About 25 people attended the Legislative Training Session at the New York State Capitol on April 16th. The session, sponsored and organized by the Federation of NY Solid Waste Associations, was designed to give members an inside view of the legislative process, government relations and current legislative efforts. Attendees heard from a state senator, assistant secretary from the Governor's office, as well as a panel of experts in the field of lobbying and advocacy. This was followed by group visits to legislative offices, focusing on paint stewardship and other topical issues.  Read More  about this event.

Organics, pharmaceutical take back programs, alkaline batteries and a proposed ban on lightweight single use plastic retail bags are among subjects on the agenda of NYSAR³'s Legislative Committee for 2018. Read More about this year's priorities. 

Greg Hancock was recently appointed to fill an At-Larg e position on the NYSAR³ Board of Directors. Greg, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Control  for the Town of Islip,  is involved in operations for a 40 acre compost facility, a WRAP recycling facility including HHW and e-Waste collection and C&D facility.  "We monitor 3 closed landfills, utilizing the top of one landfill to store over 3,200 cars for local car dealerships and are currently developing the top of the other 2 for solar farms which should generate nearly 4Megawatts of power," he said.  "We also oversee a 165,000 ton per year waste to energy plant (managed under contract by Covanta) which produces 53,000,000 kWh annually.  Our current curbside garbage collection contract required the conversion of all collection vehicles to CNG power, making an impact on carbon and GHG emissions."

Join us for this year's Annual NY Solid Waste and Recycling Conference in Bolton Landing, NY! This year's plenary session will capture the stark contrast between Europe's high diversion rates and our domestic dependence on landfill disposal. Learn more about the plenary session.   The 

Monday morning keynote session will feature an innovative cooking demonstration that shows how food waste reduction can benefit the restaurant and food service industry both environmentally and at their bottom line.  Learn more about the conference session.

Young Professionals are also encouraged to participate in this years conference. Learn more about how you can demonstrate your leadership in the industry and network with experienced professionals throughout the conference!

Members of the Madison County Department of Solid Waste toured the HP Hood facility in Oneida in March and discussed the company's plans to become a zero waste-to-landfill facility. From left are Annette Clark, county recycling coordinator; Bryan Beckwith, Hood project engineering manager; Amy Miller, DSW deputy director; Kip Hicks, Madison County Industrial Development Agency executive director; Bill Buchan, solid waste attorney; Jim Zecca, solid waste director; Stephen Barrie, Waste Management territory manager; and Eric W. Stone, HP Hood director of operations.

Members of Chapters 4 and 5 recently visited an innovative manufacturing facility that is producing packaging, construction materials, and even surfboards, out of organic waste and mushrooms. Read More about the tour and Ecovative Designs.

In order to present the showing of the movie "Bag It - Is Your Life Too Plastic?" at the November Recycling Conference, NYSAR ³ paid for a year's license.  Any NYSAR ³ member can arrange for a free screening of the movie through the end of October, 2018. If you are interested in hosting a viewing of this thought-provoking documentary about plastics and single use bags, contact Lisa Ruggero, NYSAR ³ Coordinator.

Do you know any students that are interested in both helping the environment and being creative? The DEC's New York Recycles poster contest is a fun and unique way for students in grades K-12 to learn more about the environment while educating other students, too! Winners are selected and prizes are awarded for each age group. Don't wait to check out the themes and contest rules here. 

#NYRecyclesPosterContest

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced in January that the state had settled a lawsuit against a New Jersey-based company for repeated violations of New York's Returnable Container Act, otherwise known as the Bottle Bill. Read More about the case, and the $550,000 in penalties and costs, which is the largest ever penalty for Bottle Bill violations.

Plans are under way for the Schenectady County Recycles Compost Fair & Education Day this summer. Read More about the free, community festival celebrating the science of soil, reducing wasted food, and backyard composting. 

The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) declared the  the first in the series of regional recycling market development (RRMD) forum in Portland, Oregon in April (above) a  resounding success . The planning for the second RRMD forum has already started by Marjorie Griek and the NRC Markets Council. The NRC, along its local affiliate, the Georgia Recycling Coalition, are planning for this forum to take place in the Atlanta area in June or July.

Are you interested in receiving recycling and sustainability news, updates, and related events in NYS?  Sign up for the DEC Delivers Living Green with Your Family listserv. Or maybe you're interested in receiving solid waste regulatory updates, funding opportunities, and solid waste related events?  Sign up for the DEC Delivers Solid Waste and Recycling listserv.

 

If there is a public event or workshop related to recycling (organics, textiles, electronics, traditional recyclables, etc.) you'd like the greater community to know about, please email Kristine Ellsworth at Kristine.ellsworth@dec.ny.gov and she can include it in upcoming DEC Delivers publications.