Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments

Sophie Leone • September 24, 2024

The Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments (SCCOG) is a public agency with representatives from twenty-two towns, cities, and boroughs, formed to provide a basis for intergovernmental cooperation in dealing with a wide range of issues. The primary focuses of the agency are centered around regional planning and extend to transportation, environmental, and inter-municipal planning. SCCOG undertakes numerous studies and initiatives each year, under the guidance of its member municipalities.


The most recent report released by SCCOG is their Municipal Solid Waste Report. At the direction of its Solid Waste Subcommittee, SCCOG staff analyzed municipal solid waste data in the southeastern Connecticut region, including disposal tonnage and municipal cost data, for the five-year period from 2018-2022. The report highlights the cost and infrastructure challenges that municipalities are facing, while also providing some potential solutions and next steps to tackling the waste crisis.


“Connecticut’s solid waste crisis is impacting southeastern Connecticut municipalities, residents, and businesses. Our region has historically taken a proactive approach to solid waste management, and SCCOG seeks to support this approach by becoming a member of the Northeast Recycling Council. Participating in the Organics Management Committee especially will allow us to collaborate and exchange ideas with others facing similar issues, and collectively advance sustainable organic waste management practices.” – Amanda Kennedy, SCCOG Executive Director.


NERC is pleased to welcome the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments to its team of Supporting Advisory Members. We look forward to working with SCCOG and providing the necessary tools and support to their expansive community and network.

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Drop in Commodity Values and Expansion of Participating States and Material Recovery Facilities

By Megan Fontes • February 11, 2025
NERC’s Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) Commodity Values Survey Report for the period October - December 2024 showed a drop in the average commodity price for Q4. The average value of all commodities decreased by 23% without residuals and 26% with residuals compared to last quarter. Single stream decreased by 28% without residuals and 32% with residuals, while dual stream / source separated decreased by 15% without residuals and 17% with residuals compared to last quarter. This is the 23rd quarterly report in NERC’s series of reports on the market value of commodities from MRFs in the Northeast. This report includes information from twelve (12) states with the addition of Connecticut: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. The number of participating MRFs increased from 15 to 19 as compared to last quarter. These survey results reflect the differing laws and collection options in the participating states. Five of the states included in this report have beverage container deposit laws. As a result, fewer glass bottles, PET bottles and aluminum cans are processed in MRFs in those states. Those MRFs are also likely to have less revenue from those recyclables. In addition, the report reflects a mix of single stream, dual stream, and source separation to collect recyclables with single stream being the most common approach. The type of collection used will have an impact on MRF design and operation. Thus, the data from this report reflects the unique blend of facilities and statewide laws in the reporting states. Residual refers to the incoming material that cannot be marketed and goes to disposal. The value without residuals reflects the value of a perfect ton of marketed material, while the value with residuals reflects the value of each ton processed with the costs associated of disposing unmarketable material. Note: In many cases, recovered glass goes to market but at a negative value. This data is not intended to be used as a price guide for MRF contracts. NERC’s database represents single and dual stream MRFs, states with and without beverage container deposits, a wide variety in markets and geographic access to markets, and variety of materials collected for processing at the participating facilities. As a result, it represents the diversity of operating conditions in these locations and should not be used as a price guideline for a specific program. For more information, contact Megan Schulz-Fontes, Executive Director, at megan@nerc.org .

Northeast Recycling Council’s Fall Conference Focuses on Environmental Issues and Embraces Waste Challenges

By Waste Advantage • December 19, 2024
Waste Advantage  During the last week of October, the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) held their annual Fall Conference in partnership with State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry’s (SUNY ESF) Center for Sustainable Materials Management (CSMM), and in collaboration with Syracuse University’s Institute for Sustainability Engagement in Syracuse New York. The conference featured three days of great discussion about the complex challenges that come with waste and recycling, circularity, packaging, sustainability, and other important topics around the industry. View the Full Article Here

Eunomia Research & Consulting

By Sophie Leone • December 17, 2024
When first introduced to Eunomia Research and Consulting, depending on your knowledge of Greek mythology, you may not know where their name comes from. The Greek goddess Eunomia is the goddess of law and legislation, and the goddess of green pastures. In 2001 when this organization was founded, their goal and mission was to combine in-depth understanding of environmental policy and strategy with pragmatic experience of real-world implementation, to build harmony between people and the environment while working to protect the planet. Given her role, Eunomia felt like the right leader, and namesake, to build from. Now, they’ve been in operation for over 20 years and have grown to a staff of over 150 people across 5 offices from Aukland New Zealand to New York. Over the past two decades, Eunomia has been working with both the public and private sectors providing unbiased data-driven advice to support business and organizational decision making. With these organizations, Eunomia has been incredibly successful in advancing positive environmental impact through policy, strategy, and implementation. Eunomia has leading experts in the low carbon, circular, and natural economies, and is world renowned for its policy, strategy and implementation advice on sustainable material use and reuse, recycling, and waste management strategies, assisting businesses, governments and NGOs from policy evaluation to product responsibility. Aiming for a net-zero future, Eunomia measures and reduces carbon footprints, guides through carbon offset markets, and ensures alignment with global sustainability standards to tackle greenwashing and ensure verifiable progress. Eunomia also offers solutions for biodiversity enhancement, sustainable land use, and nature-based investment strategies, focusing on ecological balance and economic viability. Sarah Edwards, President of Eunomia North America said: “Eunomia has followed the great work that NERC has done over the past 8 years, and we are now happy to be part of the NERC family. For more than 20 years Eunomia has been delivering waste and resource management solutions to state and municipal governments, nonprofit and private companies. We specialize in designing, modeling, and implementing systems that drive waste reduction, improve recycling, and promote sustainability. “We look forward to engaging with other forward-thinking organizations and companies in order to bring meaningful and impactful change.” NERC is thrilled to have Eunomia Research and Consulting join our team of Sustaining Advisory Members. We look forward to working with them to help further their mission of protecting the planet. For more information about Eunomia, click here.
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