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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
NRRA is excited to introduce NRRA member communities to the Community Facility Loan and Grant program available through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development. This program provides matching grants up to $50,000 to eligible communities based on population and median household income. Grants can be used for a wide variety of essential community needs, including solid waste infrastructure. NRRA staff recently met with Jon-Michael Muise, Area Director of Rural Development at USDA, to learn about this program, and Jon will be a guest speaker at NRRA's January 12, 2022 MOM meeting.
USDA Rural Development is committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in rural America. Through its programs, Rural Development helps rural Americans through three types of programs: (1) guaranteed loan products; (2) direct lending; and (3) grant programs. Rural Development's Community Facility Program serves populations of 20,000 people or less, and eligible...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
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