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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE EPSOM, NH: The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA), the largest and oldest cooperative-model recycling nonprofit in the United States, enables communities to manage their own recycling programs, in part, through its recycling education and technical assistance work. This fall, NRRA successfully wrapped up its  Recycling Tools of the Trade  project, made possible by a grant from the Rural Utilities Service, United States Department of Agriculture. New Hampshire law states that each town must “provide a facility or assure access to another approved solid waste facility for its residents,” regardless of...

by Hadley Barndollar, New Hampshire Bulletin Coos County’s Mount Carberry Landfill took in more than 162 million pounds of construction and demolition debris in 2021. That, according to the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, means the disposal of wood, metal, sheet rock, shingles, asphalt, brick, and concrete was more than twice the amount of food waste landfilled there that same year. Construction and demolition debris is often an overlooked contributor to landfill waste, said Reagan Bissonnette, executive director at the NRRA, and in the North Country, it’s an environmental justice issue. This year, using a federal Healthy...

Welcome to the 42nd NRRA Annual Meeting! All NRRA Members are cordially invited to join the trustees and staff of NRRA for the Annual Meeting and Luncheon on Wednesday, November 1st from 9am - 1pm at the Puritan Backroom Restaurant. (There will be an NRRA Board and Staff meeting immediately following from 1-2pm.) There will be plenty of time for networking this year over morning refreshments and lunch. We will then have the opportunity to hear from the Voices of Experience panel as they reflect on the field of recycling and solid waste management - where it's been, where it's going, and most importantly, answering YOUR questions. We...

The Northeast Resource Recovery Association is pleased to announce that we have been selected for the EPA Region 1 New England Healthy Communities grant for 2023-2024. The North Country C&D Diversion 2.0 project will build on the success of NRRA’s recent EPA grant Increasing C&D Diversion in Coös County, NH, while expanding technical assistance to ten additional communities north of the notches in New Hampshire. The goal of the project is to enable communities to increase C&D and bulky waste diversion through reuse and recycling instead of landfilling. We anticipate short-term outcomes to include: (1) an increase by weight of C&D...

The 2023 legislative session is complete. Here is a list of the House and Senate bills related to solid waste management and recycling in New Hampshire, as well as the outcome of the bills by the end of the session. For updates on the current legislative session, please refer to our Policy and Legislation Page. 2023 Legislation 2023 House and Senate Bills SB159: Relative to permits for the siting of new landfills. Sponsors: (Prime) Senator Donovan Fenton Passed House and Senate, Signed by Governor on 6/20/2023 SB211: Relative to background investigations of solid waste and hazardous waste facility permit applicants. Sponsors: (Prime...

Over the past year, NRRA has been working on an EPA Healthy Communities grant focused on increasing construction and demolition (C&D) diversion in Coös County, NH. During that time, we have held 3 C&D Summit Roundtables in Lancaster, NH; provided technical assistance to 3 case study communities; helped to set up a successful C&D diversion pilot program in Lancaster, NH; and have visited 14 Coös County facilities with an eye to C&D management. By visiting individual transfer stations, NRRA is able to pull together different C&D challenges and opportunities that are unique to Coös County. There are no local C&D recycling facilities in...

On September 8, NRRA executive director, Reagan Bissonnette, had the opportunity to speak at the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC) Annual Meeting at the Derryfield Restaurant in Manchester, NH. The theme of the night was Sustainability; Reagan was invited as one of four speakers on the topic. Reagan began by talking about recycling and solid waste management in New Hampshire, highlighting tools for communities to strengthen their recycling programs, including grant opportunities and resources to educate residents about the economic and environmental value of recycling and waste reduction. Twelve of the fourteen...

Thank you for your interest - the 2023 Bus Tour is currently full and registration is closed. We are excited to announce the schedule for this year's annual Fall Bus Tour happening Wednesday, October 18 from 7:45am to 4:00pm. This year, we will be hopping on a luxury tour bus and visiting 3 locations: the Waste Management Turnkey Landfill; the electronics recycler, Universal Recycling Technologies (URT); and the Lee, NH Transfer Station. At each location, participants will get to tour the facility or location, ask questions, and connect with fellow operators. This is a great opportunity to see where some towns' municipal solid waste...

Have you ever wondered about the process to plan and update a transfer station? Well, NRRA municipal member town, Swanzey, NH, has been documenting their Recycling Center building project construction on their town website and Facebook page, as well as physical postings at the facility. Their consistent updates help to increase resident education and maintain public support by inviting residents to learn more about the improvements, including the planning, process photos, and how the updated Center will provide environmental and economically sound benefits to the entire town. The planning process took several years - starting prior...

Executive Director, Reagan Bissonnette, and Member Services Manager, Brian Patnoe, had a great trip to the Resource Recycling Conference in Orlando, Florida. It was a whirlwind trip, as they were in Orlando for less than 48 hours, but they really made the most of their time! Connecting in person with people and learning from them was the most valuable part of the conference, followed by the formal educational workshops. Being able to connect with industry colleagues while learning about big-picture challenges and solutions in the field of recycling and solid waste diversion allows our organization to better inform our members. It's...