NHDES Credit Webinars

NHDES Credits:  3.5

Over 185 presenters and attendees from New England and beyond participated in the Northeast Resource Recovery Association's (NRRA) virtual "Recycling with Results" Conference on May 10-11, 2021.   The conference featured six key topics currently faced by the municipal solid waste and recycling industry.  NHDES solid waste operator continuing education credits are available for each recorded hour watched. Please contact info@nrrarecycles.org to receive your certificate for hours.  

Looking for the Day Two recording?  

What Attendees Liked Most from Day One

It was the best, most informative conference I attended. I learned so much from your vendor speakers. I hope there will be more as good as this one was. Thank you to all of you, you all really did a tremendous job!

I liked the variety of speakers and topics. It was nice to hear from people from all different locations in NH.

I enjoyed the ease in which each presenter spoke. I loved seeing operators speak on their real life NH experiences. There was also a candid nature in all of the speakers.

Hearing from waste management staff who are working on the front lines and have hands-on experience to back up concepts, what works, what doesn't and why. Great slate of presenters. Also appreciate that it was recorded so I can go back and pick up things I missed, and share the info with others who could not attend. There was a lot of content! Really liked the visuals and examples, many of which I hope to adopt at our Transfer Station.

The vendors speaking about their products and how the process is done, problems they face and solutions they have come up with, as well answering questions that pertain to our end of the chain.

Day One Agenda

The agenda, with timestamps for each presentation, is provided below. 

MONDAY, MAY 10, 2021

Introduction and thank sponsors– Reagan Bissonnette, Executive Director, NRRA- 0:00-10:09 minutes

Engaging Residents with Municipal Recycling  

Learn how these speakers have successfully educated and engaged their residents about municipal recycling programs using social media, informative websites, an app, and transparency.

Presenters

• Social Media & Website - Meghan Theriault, P.E., Director of Public Works, Town of Gilford, NH-  10:10- 27:33 minutes
• Transparent Revenue and Costs - Steven Bullek, Public Works Director, Town of Lee, NH & NRRA Board Member- 27:34-32:01 minutes
• Betterbin app in Lebanon, NH - Michelle Goetsch, CEO, Betterbin and Marc Morgan, Solid Waste Manager, Lebanon, NH- 32:02- 47:40 minutes

Moderator of Q&A- Dawn Quirk, Town of Warner, NH and NRRA Board of Trustees- 47:41-1:16:45 minutes

Waste Reduction Strategies – Reduce, Reuse, Rot 1:17:33 minutes

Learn practical ways to save money by reducing the waste your community disposes. These municipal solid waste operators will share techniques to keep weight out of your waste, including: Pay As You Throw, a Refill Not Landfill reuse campaign and Food Scrap Composting at the municipal level.

Presenters

• Pay as You Throw - Dennis Patnoe, Former Transfer Station Supervisor, Town of Lancaster, NH & NRRA Board Member
• Refill Not Landfill - Marc Morgan, Solid Waste Manager, City of Lebanon, NH
• Food Scrap Composting - Joan Cudworth, Director of Public Works, Town of Hollis, NH & NRRA Board President

 Moderator of Q&A-Paul Tomasi, Executive Director, NE Kingdom Waste Management District

NRRA Website & Resources & Raffle Winner – Reagan Bissonnette, Executive Director, NRRA 

Get a tour of NRRA’s redesigned website and learn about the most popular resources available to enable municipalities to make recycling environmentally responsible and financially sustainable. 

Recycling Safely During COVID-19-  2:30:55 minutes

Back by popular demand, Dr. Ben Locwin, an expert on infectious disease epidemiology, will provide national safety updates regarding the pandemic, while NRRA’s Bonnie Bethune will share how municipal recycling programs are adapting their practices.  Plenty of time will be included for audience questions.

Presenters

• COVID-19 Pandemic - Dr. Ben Locwin, Healthcare Executive, International COVID-19 Advisor
• Municipal Recycling - Bonnie Bethune, Member Services Manager, NRRA

Moderator of Q&A- Reagan Bissonnette, Executive Director, NRRA

NHDES Credits:  1.5

Reagan Bissonnette, NRRA Executive Director, met virtually with Dr. Ben Locwin, an expert on infectious disease epidemiology, for a much-anticipated second webinar to discuss COVID-19 best management practices for recycling and solid waste facilities.  Dr. Locwin presented on issues that are top of mind during the spike in COVID-19 cases, including the status of developing a vaccine, the best types of masks based on scientific studies, what we know about surface transmission, and how to effectively ventilate buildings and vehicles as we approach winter.  Following his presentation, Dr. Locwin answered questions from attendees.  NRRA 's first webinar with Dr. Locwin on April 15, 2020 was hugely popular and has been watched by nearly 600 people.  

In addition to the webinar recording and presentation slides, a transcript of the webinar with time stamps is provided for reference purposes.  

Here's some feedback from our attendees:

• This is by far the most informative, relevant, useful webinar I've listened to on COVID 19. Dr. Ben is extremely knowledgeable, the questions were excellent and answered some of my own questions and concerns and the most FAQ I get from others. THANK YOU.
  
  
• Dr. Locwin was awesome, the information that he provided was spot on and current.
  
  
• I just totally enjoyed getting clear rational facts presented without hysteria.  He affirmed out loud many of the common sense things I have been thinking.

 
Viewing this Webinar is eligible for 1.5 hours of NHDES training credit. To receive your credit certificate, please notify info@nrrarecycles.org once you’ve watched the webinar. We will need to verify your viewing of the webinar and then we will issue your credit to the email used to sign into the recording.

Dr. Ben Locwin – Dr. Locwin is an expert on infectious disease epidemiology. He conducts clinical trials internationally for breakthrough medical treatments. Dr. Locwin has worked on vaccine candidates for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. He also has been involved with epidemiological modeling and case tracing for the current pandemic, assessing patient cases, public health and community outreach and teaching clinicians. He has been working with State and Federal government offices to provide clear scientific approaches and direction for improving public health amid the current pandemic.

NHDES Credits:  .75 

Investigate all the options for zero waste event training programs that expand beyond NRRA's present RecycleMobile program. This includes access to NRRA’s Can Cage aluminum recycling program, additional container approaches, and basic training on how to plan for better materials purchasing and incorporating composting at events. Planning ahead is the most effective tool in reducing waste at special events. What you learn today can be used before, during and after your event.

Join the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, your recycling nonprofit, for this webinar to discuss these issues. Cindy Sterling is the Grants Manager and Senior Educator at NRRA. Ben Perham is NRRA's Educational Assistant.

Participants say: I learned a lot of hands-on tips about setting up recycling at an event. It will come in handy for many community events!

NHDES Credits:  .75

Discarded mattresses pose a problem for municipalities. They are difficult to manage, expensive to transport, hard to compact, and take up a lot of space in landfills. They are also made up almost entirely of recyclable materials which makes them a good candidate for a special recycling program. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection launched a grant program in 2016 to divert mattresses and box springs from disposal. The program provides funding to municipalities to aid in the collection, transportation, and recycling of residential mattresses and box springs. The Mattress Recycling Incentive Program (MRI) has helped municipalities recycle 89,500 mattresses, diverting approximately 2,460 tons from disposal. We will cover the mattress component recycling markets and more.

Rachel Smith is a Regional Planner at the MA DEP.

Participants say:  "I learned about the process of mattress recycling in MA. I am interested to find out if there are any plans to do something similar in my state."

NHDES Credits:  1

This panel of operators shared tricks of the trade in the ever-changing recycling facility world. We gathered some of our member operators to find answers to the questions of: What safety practices work at your facility in this new normal of COVID-19? What ways do you communicate new recycling specs to the public? How do you best convince your town budget to approve what you need? How do you maximize recycling separation with limited space at your facility? What can you do to make your plastics and paper recycling programs worth more? Panelists shared their exemplars and photos with you so you can put these tricks to practical use!

Panelists include: Joanie Cudworth, Director of Public Works in Hollis, NH; Brian Patnoe, Recycling Manager at Littleton, NH; and Ed Walsh, the Transfer Station Manager at Rollinsford, NH.

Participants say: "The webinar provided a very good overview of how facilities are operating and innovating." "I learned how interacting with community members and incorporating their opinions into facility changes has been extremely successful for many transfer stations." 

NHDES Credits:  .75

Our clothing, shoe and other textile waste that ends up in landfills has increased 300% since 1990 and it’s not getting any better. In fact, it's getting worse. With "fast fashion" becoming the new way for retail giants to increase profits and manufacturing of our clothing being sent to developing countries, we need to change the way we think about our clothing. It's no longer whether we should donate or recycle our clothing, it's how.

Join the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, your recycling nonprofit, for this webinar to discuss these issues. A serial entrepreneur and recognized as the Union Leader's 40 under 40, Joe Whitten is the founder and CEO of Apparel Impact - New England's fastest growing textile recovery and recycling company with customers ranging from Easterseals, Mobil and hundreds of schools, towns and businesses.

Participants said: 

"Now I have a better understanding of the true magnitude and scope of the issue. I truly did not realize the impact fabric is causing." 

"The statistics on the amount of textiles sent to landfills and incinerators were bind-boggling." 

NHDES Credits:  1

What is the New England region doing about Extended Producer Responsibility for the end of a life of a product? Join the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, your recycling nonprofit, for this webinar to discuss these issues. Terri Goldberg is the Executive Director of the Northeast Waste Management Official's Association and Megan Pryor is an Environmental Specialist with the Maine DEP, Div. of Materials Management.

Participants say: "The webinar provided good information and updates about programs for material destination programs throughout New England." "I learned about several programs I had not yet heard about."  

NHDES Credits:  1

Needlestick injuries expose us to bloodborne pathogens, including HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and other viruses. Traces of antibiotics found in river and lake water samples are shifting the delicate balance of aquatic ecosystems. Nicotine (among other toxic substances) in e-cigarettes, vape pens, and cartridges are considered hazardous waste. Vape batteries can start landfill and transfer station fires. What about other items such as inhaler cartridges, epi-pens, needle storage devices?

We care about protecting sanitation workers and the general public from deadly injuries. Join NRRA's Cindy Sterling and Ben Perham, and NH Lakes Region Planning Commission's Paige Wilson, as they share the results of previous lively medical waste disposal roundtable discussions, efforts and research. This is the culminating recorded webinar about what is happening in MA, NH, and VT.

Participants say: "I work at a hospital so the information is very important and informative." "I learned about needle clippers. They can really be effective and I will bring them up to my employer." 

NHDES Credits:  1

In 2019, ecomaine, waste manager for 400,000 people in Maine, along with four municipal partners, piloted an internship program to address costly recycling contamination.  Before heading out into the communities, interns received a deep dive training into the waste hierarchy and the recent changes to the recycling market. Over 8 weeks, interns tagged recycling bins and provided residents with educational materials on proper recycling that utilized community-based social marketing principles. Following the success of the pilot, the partners created a toolkit for communities facing high contamination rates to implement a similar program.

Join the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, your recycling nonprofit, for this recorded webinar to discuss these issues. Lucy Perkins is the Sustainability Program Coordinator in South Portland, ME. Matt Grondin is the Communications Manager at ecomaine.

Participants say: "I learned about the rate of contamination. I like the idea of having summer interns to track recycling."

NHDES Credits:  .75

Repair Café events are an empowering response to throw-away society, re-creating a culture that values reuse and repair over disposal. In two Vermont communities, Repair Cafés tap into locals’ knowledge to reduce waste by fixing broken or damaged items that would otherwise be thrown away. This recorded webinar will explore the Repair Café model, lessons learned, community partnerships, nuts and bolts of hosting a repair event, and the broader context of the right to repair movement.

Join the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, your recycling nonprofit, for this webinar to discuss these issues. Ollie Cultrara is the former Waste Diversion Program Assistant and ECO AmeriCorps member at the Addison County Solid Waste District in Middlebury, Vermont. Cassandra Hemenway is the Outreach Manager of the Central VT Solid Waste District.