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New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse & Recycling, Inc. |
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| President Kelli Timbrook |
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Hello NYSAR3 members! I hope you all had a happy and healthy holiday season filled with family and fun!
I am pleased to report the Annual Fall Recycling Conference was a huge success, with increased attendance and some truly great speakers and presentations. Thank you to all who attended and help make this conference better every year!
Some of you may have seen Governor Cuomo's Executive Budget Legislation published last week and there are some wins for environmentalists in NY. He calls for $300 million in the Environmental Protection Fund including solid waste funding and climate change mitigation and implementation. Also included in this budget is organics diversion legislation, aiming to keep edible food and scraps out of New York landfills. This budget has until April to be edited and then passed, so visit the NYSAR3 webpage and Google groups to stay up to date. Want to be more involved? NYSAR3 is hosting a Legislative Training Session in Albany on April 16th that will teach you how to advocate for legislation in New York. Visit the NYSAR3 website for more information.
Some of the Chapter 7 members may have already heard that At-Large Board member Ann Fordock has transitioned to a new position at the City of Syracuse DPW and will no longer serve as a Board member. NYSAR3 wishes Ann all the best of luck in her new position with the full confidence she will excel! To minimize the length of time this seat is vacant, the Board will be appointing someone within the next month, stay tuned for the announcement!
Applications are still being accepted for the NYSAR3 College Council grant opportunity. This grant provides funding up to $5,000 for colleges with environmental initiatives or ideas. The winner colleges will also get a chance to show off their new project at the 2018 Annual Fall Recycling Conference!
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Organizers of the 2017 NYSAR
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Recycling Conference, held in Cooperstown in November, marked another successful event, and have already started planning the 2018 conference.
Read more
about all the activities, agenda and links to presentations.
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COOPERSTOWN - Gary Feinland (NYSDEC), David Lupinski (Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority), Heather Coton (Gideon Putnam Hotel), Anne Jaffee-Holmes (Greenburgh Nature Center) and the Union College Sustainability Team were recognized for outstanding achievements during the 2017 NYSAR
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Recycling Leadership Awards given out during the November Recycling Conference.
Read more
about all winners.
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Over 520 million pounds of electronic waste was collected and diverted from landfills from 2013-2015, according to a new report from the NYSDEC.
Read More
about the strengths and challenges of the State's e-waste recycling program.
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Greg Gelewski, recycling operations manager at the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, was recently elected as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the United States Composting Council.
Read More
about the position.
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Starting in April, 80 retail pharmacies, hospitals, and long-term care facilities across New York State will receive special collection boxes and officially begin accepting waste medications.
Read More
about this Pilot Pharmaceutical Take Back Program, which will improve water quality, protect public health and reduce safety risks across the state.
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NYSAR
3 has two continuing grant programs that support efforts in New York State schools and colleges to start or increase recycling, reduction, reuse or composting efforts. The twice-yearly
Green School Grant, offers grants of up to $500 to K-12 schools. The next round will be awarded in the spring of 2018. The
College Grant Program offers up to $1,000. Spread the news!
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The 4th Annual New York State Organics Summit will take place March 27th-28th , 2018 at Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel in Poughkeepsie, NY. This yearly event engages stakeholders from across the state in facilitative discussion aimed at developing creative solutions to barriers that restrict the sustainable management of organics materials.This year's summit will focus on organic collection challenges from the generator's perspective, large scale composting equipment, community composting, food recovery, residential food waste reduction and much more.
Learn more.
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Do you have a solution or case study that you can share on wax cardboard recycling?
Please share with us your resources or best practices regrading this topic.
NYSAR3 strives to help members accomplish their recycling goals and open dialog and information sharing is another benefit we offer to our membership.
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Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro recently
signed a resolution into law which prohibits the use of polystyrene foam (Styrofoam) food containers in the county by chain food service establishments.
Read more about how a group of schoolchildren motivated this change.
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The NYSAR3 legislative committee has recommended that NYSAR3 collaborate with other water advocacy and NY State water organizations to support statewide legislation to reduce the number of disposable textile wipes polluting waterways and clogging wastewater treatment plants. D
isposable textile wipes are labeled as flushable, but cause significant problems at wastewater treatment facilities. It is estimated that the costs, just in NYC, are an additional $3 million annually. Example legislation was introduced in NYC: check out the text of
Intro.666
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Delmar, NY - The Bethlehem Central School District was honored with a 2017 New York State Environmental Excellence Award for its Green Team's leadership in protecting the environment, promoting energy efficiency and educating students about environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Read more.
Image on Left: Elsmere Elementary kids learning about composting worms from parent/NYSAR3 volunteer Kristen Lilkas-Rain (aka "the
worm mom"). Image on Right: Gary Feinland, 2017 Recycler of the
Year, sharing his excitement for composting and worms with Elsmere Elementary students.
Read More about all six 2017
New York State Environmental Excellence Awards.
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The Center for EcoTechnology (CET), a Massassachussets non-profit, has been awarded Top Honor in the North American 2017 Rathmann Challenge,
Mitigating Climate Change: Expanding the Use of Compost
, for its pioneering work over the past 20 years. Read More about how they expanded the use of composting to reduce wasted food.
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NERC announced their
Environmental Sustainability Leadership Award Winners during their 30th Anniversary Celebration in Amherst, Massachusetts. Award recipients were awarded based on their work being consistent with NERC's mission.
Read more.
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The NRC has issued
two responses to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in protest of the restrictions placed by China on imports of recycles shipped from US ports. NRC believes building, expanding and improving infrastructure in the recycling sectors in both the US and China will greatly benefit the environment and the economy in both countries.
What can you do about the trade barriers?
The NRC calls upon its members to address the China trade barriers with the following actions:
Focus on Quality,
Focus on Rebuilding America's Recycling Industry, and
Focus on Increasing the Recycling Economic Impact in our Local Communities.
Read full letter here.
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NEW Member Benefit -
NRC is in early planning stages of developing one-day regional markets workshops to explore opportunities for local market development, market expansion, joint ventures, regional solutions and beyond. They
are seeking to work with Recycling Organizations to host, develop and revenue-share these workshops.
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The College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC) is conducting a first-of-its-kind survey to document campus recycling practices and waste reduction efforts across the US and Canada.
Learn more.
Ready to participate?
Complete the Survey Now
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February 12, 2018, EPF Lobby Day - The Nature Conservancy, Albany, NY
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The North American Hazardous Materials Management Association (
NAHMMA) will be hosting their 2018 Annual Conference this August 27-31 in Portland, Maine. Applications for presenter's are now bing accepted until March 16, 2018.
Learn more.
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| Submissions are being accepted for the 2018 AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) Conference & Expo, in Pittsburgh, PA Oct. 2 - 5, 2018. The conference will focus on examining the critical role of higher education in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Submit a proposal by Feb. 16, 2018 |
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