are:
- The University of Delaware: $14,624.83 to conduct composting education in schools and other group settings;
- Delaware Academy of Science/Iron Hill Museum: $5,400 to conduct recycling outreach in elementary schools;
- Mt. Pleasant Band Boosters Association: $3,059 to expand its aluminum recycling program, with a goal of doubling the amount of aluminum collected in the previous year; and
- Middletown High School: $2,237.17 to implement a paper recycling program at the school, with a goal of recycling 80% of the waste paper currently going to landfill.
The Recycling Assistance Grant Program is a matching grant program; grant recipients must provide at least 25% of the total project cost in either cash or in-kind contributions. The amount of funding available for FY06 was $50,000, and the entire amount was awarded.
Recycling Requirements Included in Landfill Permit Conditions
Faced with capacity and stability issues at Delaware’s busiest sanitary landfill, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control issued a permit in January 2006 that allows an increase in height but also requires the owner to take steps to reduce the amount of waste landfilled at the facility. The permit allows the Delaware Solid Waste Authority to continue accepting waste at the Cherry Island Landfill in Wilmington until the landfill reaches a height of 195 feet, at which time the authority must close the landfill. In the meantime, the permit stipulates that the authority must stop accepting yard trimmings at the landfill effective January 2007 and must develop a comprehensive recycling plan to maximize recycling and diversion of materials from landfill disposal with a goal of recycling 40 percent of the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream in New Castle County by December 31, 2007.
MAINE
Solid Waste Policy Task Force Reviews Recommendations
The Solid Waste Policy Review Task Force, convened by the State Planning Office in accordance with statute to review state solid waste policies, met on March 30 for the final time to review draft recommendations. The 32-member task force met three times during the fall and winter 2005 and provided input to improve the future of solid waste management in Maine. At Thursday’s meeting there was support for much of the office’s work. The State Planning Office will consider the task force’s input before submitting its report to the Governor, Legislature, and Department of Environmental Protection. Next steps include: undertaking the research and studies identified in the report (now), drafting possible legislation for consideration in the next legislative session (over the summer and fall), and presenting the policy review report and recommendations to Blue Ribbon Commission (pending legislative action on LD 1777) (likely this summer). The task force gave an enormous amount of time to the policy review and the State Planning Office deeply appreciates their commitment. The final report is expected to be available in early May.
NEW YORK
Information about the Ban on the Intentional Disposal of Mercury-Added Consumer Products
The following information was provided to New York State Municipalities, Solid Waste Management Facilities, Authorities and Associations in a letter dated March 10, 2006:
New York State Law, Chapter 145, Laws of 2004 (Chapter 145), restricts the distribution, sale, and disposal of mercury and mercury-added products. The purpose of the Chapter 145 is to reduce human and wildlife exposure to mercury by requiring the proper management of mercury-added products. Chapter 145 bans the sale of many consumer products containing mercury, prohibits incineration, and restricts the disposal of mercury-added consumer products as normal solid waste, except by separated delivery, to a permitted or authorized solid or hazardous waste facility.
How does this Law affect New York State residents and local municipalities? Pursuant to Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) 27-2105(1), after July 12, 2005, “No person shall knowingly or intentionally dispose of a mercury-added consumer product in solid waste or otherwise dispose of such a product except by separated delivery thereof to a permitted or authorized solid waste management facility or hazardous waste management facility.” Mercury-added consumer products include, but are not limited to, thermometers, thermostats, various electronic equipment, tilt switches, safety switches and fluorescent and HID bulbs.
Therefore, when these mercury-added products become wastes they must be managed by separated delivery to an appropriate solid or hazardous waste management facility and not be commingled with other solid waste. This requirement does not apply to mercury-containing lamps discarded by households. It should also be noted that certain small businesses, as specifically defined by Chapter 145, with 100 or less employees disposing of 15 or less non-hazardous waste lamps per month are exempt from this disposal requirement. However, all businesses and households, whether they are exempt or not, are strongly encouraged to recycle all their mercury-containing lamps.
A number of municipalities have household hazardous waste (HHW) collection programs. These are either specific collection day events or permanent facilities. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) has determined that these programs qualify as a separate collection program as required by Chapter 145, provided that the municipality’s collection program specifically includes all mercury-added consumer products, and that such inclusion can be documented and is advertised for the benefit of local residents.
What should be done with these wastes? The preferred management option for mercury-containing consumer product wastes from households is to include these products in HHW collection programs and to send the collected materials to a facility which can reclaim the mercury. Check the yellow pages for “Hazardous Waste Disposal” or “Recycling” to obtain a list of vendors servicing your area. A list of mercury recyclers can also be found on the NYS Department’s website. Although these lists specifically identify dental amalgam and lamp recyclers, a number of these companies will accept various mercury product wastes. As stated on our website, the list does not constitute approval or endorsement of that company by the Department, or provide any assurances with regard to the quality of services provided.
For more information on the requirements of Chapter 145, visit the Department’s website.
PENNSYLVANIA
Marketplace Profiles: Scrap Metal, Plastics Prove Profitable for Pennsylvania Companies
Waste Not Technologies LLC of Saylorsburg, Monroe County, Recycles HDPE, LDPE, PP, and PS plastics into post and rail fencing. This fencing is used as a border along property lines, roadways, horse corrals and pastureland. Since 2003, Waste Not Technologies has recycled 100,000 pounds of plastics to make their product.
The recycled plastics that Waste Not Technologies uses to manufacture the post and rail fence are:
- Polypropylene (PP), # 5
- Low density polyethylene (LDPE), # 4
- High density polyethylene (HDPE), # 2
- Polystyrene (PS), # 6
Waste Not Technologies has been in operation for 10 years and is owned by Pat Kelley. Kelly has two patents for plastic products. His association with Northampton County Community College began 11 years ago when he taught his first course in polymer processing. He is a past president of the local chapter of the Society of Plastic Engineers.
Waste Not Technologies continues to look for additional sources of recycled plastic.
DMS Shredding Inc. located in Wilkes-Barre has been recycling ferrous metals since 1999. They use their onsite metal shredder and eddy current system to process incoming ferrous scrap metals so they can insure a quality product for their mill end users. DMS Shredding Inc. processes unwanted items such as old vehicles, washers, dryers, refrigerators, etc. and ships the scrap metal by rail carrier to mill end users.
In the last 12 months, DMS Shredding Inc. processed and recycled millions of pounds of ferrous metals. They also recycle stainless steel scrap, steel cans, aluminum scrap, and aluminum cans. DMS Shredding Inc. continues to look for additional ferrous metals to process and recycle.
For more marketplace profiles, visit DEP's website, keyword "Market Development."
RHODE ISLAND
R.I. Resource Recovery Awards Grant for School Recycling Program Report Card
Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation recently awarded a grant to the Environment Council of Rhode Island Education Fund to continue funding for the bi-annual Rhode Island School Recycling Club Program. The program issues a report card for RI Schools’ recycling programs.
The program seeks to motivate schools and students to improve their recycling programs. It has been very successful in improving recycling programs in many Rhode Island schools. RIRRC has provided funding for this initiative since 2001.
Already this year, the RI School Recycling Program has conducted 47 on-site recycling audits and recorded a nine percent increase in the number of schools with recycling programs. RIRRC has also experienced a great increase in the number of inquiries from schools interested in starting or improving their recycling programs.
VERMONT
FY 2006 Youth & Consumer Education Grants Awarded
DEC awarded eight grants totaling $42,000 under its Youth and Consumer Education Program. Most of the funding went to local memberships to the Association of Vermont Recyclers. Other grants funded creation of a website, funding development of a high school recycling program, and a marketing study.
Use and Sale of Lead Sinkers Banned in Vermont
On January 1, 2007, the Vermont Law, banning the use and sale of lead sinkers used in fishing, goes into effect. To help anglers learn how to properly manage this waste, the State Fish and Wildlife Department has created a website that includes recycling locations for the lead sinkers.
Worms in the Schools?! Yes!
A noted lack in lessons that use worms to teach middle school science has been filled by the publication of Vermiculture: Guided Inquiry Activities for the Study of Worms in the Classroom.
A “worm bin” is roughly the size of a large storage container and may contain thousands of redworms (Eisenia foetida). Worm bins are popular with countless homeowners as a way to recycle food leftovers into valuable fertilizer. Many teachers also keep worm bins in their classrooms to function as mini-ecosystems, useful for teaching lessons in biology, ecology, math, and recycling.
“We’ve been offering a worm bin classroom program to teachers for almost 15 years,” explained Cary Oshins, Composting Specialist with the Lehigh County (PA) Office of Solid Waste. “For most of the time, the requests came from elementary schools, but since the passage of the new Middle School standards, they’ve come entirely from middle schools. Unfortunately, the education resources we could find were all geared toward elementary grades, nothing for middle school.”
The plans use the “guided inquiry” approach for lessons in biology, ecology, technology, math and more. The approach stresses journal keeping, research and hypothesis testing. Some of the lessons require only one bin for the entire class, whole others use mini-bins for small groups of students. The lessons build on each other but can be used individually. Each lesson has a list of standards that can be met by the lesson.
The 35 lessons are published by PROP, the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania, and available for free download from their website.