News &
Updates

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October 2009

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 Supporting Member

Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE)

Renewing Supporting Member

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management

NERC NEWS

STATE UPDATES

CONNECTICUT

CT DEP Publishes NEW Recycling Web Pages

RHODE ISLAND

Rhode Island’s Event Recycling Program Gains Momentum

ADVISORY MEMBER NEWS

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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.

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 Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) as a new Supporting Member of NERC and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management as a renewing Supporting Member.

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

Networking Opportunities Abound at Northeast Recycling Council’s Fall Conference — Capture the Energy of Recycling

When making decisions about the right event to go to, one often considers the possibility of networking with peers in addition to the sessions being offered. NERC has figured out a way to make sure that its Conference attendees get both by offering plenty of discussion time during the sessions, a scheduled roundtable discussion for all attendees to participate in, ample networking breaks, and a social hour at a local brewery where the discussions continue.

If networking with your peers while discussing the latest news and trends in recycling is important to you, consider joining us for NERC’s Fall Conference — Capture the Energy of Recycling — on October 27 and 28 at the Hotel Northampton in Northampton Massachusetts.

For additional information, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director and Conference Organizer.

Room Rates Guaranteed Through Oct. 2 — And Then That’s It!

Be sure to make your room reservations for the upcoming NERC Conference by October 2 to be sure you get the best rate possible. After the 2nd the rates will be going up.

NERC’s Fall Conference will take place at the Hotel Northampton in Northampton, Mass. Rooms are available at the hotel by calling 800 547-3529. The discounted rates of $135 for a single and $145 for a double (plus tax) are available on a first-come, first-served basis until Oct. 2. When making your reservation, refer to NERC to ensure that you receive the discounted rates. Reservations cannot be made online. Reservations must be cancelled by noon one week before arrival to avoid charges.

New Board Member from Maine

NERC has a new Board member from Maine — Jetta Antonakos of the Maine State Planning Office. Jetta replaces George MacDonald who is one of the original members of the NERC Board, and who served for many years as the Treasurer of the organization.

George MacDonald — Goodbye & Thank you

George MacDonald, Maine State Planning Office, has stepped down from the NERC Board of Directors. George is a founding member of NERC and has been a dynamic and important contributor to its success and growth. He will be greatly missed by NERC staff and its Board. Thank you for everything George.

Newspaper Publishers Agreement Podcast

The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) recently interviewed Lynn Rubinstein, NERC Executive Director, about the Northeast Newspaper Publishers Agreement—a successful newsprint recycling partnership between NERC and NAA—and the result is a podcast about the Agreement, how it worked, and what lead to its success.

In 2001, newspaper publishers signed a voluntary agreement to ensure there would be a minimum of 27 percent recycled content in newsprint. Since then, publishers have exceeded the minimum requirement and continue to demonstrate a commitment to recycled content. For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, Executive Director.

NERC Convenes Bottle Bill Discussion

With a number of the northeast states considering expanding or revising their Bottle Bills, NERC responded by holding a conference call for its member states. This well attended discussion included updates on the status and future plans of proposed and existing Bills, as well as alternative measures to capture more beverage containers in the region. According to Greg Cooper, Deputy Director of Consumer Programs at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, “Since bottle deposit laws are common among many northeast states, it is important to maintain the lines of communication to coordinate policy and programmatic efforts.”

For more information, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director.

Eight Materials Exchanges Join NERC’s Pilot Network

Through an EPA grant NERC has been developing pilot online network of Materials Exchanges. Through this network it will be possible to search the databases of materials available in all the Exchanges through one query. Eight Exchanges are participating in the pilot:

ReConnstruction Center (CT)
SWIX Waste Xchange (FL)
Massachusetts Material Trader
EcoStar Exchange (MA)
North Carolina C&D Material Trader (website being developed)
New York C&D Material Trader (website being developed)
Rhode Island Resource Xchange
Vermont Business Materials Exchange

Through the project, NERC has provided the participant Exchanges with up-to-date and secure individual websites which can easily be networked. iWasteNot Systems is providing the technical resources for this project. We are in the process of designing the Reuse Marketplace website; when this is completed the individual Exchanges will be networked, and beta testing of the site and search tool will begin.

For more information, contact Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director.

Special Events Strive for Zero Waste (or Darn Close!)

NERC is involved in a three-year grant project to pilot food waste composting at special events. The project is funded by an EPA New England Resource Conservation Challenge Grant. To date, five pilots have been held, including Sysco Food Show events in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the Taste of Cambridge in Massachusetts, SolarFest in Vermont, and an event with Sodexo Food Services which runs the concessions and catering for Rentschler field in Hartford, Connecticut. For three of the pilots, materials diverted included pre- and post-consumer food, as well as compostable flatware, plates, packaging, and napkins. At the Sysco Food Shows only pre-consumer food waste and soiled paper was diverted.

SolarFest Zero Waste Volunteers

SolarFest was held for three days in July on the grounds of Forget-Me-Not Farm in Tinmouth, VT. Some5,500 people attended the event. SolarFest blends art, education, and grassroots activism to inspire resource conservation, promote renewable energy, and support the creation of sustainable communities. More than 100 workshops were held during the event, 95 renewable energy and sustainability exhibitors were featured, along with arts and crafts, and locally produced food vendors. A wide-variety of musicians and speakers, as well as dance, theatre, and poetry was performed on two solar-powered stages. Children’s activities were also offered.

Through the Food Diversion project, NERC staff developed a Food Waste Management Plan for SolarFest organizers recommending a zero waste option for diverting food waste to compost. The organizers embraced the plan and worked with NERC staff to ensure implementation at the event. NERC staff was on hand throughout the event to train volunteers, help with set-up of the compost and recycling bins, and to assist with implementing zero waste at the event.

Twenty, 65 gallon carts of food waste, soiled paper, and biodegradable plastics (weighing in at 1,400 pounds) were collected for composting. About 800 pounds of recyclables — cardboard, glass bottles, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, aluminum foil were also collected. Rutland County Solid Waste District collected the materials for composting; Casella Waste Systems provided recycling services. After all the recycling and composting diversion, only 120 pounds of trash was collected.

Sodexo, Inc. is a leading provider of integrated food and facilities management services in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, serving 10 million customers in 6,000 locations every day. The Sodexo Company, a subsidiary of Sodexo, Inc., manages the concessions at Rentschler Field. There are six games per year at the stadium, which holds up to 40,000 people. Sodexo has full control of food preparation in the facility. Through the project, recycling and composting will be implemented in the following stadium areas for the 2009 football season:

Club Area: Approximately 675 people can be seated in the Club areas.
Luxury Suites (Skyboxes): There are 38 Luxury Suites, each holding up to 20 people per suite.
Corporate Tents: Each game has 2 - 10 large tents sponsored by corporations or Alumni. Tents are open approximately 2 hours before the game and close when the game starts.
Press and Media Boxes.

The first Sodexo food diversion pilot took place at the UConn vs. North Carolina game on September 12. Pre-consumer and post-consumer food wastes, soiled paper, and biodegradable plastic serviceware were collected at the six areas listed above. NERC staff and K.C. Alexander with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection conducted waste assessments of the Tents, Club areas, Luxury Suites, Press Areas, kitchen, concession areas, and tailgating areas. NERC and CT DEP staff also provided assistance with implementing the pilot compost/recycling collection for the game, including troubleshooting and training and assisting employees as necessary.

Sodexo plans to continue with composting and recycling not only at the remaining football games, but also at its several hundred catered special events during the year. NERC will develop a Food Waste Management Plan for Sodexo to address ways to improve upon the pilot efforts, as well as to potentially expand recycling and composting into other areas of the Stadium. A case study of the pilot will also be developed.

Over the next several months, case studies of the pilot projects will be posted on the NERC website. The results of the pilots will be analyzed and documented in a Guidance Document; presenting a unique technical resource for future special events to implement food waste diversion programs.

For additional information contact Athena Lee Bradley, Projects Manager.

NERC Operating Plan FY09 Posted

NERC’s Operating Plan for Fiscal Year 2009 is now available on NERC website. The Plan features details on the 10 grants and projects NERC will be focusing on this year, as well as a map showing the state-by-state involvement in the projects. For more information, contact Lynn Rubinstein, Executive Director.

STATE NEWS

CONNECTICUT

CT DEP Publishes NEW Recycling Web Pages

With budget cuts, staff reductions, and increased demands on resources, the CT DEP has been relying more heavily on the Internet as a tool to reach the general public and our stakeholders. Over the past several months, the DEP recycling staff and others have been working to update, expand, and improve the recycling resources on its website. The new and reworked pages have lots of new information, are organized more logically, and have a fresh new format that includes photos, inspiring quotes, color, and in-set boxes. Here’s a sampling of the most recent releases:

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle Gateway Page: This page was redesigned to be more user-friendly and is the gateway page to all the other RRR pages. It has more relevant links to the most popular topics, a bulletin board to announce hot topics of short duration, and added links for related topics, such as Climate Change and Waste. It also has a new left-side Navigation Bar that reflects specific sectors or groups and will be present on all the RRR pages. Some Navigation Bar buttons (links) have been re-named, some have been added. A new page called Recycling…It’s the Law! was added to the navigation bar which is relevant to all sectors.

Waste Reduction Main Page: Explains what waste reduction is and how it’s different from recycling. It offers ideas on how to start reducing the quantity and toxicity of our trash, as well as a myriad of waste reduction resources. A new page on Zero Waste is accessible from this site.

Reuse Main Page: Discusses why reusing things and buying durable goods are important. It gives suggestions and links to fixing, borrowing, renting or bartering for “stuff.” Offers many other links to reuse resources, such as reuse centers and reuse organizations.

Recycling Main Page: A source for just about everything we have on-line about recycling. It has many links to recycling resources, and also a history of the familiar “chasing arrow” recycling symbol. The most recently released pages in this section were the ones on Special Event & Venue Recycling.

State Agency Recycling Main Page: Reminds Connecticut state agencies that they are not exempt from the recycling laws, and provides resources for them to implement and improve their recycling efforts. Recently published pages from this site include How to Green Your CT State Agency, Doing Our Part - How DEP is Greening Its Workplace, and a State Agency Recycling Reporting Form.

Municipal Recycling Resource Center: This is a new section of the website dedicated to helping municipalities find recycling information. This one-stop-shop has many links to both existing and new pages. New or recently released/updated pages include an on-line Form to update a municipality’s recycling contact information, SMART (PAYT), Full Cost Accounting Survey, Recycling Collection Systems, Municipal Recycling Reporting Forms, What Do I Do With…?, and the State Electronics Challenge.

Because there were other topics to cover, another new page called Additional Municipal Recycling Resources was developed. Besides giving many links to recycling manuals, publications and organizations, it also brings you to even more new pages on Litter, Glossary of Recycling/Solid Waste Terms, Fun Facts on Recycling, Energy & Climate Change, Sample Recycling Enforcement Letters, and Collection Containers.

School & Institution Recycling Main Page: This page directs visitors to Grade School Recycling Resources and College/University Recycling Resources. Other institutional recycling information will go here as it is developed. The Grade School Recycling Resources section is completely new and links visitors to pages on Getting Started, Expanding Your School Recycling & Waste Reduction Program, Going Beyond the 3R’s, and an Environmental Speakers/Presenters/Performers List.

We hope you will find the website reorganization and the new pages helpful.

RHODE ISLAND

Rhode Island’s Event Recycling Program Gains Momentum

Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) offers an event recycling program that provides free recycling services for special events. This full-service program helps communities and organizations plan and execute recycling services for any local event. RIRRC delivers and supplies the containers and bins and collects all items after the event ends. The all-encompassing program offers additional services such as a pre-event site visit to determine recycling needs and training volunteers and staff on the collection process. Through the event recycling program, RIRRC has collected over three tons of recyclables this year that would have otherwise wound up in the landfill.

Resource Recovery’s Special Event Recycling Trailer

The event recycling program is available for events of all sizes. Seventy percent of the program’s recyclable materials has been collected at large-scale events with the remaining thirty percent coming from smaller local events. Resource Recovery provided recycling services this year at the Newport Folk Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival. These two events and collected over 4,000 pounds of bottles and cans. The remaining recyclables have been collected at smaller events such as the Cumberland Fest, Burrillville Relay for Life, Pawtucket Arts Festival, South County Seaside Classic Soccer Tournament, and the City of Providence’s Davis Park Playground.

Through this program, RIRRC has already serviced twice as many events this year than in 2008. Event Directors are learning about this service through municipal newsletters, an article in the Providence Journal, and the RIRRC website.

For more information please contact David Bordieri, Waste Prevention Coordinator at Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation.

ADVISORY MEMBER NEWS

Michael W. Durfor

NRRA Announces Permanent Executive Director

The Northeast Resource Recovery Association, a not-for-profit recycling cooperative serving over 390 municipal and commercial members across New England, is pleased to announce that it has made permanent the appointment of Michael W. Durfor of Sunapee, N.H., as its Executive Director. In accepting the appointment at the Board of Directors meeting, he commented, “I am truly fortunate to be able to come to work each day with a dedicated staff committed to furthering recycling efforts throughout the entire Northeast Region. I look forward to continuing those efforts for years to come.”

Michael has been working on an interim basis with the Association since last December. During that time he has guided the outstanding staff at NRRA through a myriad of initiatives including increased support for member services outreach and technical support programs, the new “Full of Scrap” bulletin, updated market pricing, and single-stream feasibility analysis. He has increased the visibility of the NRRA School Recycling Club programs, and has been responsible for increased cooperation among the family of northeast recycling associations including the Maine Resource Recovery Association, MassRecycle, and the Association of Vermont Recyclers.

It is especially noteworthy that he came to NRRA at the height of the market turmoil late last year and NRRA has maintained movement of material and competitive pricing for its cooperative membership.

Global Steel Industry Developing Vehicle Concept for Next Generation Electrics & Hybrids

As worldwide demand for affordable, safe, and high-efficiency vehicles surges, the global steel industry’s WorldAutoSteel automotive group, supported by AISI’s Steel Market Development Institute, is launching Phase 2 of its Future Steel Vehicle (FSV) effort aimed at helping automakers optimize new propulsion technologies. WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of the International Iron and Steel Institute, explores steel innovation that demonstrates and communicates the value of steel in automobiles to industry and society.

FSV-1:

FSV-2:

The FSV program recently completed Phase 1 of its research released its findings and plans for Phase 2.

For Phase 1, FSV’s technical team, considered technical specification options for proposed 2015 to 2020 model year vehicles: battery electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEV) for four or more passengers; and PHEV and fuel cell vehicles (FCV) for five passengers.

In Phase 2, the purpose will be to develop detailed design concepts and fully optimize a radically different body structure for the FSV-1 BEV. It will also identify structure changes to accommodate other vehicle and powertrain variants.

In addition to meeting or exceeding future safety and performance requirements, extremely aggressive weight-reduction targets have been set for FSV Phase 2. Achievement of such aggressive weight reduction with steel will set a new standard for vehicle design approaches for the future. The FSV Phase 2 development will also consider a total life cycle assessment of the concept designs to meet CO2 emissions targets.

In 2008, the FSV team released preliminary styling imagery on what the FSV vehicles might look like. Since then, the design process has taken the team through a number of iterations.