Full of Scrap Newsletter- April 21, 2021 |
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Your source for recycling & waste reduction news in the Northeast (and beyond). |
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Happy Earth Day 2021 from NRRA! |
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NRRA's 2021 Compost Bin Sale
**FINAL ORDERS DUE APRIL 22, 2021**
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Why should NRRA municipal members consider participating in this compost bin sale? Food scraps are heavy, and therefore expensive to dispose of as municipal solid waste. Nationwide, food scraps comprise 24% by weight of the material going into our landfills, which makes food scraps the largest single material by weight that we landfill as a country (based on the Environmental Protection Agency's most recent data from 2018). So encouraging your residents to compost could help your community save taxpayer money by decreasing your cost of disposal. In addition, composting food scraps also benefits the environment because food scraps in landfills create methane gas, a powerful greenhouse gas.
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NRRA Conference Workshop Spotlight |
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NRRA's annual recycling conference will be held virtually over two mornings: Monday, May 10th and Tuesday, May 11th; 8:00 am-noon EST.
Registration is FREE to all NRRA Members.
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Recycling Safely During COVID-19
Back by popular demand, Dr. Ben Locwin, an expert on infectious disease epidemiology, will provide national safety updates regarding the pandemic, while NRRA’s Bonnie Bethune will share how municipal recycling programs are adapting their practices. Plenty of time will be included for audience questions.
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COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr. Ben Locwin, Healthcare Executive, International COVID-19 Advisor
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Municipal Recycling
Bonnie Bethune, Member Services Manager, NRRA
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Early Bird Registration Incentive
Register by Friday, April 23 to be entered in a drawing to win a new computer! Thanks to a generous donation by CCI Managed Services, NRRA's information technology services provider, all conference attendees who register on or before Friday, April 23 will be entered in a drawing to win a new ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano personal computer.
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Spring Opening for Swap Shops? |
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Spring is here and 45 NRRA members gathered virtually on April 15th as part of the Members Operations Marketing (MOM) meeting to talk about reopening Swap Shops at recycling centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. David Witham, Director of Risk Management at Primex, was NRRA’s guest speaker. Primex is the public entity risk pool for NH’s Public Sector, which includes recycling facilities. Their largest area of coverage includes worker’s compensation. Property and liability (slips and falls) are the most common suit. There have been over 1000 claims associated with COVID-19 in the last year. Primex relies on guidance from COVID-19 experts to shape their policies, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), State of NH, and NH Public Health/NH Homeland Security.
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Keene Volunteers Receive Composting Equipment to Celebrate Earth Week |
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In coordination with Earth Week, NRRA is happy to announce a pilot composting program. Keene, NH volunteer residents, who registered to take a turn at composting, can pick up their Green Cones at the Keene Recycling Center. Volunteers were asked to sign up for either a Green Cone Solar Digester or a Subpod to compost their food scraps as part of the Keene Backyard Compost Pilot Program. The Green Cone is an in-ground digester that breaks down food scraps and doesn't require turning the material to work. A Subpod is an in-ground composting system that uses composting worms to break down food scraps.
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NRRA Honors Long-Time Volunteer, Mary Jane (MJ) Poch |
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NRRA recently had the opportunity to recognize our long-term volunteer, Mary Jane (MJ) Poch. Paula Dow, NRRA's Finance and Human Resource Manager, who has worked with MJ the longest of all NRRA staff, shares the following reflection on MJ's service.
It was 1998 when Mary Jane (MJ) first approached NRRA about the possibility of volunteering. I remember taking that initial phone call. MJ had contacted the RSVP program, run by the Friends Program, to inquire about a volunteer opportunity. Kay Croak, then Executive Director of RSVP, referred MJ to NRRA. At the time, MJ was actually too young to officially sign up as an RSVP volunteer, but Kay was familiar with our organization and told MJ to contact us.
As many of you know, it can be difficult to find volunteers – particularly good ones who want to volunteer regularly. We were absolutely thrilled that MJ wanted to come in two days a week and assist us with clerical work. At that time, she would answer phones, file, make photocopies and just generally do whatever was asked of her.
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NRRA 2020 Summer Webinars Are Now Available for FREE to Everyone |
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As an Earth Day 2021 gift, NRRA is pleased to announce our 2020 Summer Webinar Series recordings are available for free to everyone! Eighteen presentations that would have been available at our 2020 conference are ready to be watched.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NRRA canceled its 2020 annual conference. In order to make available the educational workshops that would have been available at the conference, NRRA launched a Summer Webinar Series from June through September 2020.
These webinar recordings are available and open to all. The following audiences are encouraged to participate: municipal recycling and transfer station staff, solid waste operators, public works staff, state and local government officials and staff, educators and community members. New Hampshire solid waste operators will receive one hour of continuing education credit for each webinar for participating.
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Thursday, April 22, 2021, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM -
Recycling 101: Municipal Solid Waste & Recycling in New Hampshire
NRRA staff will be leading a new virtual workshop, "Recycling 101: Municipal Solid Waste & Recycling in New Hampshire" for the NH Municipal Association on Earth Day - April 22, 2021 from 9 AM to 12 PM. This workshop is designed for all municipal staff, including public works, finance, town administrators, and select board members.
What is the current state of municipal recycling and solid waste management in New Hampshire? What does the future hold for municipal budgets with respect to recycling and solid waste? Is recycling still worthwhile for New Hampshire municipalities?
Join Reagan Bissonnette and Heather Herring of the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) for an in-depth workshop on solid waste, recycling, and waste reduction for NH municipalities.
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Lithium Battery Webinar Series: Recycling & Fire Prevention at Waste Hauler, Storage, & Processing Facilities
Safely managing used lithium batteries has become a significant challenge for the waste industry. NERC & NEWMOA are jointly offering a free two-part webinar series to help participants understand the different battery types, their uses, recycling opportunities, and safe handling & management at end-of-life. The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) New England Chapters, MassRecycle, & the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) have partnered with NEWMOA & NERC to plan these webinars.
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Tuesday, May 18, 2021, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Webinar: Overview of Lithium Batteries, Their Uses, & Recycling
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Tuesday, May 25, 2021, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Webinar: Examples of Actions by Waste Haulers & Storage & Processing Facilities to Reduce the Risk of Fires Associated with Lithium Batteries
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Take CHARGE of Your Batteries |
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NH Department of Environmental Services has created a poster for Solid Waste Facilities, especially municipal transfer stations, to post at their facilities regarding proper management of spent batteries. They are urging residents to “Take CHARGE of Your Batteries”. Mismanagement and improper disposal of batteries can cause fires and other serious incidents at solid waste facilities, hauling vehicles and even in homes.
These posters are the first step to providing information for the residents of NH on proper management of batteries. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Tara Mae Albert, SWOT Coordinator at (603) 271-3713 or Dean Robinson, HHW Coordinator at (603) 271-2047.
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The April NRRA Pricing Guide is Now Available |
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Our website has a section that houses the NRRA Monthly Pricing Guide as well as many other pricing lists. These pricing lists are only accessible to NRRA Municipal Voting Members. If you are an NRRA Municipal Voting Member and want access to this part of the website, simply visit the site to create your new username and password.
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Please help spread the word - Survey about Training Needs for Diversity, Inclusion, & Racial Equity |
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The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC), in collaboration with Michigan Sustainable Business Forum, and other partners, is intending to develop a national – virtual – training on diversity, inclusion, and racial equity in the recycling and solid waste communities. To be sure that the content of the training is as valuable as possible, a brief survey has been developed to solicit input from the industry. You can help by completing this brief survey (5 - 7 minutes to complete) by May 10.
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Announcements:
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Compost Bin Sale - FINAL ORDERS DUE APRIL 22, 2021 (Earth Day).
- There will be no MOM Meeting held in May, 2021 due to our conference.
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NRRA's Annual Recycling Conference - May 10th & 11th, 2021; 8:00AM - 12:00PM both days (virtual conference) NRRA WILL BE CLOSED DURING THIS TIME
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NRRA Classifieds
Do you have a job opening you need to fill or used equipment to sell? Submit it to us at info@nrrarecycles.org and we'll share it on our website and in future issues of Full of Scrap.
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What We're Reading & Other News
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Northeast Resource Recovery Association
Epsom, NH 03234
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