October 2022                                         www.newmoa.org 

NEWMOA is Hiring

NEWMOA’s long time Executive Director, Terri Goldberg is retiring at the end of the calendar year. NEWMOA is currently recruiting a new Executive Director. Visit www.newmoa.org/about/jobDesc/NEWMOA_ED_Profile.pdf to check out the job description and how to apply. Please share the job notice with others that may be interested in this exciting opportunity.

 

NEWMOA is also recruiting an entry level staff person. Visit: www.newmoa.org/about/jobdesc/NEWMOA_Project_Staff_Description.pdf to check out the job description and how to apply. Please share the notice about the position with anyone that might be interested in this great opportunity. 

Solid Waste & Sustainable Materials Management 

Recent Joint NEWMOA-NERC Webinar

 

Solar Panel Recycling & EPR


NEWMOA and the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) held a webinar in September that covered the Washington State solar panel Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law, how the panels are recycled, and recycler certification. Presenters included:

  • Al Salvi, Washington Department of Ecology
  • Parikhit (Ricky) Sinha, First Solar
  • Kelley Keough, Greeneye Partners

 

For the recording and PowerPoint slides, visit: www.newmoa.org/events/event.cfm?m=1538.

 

New End Food Waste Videos 

 

NEWMOA collaborated with the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) to educate residents in the County (Syracuse and surrounding communities) about problems with wasting food and the opportunities to reduce. The initiative targeted low-income residents, recent immigrants, and communities that speak English as a second language by engaging community groups that represent them. OCRRA and NEWMOA developed outreach and education tools and strategies, including short online videos focusing on strategies to reduce food waste at home and understand date labels and the basics of backyard composting.


Videos in English:


These videos have been translated into Arabic, Nepali, Somali, Spanish, and Swahili because of the significant number of residents in the County for whom these are their first languages. Check out the project and additional materials: www.newmoa.org/solidwaste/projects/food/endfoodwaste.cfm.

This Project is funded by a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to OCRRA. 

Anaerobic Digestion Project

 

NEWMOA has partnered with NERC, Clean and Healthy New York, and the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice on new project that will provide guidance and training on environmental justice (EJ) engagement and regulatory compliance related to anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities that handle food waste. This Project is funded by a grant from the U.S. EPA Region 2. This Project will:

  • Develop solutions to regulatory and other barriers to AD while incorporating principles of environmental justice and community engagement
  • Support engagement of EJ communities with local AD facilities that are proposed or already exist

 

For more information, contact Jennifer Griffith.

End Food Waste in East Boston

 

NEWMOA collaborated with the Maverick Landing Community Services (MLCS) to educate youth and residents in East Boston about the opportunities to reduce waste food; divert wasted food from landfills through donation, composting, or anaerobic digestion; and increase food security. MLCS and NEWMOA developed education tools focused on agriculture, how food waste contributes to climate change, how climate change affects food systems, and food insecurity and environmental justice. MLCS and NEWMOA hosted a “A Celebration of Food and Building Community” in August.

Youth involved in MLCS end food waste celebration. 

Participants in the MLCS end food waste celebration

For more information, contact Krishana Abrahim-Petrie.

PFAS

Solidification/Stabilization to Manage PFAS

 

NEWMOA held a webinar in September that covered solidification/stabilization to manage PFAS in soil, sewage sludge, and landfill leachate. Presenters included:

  • Johnsie Lang, Arcadis on the results of a field demonstration of PFAS leachability following in-situ soil stabilization
  • Paul Ruehl, Holcim (U.S.) on the use of cement products for solidification/stabilization of soil in-situ and for landfill leachate concentrate and the use of the treated leachate as alternative daily cover
  • Yanna Liang, University of Albany on a comparison of sorbents for stabilizing PFAS in soil and sewage sludge and innovative sorbents that have potential to outperform commercially available sorbents


For the PowerPoint slides, visit: www.newmoa.org/events/event.cfm?m=1547.

Educating Rural Communities on Sources of PFAS in Products

 

NEWMOA will be conducting an education project over the coming year to train local officials, residents, institutions, and businesses in small low-income rural communities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont on common consumer products that contain PFAS, their potential impacts on public health and the environment, and commercially available safer alternatives. NEWMOA will be offering training to the targeted audiences by developing and disseminating handouts, a guide, and case studies; conducting community outreach; holding workshops; and providing hands-on technical assistance to targeted institutions to promote effective strategies to reduce PFAS.


For more information, contact Jennifer Griffith.

Pollution Prevention & Sustainability 

Sustainable Breweries

 

In collaboration with EPA Region 1, NEWMOA is coordinating a multi-state recognition program for sustainable craft beverage manufacturers in the region. NEWMOA and the participating programs are developing a unified checklist of sustainable practices that are available to craft breweries and other beverage manufacturers as a way of assessing their overall environmental performance. Eligible participants will receive recognition of their efforts by allowing use of a sustainable beverage logo and other collateral material as well as agency press releases.

 

NEWMOA will develop training materials on specific sustainable strategies that will be delivered in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM), both in-person and virtually. NEWMOA will also work with RI DEM to develop content for a series of video case studies that will provide recognition for program participants and highlight different sustainable strategies that beverage manufacturers can employ to reduce their environmental footprint and improve their bottom line. 


This effort is funded by a pollution prevention grant from EPA through the RI DEM. For more information, contact Andy Bray.


Promoting Green Cleaning

 

NEWMOA has partnered with the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) and the NH Department of Health and Human Services (NHDHHS) to undertake a project to educate janitorial employees and residents in the communities of Nashua and Manchester, NH about the benefits of and methods for adopting green cleaning products and practices. The overall Project goals are to build capacity within these minority and low-income communities to improve indoor air quality through P2 in cleaning and disinfecting. Greener cleaning and disinfecting are effective strategies at lowering exposure to VOCs, toxins, and asthma triggers in the indoor environment thereby reducing the health risks to employees and residents from conventional cleaners and disinfectants. This Project leverages NEWMOA’s recent experience collaborating with RI DEM on a successful EPA Region 1 P2 grant-funded project that promoted green cleaning to targeted janitorial staff, hospitality workers, and the public.


NEWMOA, NHDES, and NHDHHS will cooperate this fall on the Project’s activities and will work with southern NH community groups that service low income and diverse residents. This Project is funded by an EPA Region 1 Healthy Communities grant. 


For more information, contact Krishana Abrahim-Petrie.

NEWMOA Executive Director Honored by MassRecycle

Every year, MassRecycle solicits nominations for their Annual MassRecycle Awards that recognize outstanding achievements in and contributions towards recycling, reuse, and waste reduction in Massachusetts. Among the award winners this year was Terri Goldberg, NEWMOA Executive Director, who was honored with a lifetime achievement award. 

Gretchen Carey, MassRecycle Board President.

Terri Goldberg, NEWMOA 

Launching a New NEWMOA Website

NEWMOA will be launching a new NEWMOA.org website this fall. The modernized and completely updated website will be easier to navigate, have a modern and clean user interface, be mobile ready, and higher standards for accessibility. Stay tuned for the announcement.

NEWMOA Board of Directors

NEWMOA's Board of Directors met virtually in September to discuss state and EPA waste, toxics, cleanup, PFAS, and pollution prevention challenges and NEWMOA's FY 2023 workplans, finances, projects, and strategic priorities.

 

NEWMOA’s FY 2023 Officers:

  • Greg Cooper, Mass DEP, Chair
  • Susanne Miller, ME DEP, Vice Chair
  • Bill Ottaway, NYSDEC, Treasurer

 

Additional FY 2023 Board members:

  • Jennifer Perry, CT DEEP
  • James Albis, CT DEEP
  • Graham Stevens, CT DEEP
  • Diane Baxter, Mass DEP
  • Tiffany Skogstrom, Mass OTA
  •  Mike Wimsatt, NH DES
  • Kathy Black, NH DES
  • Mike Hastry, NJ DEP
  • Janine MacGregor, NJ DEP
  • John Vana, NYSDEC
  • Ron Gagnon, RI DEM
  • Leo Hellested, RI DEM
  • Matt Chapman, VT DEC

 

NEWMOA welcomes James Albis, CT DEEP as a new Board member.  

NEWMOA Board of Directors and staff September 2022

FY 2023 Program Chairs:

  • Tom Killeen, NYSDEC - Hazardous Waste
  • Saskia van Bergen, WA Ecology - Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse (IC2)
  • Tom Metzner, CT DEEP - Interstate Mercury Education & Reduction Clearinghouse (IMERC)
  • Kathy Black, NH DES - Pollution Prevention & Sustainability
  • Chris Nelson, CT DEEP - Solid Waste & Sustainable Materials Management
  • John Gilkeson, MN PCA - Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse
  • TBD - Waste Site Cleanup
news@NEWMOA
news@NEWMOA is designed to help our members and colleagues keep informed about the Association's projects and activities. You are receiving this e-newsletter because you are a member of a NEWMOA working group, committee, or program; invitee to NEWMOA events; a colleague at EPA or a related organization; connected to the Association in some other way; or have expressed interest in our work. news@NEWMOA contributors include Krishana Abrahim-Petrie, Andy Bray, Terri Goldberg, Jennifer Griffith, Lois Makina, and Melissa Lavoie.
 
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Leading the Northeast to a sustainable, waste-free future

 

NEWMOA is a non-profit, non-partisan, interstate association whose membership is composed of the state environment agency programs that address pollution prevention, toxics use reduction, sustainability, materials management, hazardous waste, solid waste, emergency response, waste site cleanup, underground storage tanks, and related environmental challenges in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. NEWMOA also works collaboratively with non-member states on issues and programs of national importance.  

 

NEWMOA provides a strategic forum for effectively identifying, developing, and implementing solutions to environmental problems through collaborative initiatives that advance pollution prevention and sustainability, promote safer alternatives to toxic materials in products, identify and assess emerging contaminants, facilitate adaption to climate change, mitigate greenhouse gas sources, promote reuse and recycling of wastes and diversion of organics; support proper management of hazardous and solid wastes, and facilitate clean-up of contaminant releases to the environment.


NEWMOA is an equal opportunity employer and provider.