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Residents in the town of Lee, NH should be proud. In the month of November 2021, their small, individual acts of recycling for the past several months led to nearly $39,000 in revenue for their town. This is a great example of a town Recycling with Results! But how did they make it happen?
First, individual community members rinsed out, collected, and then separated their plastic bottles and jugs, aluminum cans, scrap metal, cardboard, and paper at the transfer station. By making sure they were only recycling items that could be processed, they helped make sure their recyclables remained clean and uncontaminated. This means that items that cannot generally be processed at your local transfer station - such as single use plastic bags - were tossed in the garbage and not the recycling bin. It also means that items that can be processed were recycled, instead of being thrown...Read more
Over the past year, NRRA members and communities have reported that residents continue to hear that recycling is dead, recycling isn't working anymore, and that communities are stopping recycling. In reality, recycling has been doing very well. So much so that this past summer, NRRA Executive Director Reagan Bissonnette penned an op-ed, " Recycling is Thriving, In Part Due to the Pandemic " which was featured locally in the Concord Monitor and NH Bulletin.
Recently, however, Reagan was able to talk with New Hampshire Public Radio reporter, Mara Hoplamazian, to share the real story on how times have changed - for the better - when it comes to recycling in New Hampshire:
The transfer station in Derry is full of neatly organized piles of everything residents don’t want. Old couches, discarded Halloween decorations, and tidy mounds of plastic, cardboard, glass, and aluminum....Read more
Did you know that the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) partners with the Town of Dennis, MA to help Cape Cod communities recycle their glass locally? Six Cape Cod communities participate in NRRA's processed glass aggregate program, where glass bottles and jars get crushed into an aggregate to be used locally in infrastructure projects. NRRA's vendor recently completed a crush of glass in Dennis, MA, and the crushed glass will be used in local projects.
Established in the summer o f 2019, NRRA's processed glass aggregate host site in Dennis, MA now serves the towns of Barnstable, Brewster, Wellfleet, Mashpee, and Harwich, MA. These communities deliver glass bottles and jars collected from their residents to the Town of Dennis, MA transfer station. There, glass is collected until at least 1,000 tons of material is available on site. Then NRRA's vendor brings a mobile glass crushing unit and screening plant...Read more
At the Northeast Resource Recovery Association's 40th Annual Meeting held earlier this month, the recycling nonprofit elected three new members to the Board of Trustees: Ken Filpula, Transfer Station Supervisor, Town of Moultonborough, NH; Benjamin Hoy, Recycling Manager, Town of Walpole, NH; and Joshua Whipple, Solid Waste Manager, Town of Swanzey, NH.
"Each new board member is an experienced transfer station manager whose community is an active member of NRRA," said Reagan Bissonnette, NRRA Executive Director. "Their individual and combined expertise in recycling and waste reduction will benefit NRRA and our mission to partner with communities to make recycling strong through economic and environmentally sound solutions." Ken Fi lpula, Transfer Station Supervisor, Town of Moultonborough, NHKen began working at the Moultonborough Transfer Station in 2008 as an attendant and was promoted to Supervisor in 2016. He is an NHDES SWOT Senior Principal Operator. Ken worked closely with the...Read more
The NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) has published proposed revisions to the requirements for solid waste composting facilities in New Hampshire, including those affecting the composting of meat and dairy products. The public comment period is now open. The proposed revisions aim to address the feedback that NHDES has received from stakeholders over the years. The goal of the rulemaking is to clarify and simplify requirements for food waste composting and potentially make it easier to develop additional infrastructure for organics diversion in New Hampshire. NRRA member communities in New Hampshire are encouraged to review the proposed revised rules and provide comments orally at a December 13th public hearing or in writing before December 20, 2021.
Stakeholders have been waiting for proposed revisions to New Hampshire's composting regulations for years. NH HB 413 directed NHDES to...Read more
The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) welcomed nearly 70 members and staff to its 40 th Anniversary Annual Meeting on November 10, held remotely. Executive Director Reagan Bissonnette reflected on NRRA’s forty year history, and the program included a special presentation on current recycling markets by Chaz Miller, CEO of Chaz Miller Associates.
Reagan shared in her remarks how NRRA has evolved over time, starting as a small organization with four member communities. “ NRRA was founded back in 1981. Keep in mind that in 1981, recycling was not cool or mainstream. There were no other organizations in NH helping municipalities market their recyclables.” Today, NRRA has over 450 members across New England and helps communities market dozens of different types of commodities with over 70 vendors and haulers.
This year marks our 40 th Anniversary, and it’s wonderful to have so many members, board members, and staff here today.
As many of you know, NRRA is a rather unique organization. We’re one of only a handful of nonprofits in the entire country that operates a cooperative model where we directly connect communities with recyclable commodities to companies that wish to acquire that material. Our mission is to partner with municipalities to make recycling strong through economic and environmentally sound solutions. In recognition of our 40 th anniversary, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect back on our founding in 1981, and how that compares to today.
NRRA was founded back in 1981. Keep in mind that in 1981, recycling was not cool or mainstream. There were no other organizations in NH helping...Read more
The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) has announced the recipients of its 2021 Recycling Awards, which recognize organizations and individuals for their contributions to support NRRA’s mission of partnering to make recycling strong through economic and environmentally sound solutions. The award winners are:
Vendor of the Year Award – Cota’s Propane and Tank Service, Grand Isle, Vermont
Rookie of the Year Award – Steve Bean, Transfer Station Manager, Littleton, New Hampshire
Sami Izzo Recycler of the Year Award – Brian Patnoe, Solid Waste Manager, Lancaster, New Hampshire
The award winners were announced at NRRA’s 40 th Anniversary Annual Meeting , which was held virtually on November 10, 2021 and featured attendees from across New England.
Vendor of the...Read more