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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
As NRRA member communities work on their budgets for 2022, we have been asked to provide our best guess on whether next year will bring a year where recyclables increase in value or start to return to the low values we saw earlier. After looking into our crystal ball (which includes speaking with our knowledgeable vendors), NRRA has prepared its best prediction for members. We anticipate pricing will stay better than a year ago, and we’re certainly past the initial shocking drop in pricing resulting from China’s National Sword policy in 2018. However, we expect the high commodity values (and lower single and dual stream costs) we’ve seen in recent months to begin moderating as soon as this month.
If you haven't heard, recycling is thriving, in part due to the pandemic . For example, last month one of NRRA's member communities received a revenue check of $24,000...Read more
The NH Solid Waste Working Group , which is designed to assist the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) with planning for New Hampshire's solid waste future, held its organizational meeting on Friday, October 29 from 9:30 to 11:30 AM. The meeting included a discussion of HB 413, the selection of Representative Karen Ebel as Chair of the Working Group, and a discussion of member interests in participating in the group. Reagan Bissonnette, NRRA Executive Director, and representatives from several NRRA member communities are members of the group and attended. A recording of the meeting is also available.
The meeting began with introductions by each member of the Working Group. Next followed a discussion of HB 413 , including its establishment of the Solid Waste Working Group, a new statewide disposal reduction goal, new requirements for the state solid...Read more
This summer, just twelve residents personally composted over one and a half tons (1,653 pounds) of food scraps from their homes as part of the Keene Backyard Compost Pilot Program. These volunteers were recipients of either a Green Cone Solar Digester or a Subpod to compost their food scraps. The City of Keene funded the purchase of the equipment, and the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) facilitated the setup of the program.
NRRA’s Member Services Representative, Heather Herring, was encouraged by the volunteers’ enthusiasm. “Some residents were trying this for the first time and had great questions for me along the way. I hope that the volunteers continue to help the City of Keene to decrease the weight of their waste and help the city save money in waste disposal fees. Overall, the program was given a thumbs up...Read more
On Monday, October 18, NRRA Executive Director, Reagan Bissonnette, spoke at the Maine Resource Recovery Association Conference about NRRA's source separated glass recycling programs. Despite the challenges that exist with glass recycling in New England, NRRA has two successful programs that allow over 100 communities to recycle and reuse their glass, serving over 500,000 residents in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. The first, which accepts food grade glass bottles and jars only, sends glass to a vendor in Canada to be processed and later made into new glass bottles and jars and fiberglass insulation back in the United States. The second glass program involves crushes glass bottles and jars, plus materials like porcelain, Pyrex, and ceramics where allowed like in NH, into an aggregate to be used in infrastructure projects.
Both programs follow the same basic process, whether the glass comes from single stream, dual stream, or source separated...Read more
The New Hampshire Legislature has begun work for its 2022 legislative session. State Senators and State Representatives have filed what are known as Legislative Service Requests (“LSRs”) . An LSR is a simple proposal for a bill submitted by a member of the incoming Legislature that is later drafted into a detailed bill. Then bills are assigned to committees in the House or Senate and scheduled for hearings where members of the public may testify in support or opposition to bills. The following LSRs related to solid waste management have been filed, and NRRA will provide updates to members as LSRs become bills. Note: This article was updated November 8, 2021 to add the following LSRs: 2415 and 2561.
2022-2029 HB Title: establishing a committee to study landfill siting criteria and methods for reducing pressure on landfill capacity. Sponsors: (Prime) Judy Aron , Megan...Read more
This summer, HB 413 was signed into law, which established a NH Solid Waste Working Group to assist the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) with planning for New Hampshire's solid waste future. Reagan Bissonnette, Executive Director, serves as NRRA's representative on the working group. Four NRRA members were also appointed to the group. The working group's first meeting will take place on Friday, October 29 at 9:30 AM at the NHDES Office at 29 Hazen Drive Room 208C Concord, NH 03301. NRRA will provide periodic updates for NRRA's members about the solid waste working group's activities.
Working Group MembersIn addition to Reagan Bissonnette serving as NRRA's representative on the group, four NRRA members are members of the group. Municipal members include Brian Patnoe (NRRA board member) from the Town of Lancaster, NH representing rural communities with source-separated recycling, Duncan Watson from the City...Read more
It was blue skies over the Henniker, NH’s Recycling Center and Transfer Station for the October 13th Member Operations Marketing (MOM) meeting. Participants were eager to hear Senior Member Services Representative, Bonnie Bethune, review the recycling markets and feedback from NRRA vendors. Heather Herring, Member Services Representative, encapsulated a recent Trash On the Lawn Day in Bow, NH and offered to connect other municipal towns with this hands-on school program.
The blue sky and fall leaves were an idyllic background for a tour of Henniker’s facility led by Marc Boisvert, Facility Manager, and Deb Dimond, Facility Operator. Members met next to the four vertical balers that Henniker uses to bale cardboard, mixed paper, #1 PET and #2 HDPE plastics. They picked up some tricks of the trade on signage and upkeep of the facility, then talked about Henniker’s glass crusher and possible uses of the product. Bird houses decorated...Read more
The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) will hold its Annual Meeting virtually this year on Wednesday, November 10 from 9 to 10:30 AM. Members will be able to join by video using Microsoft Teams or by phone only if desired. The meeting will feature a special presentation about current recycling markets by Chaz Miller, CEO Chaz Miller Associates and former Director, National Waste & Recycling Association. All NRRA members are invited to attend this free event.
This Annual Meeting marks NRRA's 40th anniversary! The meeting will also include the presentation of awards to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of our members and vendors over the past year. In addition, members will vote on new and renewing members for NRRA's Board of Trustees.
All NRRA members are invited to attend this virtual annual meeting. Each municipal member is entitled to only one vote,...Read more