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WELCOME STEVE BEAN, NRRA'S NEW MUNICIPAL RECYCLING ADVISOR!!! Steve has worked in the recycling field for over a decade, building in-depth experience with cooperative marketing and technical assistance in recycling and waste reduction. Steve starting his working career as a helicopter mechanic in the Marines serving both stateside and Okinawa Japan. He then worked 19 years in a paper mill serving in many capacities. Prior to joining the NRRA, Steve worked at the Littleton Transfer Station since 2014. He worked his way to Lead Attendant in 2017 and then became manager in February of 2021. He was awarded the NRRA Rookie of the Year in...

We are excited to announce that NRRA's Senior Member Services Representative, Bonnie Bethune, is the latest woman to be acknowledged and interviewed for Resource Recycling Magazine's "Women in Circularity!" Bonnie has 40+ years of experience in the recycling and solid waste management field. Here is an excerpt from the article, written by MaryEllen Etienne: Reflecting on your career, you have driven many changes within the recycling industry. How did your career evolve along with the industry’s advancements? In the late 1970s at the University of New Hampshire, my work study job was at the Durham Recycling Center where I discovered...

NRRA staff, Board of Trustees, and voting municipal members gathered on Wednesday, November 13th in the freshly painted NRRA offices to celebrate this year's NRRA award winners, hear from a fantastic "Facility Safety" panel, and vote on the new Board of Trustees slate. NRRA Board President, Joan Cudworth, and Board Treasurer, Mark Richardson, shared organizational and financial updates with attendees. NRRA continues to operate at a high level, thanks to the supportive board and dedicated staff. Over the year, the board held 6 meetings of the full board and several working group meetings focused on capital improvement and salary and...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Epsom, NH: The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA), is pleased to announce the 2024 Recycling Award winners: Steve Bean, Recycler of the Year; Alex DeCoste, Rookie of the Year; Environmental Projects Inc. (EPI), Vendor of the Year; Susanne Simon, Continuing Education Award; and Liz Bedard, Honorary Lifetime Member. Awardees will be celebrated at the upcoming NRRA Annual Meeting on November 13th. Steve Bean, Transfer Station Manager for the Town of Littleton, NH received the highest award as Recycler of the Year. This lifetime achievement honors those who best combine the qualities of commitment...

For the past couple of years, NRRA has been working through two back-to-back EPA Healthy Communities grants to raise the importance of and tackle the problem of construction and demolition debris (C&D) in the North Country of New Hampshire. According to the most recent EPA data, there was twice as much C&D generated than municipal solid waste (MSW)! However, rural communities like those found in the North Country, tend to not generate enough recycled material to make it worthwhile to transport those materials long distances to manufacturers who could reuse or recycle the material. Because it is so costly to bring heavy C&D so far...

In early October, NRRA's Executive Director, Reagan Bissonnette, attended The Pivot: Scale to Impact in Kansas City, Missouri. An invite-only summit convened by The Recycling Partnership (TRP). The Pivot celebrated TRP’s first ten years and brought together communities and states managing recycling programs, consumer brand companies that design products and packaging, and other organizations - like the Northeast Resource Recovery Association - that are committed to building a better recycling system. One of Reagan's primary goals while attending The Pivot was to share with attendees the unique challenges and opportunities faced by...

In September, NRRA's Executive Director, Reagan Bissonnette, and Education & Grants Manager, Andrea Folsom, had the opportunity to join representatives from the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) and visit the Bow Recycling Center where MSW Consultants, the company that is gathering data for the New Hampshire Waste Characterization Study, were performing a second round of sampling. The Waste Characterization Study is the first of its kind in the state. Once complete, NHDES, legislators, municipalities, and residents will have a better understanding of what, exactly, is ending up in NH landfills and the waste-to-energy...

On September 25th, nearly 40 NRRA Member Solid Waste Facility Operators, along with some NRRA staff, headed out on the Annual Fall Bus Tour, this time focused solely on composting in the Granite State. The tour began with a visit to the composting operation at WorkSong Fam in Hopkinton, NH, where residents can bring their food scraps free of charge to be composted and used on site. We then continued to New London, where they ran a successful pilot program and now collect food waste at their municipal transfer station and send it through Renewal Compost - a commercial composter. Finally, the tour ended in Lebanon, where food scraps...

Welcome to the 43rd NRRA Annual Meeting! All NRRA Members are cordially invited to join the trustees and staff of NRRA for the Annual Meeting on Wednesday, November 13th from 9am - 11am at the NRRA Offices. Following the Annual Meeting there will be a closed meeting of the NRRA Board of Trustees and NRRA Staff from 11:30am-1:00pm. This important event allows us time to reflect on the past year - hearing from our Board President and Treasurer on the status of the organization. We will then have the opportunity to enjoy a panel discussion focused on transfer station safety with local experts. Finally, we will celebrate this year's...

The Lancaster, NH Town Hall is a neat building full of surprises - from the wonderful auditorium and town offices, to the upstairs space used by the local Free Masons, it's a great community space! On a recent visit, NRRA learned of another fantastic resource that combines reuse and community support. In the basement of the Lancaster Town Hall, there are neat rows of clothing, shoes, and household goods ready for community members in need. Run by Waypoint as their North Country Regional Office, gently used clothing and home goods are diverted from being thrown away, sorted, and then offered to 700-1000 individuals in need every year...