E-newsletter highlighting grant deadlines, upcoming workshops and available resources for municipal recycling and solid waste leaders.
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Reuse and Waste Prevention Resources | |
Material Reuse Forum 5
Reuse in Climate Action Plans
Tuesday January 9th, 2024
1:00 - 3:00 PM EST
Register Here
Explore the growing trend of integrating reuse practices into climate action plans during our forum "Reuse in Climate Action Plans." Governments are increasingly recognizing the environmental benefits of reusing durable goods, spanning construction materials, consumer items, household goods, electronics, books, textiles, and fixtures. Join us for insightful discussions featuring four expert speakers who will share their perspectives on how reuse can play a pivotal role in sustainable climate action plans.
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Most Comprehensive Local Reusable Foodware Ordinance,
enacted in Oakland
In December 2023, the Oakland City Council enacted the most comprehensive local reusable foodware ordinance to date with unanimous vote.
Subject: Reusable Foodware And Plastic Litter Reduction Ordinance Report
Adopt An Ordinance To Reduce Litter On Our Streets And In Our Water Ways By:
(1) Requiring Prepared Food Vendors To Use Reusable Food Service Ware For Dining On Premises,
(2) Allowing Customer-Provided Reusable Beverage Cups And Food Containers For Take-Out,
(3) Requiring That Prepared Food Vendors Shall Only Provide Disposable Foodware Accessories Upon Request,
(4) Requiring Reusable Beverage Cups At City Facilities,
(5) Requiring Reusable Beverage Cups At Large Venues,
(6) Requiring Reusable Beverage Cups At Large Events,
(7) Prohibiting The City Purchase, Sale, Or Distribution of Packaged Water,
(8) Encouraging The Installation of Accessible Water Bottle Refill Stations at City Owned and Operated Facilities, And
(9) Requiring Compliant Disposable Food Service Ware For Food Service; And Making California Environmental Quality Act Findings
Find the full policy here
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Waste Prevention, Recovery and Diversion Resources | |
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What is the U.S. Food Waste Pact?
Led by national nonprofit partners ReFED and World Wildlife Fund, the U.S. Food Waste Pact is aligned around the global framework of “Target, Measure, Act” to help food businesses move from ambition to action and reduce waste within their operations through:
- Measurement and annual reporting of food waste data to the Pact.
- Participation in working groups and pilot projects to test, implement, and scale cost-effective and high-impact food waste solutions.
Find out more: https://usfoodwastepact.org/
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Community Composting Videos
Community composting is a model of composting that sources organic materials locally, engages the community in the composting process, and uses the compost produced in local soils. Don't throw food scraps away - compost them instead! The new EPA videos show how easy and rewarding Community Composting can be. Composting is nature’s way of recycling, and can reduce trash, help address climate change, and build healthy soil.
Website: https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/community-composting
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ILSR Videos and Resources Highlight the Benefits of Community Composting
We are excited to announce the release of three short videos highlighting the environmental, social, and economic benefits of community composting, created by ILSR’s Composting for Community Initiative for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To accompany the videos, EPA has created a Community Composting page with the help of ILSR. This is a significant step towards national recognition of the importance of community composting and EPA’s commitment to equitable climate and soil solutions that put community benefits first.
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CT School Sharing Table Guidelines
Food Donation By Connecticut Schools
Guidelines and Resources
CT-School-Donation-Resource.pdf (cetonline.org)
This fact sheet includes information on sharing tables and donating surplus food externally.
This resource continues to be valid, despite being created a few years ago. It also continues to be valid despite the CT Dept of Education revising their sharing table guidelines, following federal Department of Agriculture Child Nutrition Program (CNP) guidelines. More information here.
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Recording
Food Scrap Diversion for Multifamily Housing Webinar
September 26, 2023
Webinar included program experts from New York City and Austin, Texas, about the ins and outs of food waste diversion programs for multifamily buildings. Watch the recording › Multifamily Housing Webinar - YouTube
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CT Tire Stewardship Meeting
Monday, January 22, 2024
8:30am - 3:00pm
Meeting Agenda
CT Tire Stewardship Meeting, hosted by CT DEEP is a hybrid event to review Public Act 23-62, hear from current tire collectors and processors, discuss elements of the Stewardship Plan and hear from municipalities.
In-person meeting will be held at CT DEEP, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106. Coffee and check-in will begin at 8:30am.
Register to attend in person at 79 Elm St, Hartford here.
Register to attend remotely via ZOOM here.
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EPA Announces $4.6 Billion in
Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Across Two Competitions,
Deadlines April 1 and May 1, 2024
EPA made available $4.6 billion across two implementation grant competitions, one general competition and one specifically for tribes and territories. Under these funding opportunities, eligible applicants will compete for climate pollution reduction implementation grants to fund measures in their state-, municipality-, tribe-, or territory-specific climate action plans. As part of its application evaluation, EPA will prioritize measures that achieve the greatest reduction in GHG emissions. Measures that address waste and materials management are within the scope. The deadline to apply to the general competition is April 1, 2024. The deadline to apply to the Tribes and territories competition is May 1, 2024. EPA estimates that the implementation grants will be awarded in Fall 2024 for the general competition and in Winter 2024-2025 for the Tribes and territories competition.
More information,
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EPA Community Change Grants
The Biden-Harris administration announced approximately $2 billion in funding available to support community-driven projects that deploy clean energy, strengthen climate resilience, and build capacity for communities to tackle environmental and climate justice challenges. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Community Change Grants are the single largest investment in environmental justice going directly to communities in history, and will advance collaborative efforts to achieve a healthier, safer, and more prosperous future for all. The NOFO will be open for a year, closing on November 21, 2024, and EPA will review applications on a rolling basis. This allows applicants to utilize technical assistance and possibly resubmit a new application if not initially selected. EPA encourages applicants to apply as early as possible.
The Community Change Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/inflation-reduction-act-community-change-grants-program
Community Change Grants Notification of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Webinar was 12/7/2023 - Recording here: View the recording of the December 7, 2023 webinar
Slides here: View the presentation slides from the December 7, 2023 webinar (pdf)
Sign-up for newsletter to learn about other upcoming webinars: Inflation Reduction Act Community Change Grants Program | US EPA
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Reports, Surveys & Other Resources | |
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Connecticut’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program:
Priority Climate Action Plan Survey and Request for Public Comment
CT DEEP is leading the development of the state’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Priority Climate Action Plan with 14 proposed actions the state may implement to: reduce air pollution that is warming our planet; clean up our air; and provide important benefits to communities in the state, such as reduced energy bills, improved public health, and more jobs.
It is important that DEEP incorporate public comment from individuals and organizations on the most significant community challenges and potential benefits to communities related to these actions to reduce greenhouse gases as part of its Notice of Request for Public Comment issued on December 22, 2023.
The public comment survey on challenges and benefits takes about 10 minutes to complete with the option to spend more time providing detailed comments on each climate action proposed by the state.
The public comment survey results will inform CT DEEP’s analysis of the benefits and potential negative impacts of the 14 actions and plans to address those impacts on communities in Connecticut to be included with the Priority Climate Action Plan. All updates on the Priority Climate Action Plan will be shared via this Climate Solutions Newsletter and posted on the website listed below.
The survey and Request for Public Comment will close at 11:59 pm on January 12, 2024.
SURVEY (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CT_CPRG) - public comment survey on challenges and benefits of 14 actions **
Additional Resources
Notice of Request for Public Comment (Issued Dec. 22, 2023) (https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DEEP/climatechange/CPRG/CPRG-Request-for-Public-Comments-122223.pdf) – includes a description of the survey, the 14 proposed actions and how CT DEEP selected them, and a summary of the results of DEEP’s inventory of sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the state.
Overview of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Slides: (https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DEEP/climatechange/CPRG/CPRG_State_Overview-and-GHG-Reduction-Measures-Dec18_120823-Final.pdf)
14 proposed actions (https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DEEP/climatechange/CPRG/PCAP_Actions_121823.pdf) for the Priority Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
All updates on the Priority Climate Action Plan will be posted on this website: https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Climate-Change/Climate-Action-Plans
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Comment Period Extension to 2/3/24 for Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics
EPA, USDA, and FDA announce steps to reduce waste and increase recycling of organics to reduce climate pollution, save families and businesses money, and support a circular economy for all.
EPA, USDA, and FDA request public comments on the draft strategy. The public comment period is open until February 3, 2024 and comments can be submitted at Regulations.gov, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2022-0415.
View: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/EPA-HQ-OLEM-2022-0415-0001
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Model PAYT Ordinance
Model PAYT Ordinance | BioCycle
In November 2023, the NRDC and the Environmental Law Institute released their Model Ordinance Establishing a Pay-As-You-Throw Program for Residential Municipal Solid Waste to assist cities looking to reduce waste generation and ensure more municipal discards are recycled or composted. Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) is a municipal solid waste (MSW) collection system in which households are charged in proportion to the amount of trash they generate and dispose of and at a higher rate for trash than for recyclables and compostables, which is in line with payment structures for other utilities such as water and electricity. PAYT is also commonly referred to as Save-As-You-Throw, unit-based pricing, volume-based pricing, variable rate pricing, or Save Money and Reduce Trash (SMART). The PAYT tool is decades-old, but with more programs rolling out to collect residential food waste, the model ordinance is a great refresher to put it back on local governments’ radar.
The model ordinance notes that MSW haulers must “employ a variable rate pricing system designed to incentivize households to generate less trash and to increase materials recycling and organics recycling.” It requires haulers to offer various sizes and numbers of trash containers to households and charge accordingly. Specific container sizes or prices are not dictated in the model, which covers three arrangements: Municipally operated haulers; Contracted private haulers; and Licensed private haulers. The model also calls for the municipal government to provide compliance assistance and set penalty procedures and amounts to equitably support effective implementation of a PAYT program.
Measures to promote equity and prevent undue hardship include:
- Establishing a process for households to apply for reduced MSW collection prices, waivers of specific collection requirements, or both
- Translating customer notice materials and outreach efforts into languages other than English when appropriate
- Adopting “any other measures deemed necessary to ensure that no household in [Municipality] faces undue hardship as a result of implementation of this Ordinance, including but not limited to households with members who are low-income, elderly, or disabled or who speak languages other than English.”
“This model ordinance is designed to help municipalities more readily adopt a local PAYT program by providing specific legal language — based on extensive best practices research — that can be used to establish program components,” explains Darby Hoover with NRDC. “The version of the model ordinance with commentaries includes footnotes that provide background information, including examples from cities around the country, and alternative approaches that can assist municipalities in tailoring provisions to their own circumstances. There is also a clean ‘off the shelf’ version of the model, a slide deck, and a compilation of PAYT resources that lists some of the many existing reports, toolkits, and other documents on the topic.”
From NRDC:
Model Ordinance Establishing a Pay-As-You-Throw Program for Residential Municipal Solid Waste: With and Without Commentaries (nrdc.org)
Model Ordinance Establishing a Pay-As-You-Throw Program for Residential Municipal Solid Waste (PDF)
Model Ordinance Establishing a Pay-As-You-Throw Program for Residential Municipal Solid Waste, With Commentaries (PDF)
Pay-As-You-Throw Resources Compilation (PDF)
Model Ordinance Establishing a Pay-As-You-Throw Program for Residential Municipal Solid Waste: Presentation (PDF)
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NERC Northeast Recycling
Market Report
This is the 17th report in NERC’s series of quarterly reports on the market value of commodities from MRFs in the Northeast. The report includes information from ten states: Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.
View report: https://nerc.org/documents/survey/NERC%20Northeast%20Recycling%20Market%20Report%202023%20Q2%20Q3.pdf
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The COP28 Agriculture, Food and Climate National Action Toolkit
The toolkit was launched as part of the COP28 Food Systems and Agriculture Agenda to help translate national climate and food systems goals into local actions. “Reducing and repurposing food loss and waste” is one of five priority actions for policymakers.
View: https://www.fao.org/3/cc9049en/cc9049en.pdf
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Missed CCSMM Meetings?
DEEP and over 100 municipalities from across the state joined together to form the Connecticut Coalition for Sustainable Materials Management (CCSMM) in August 2020. The goal is to explore ways to reduce the amount of waste that is generated in our state, improve reuse, recycling, organics collection, support EPR legislation, and consider other innovative solutions.
Don't miss any future meetings. Sign up to receive email updates.
Recent Meeting Recordings:
Bottle Bill Advisory Group
December 18, 2023
Recording Here
CCSMM EPR Working Group
December 13, 2023
Recording here
SWAC
October 24, 2023
Recording here
CCSMM Full Coalition Meeting
September 19, 2023
Recording here
CT Solid Waste Data: Annual Reporting Stakeholder Engagement meeting
August 17, 2023
Recording here
Main CCSMM webpage here
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CT Bottle Bill Quiz
Q: What festive alcoholic beverage(s) are covered under the CT bottle bill?
A.Champagne
B.Spiked Egg Nog
C.Holiday Ales
D.Peppermint Twist Vodka
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A: What festive alcoholic beverage(s) are covered under the CT bottle bill?
A.Champagne - No, why? It's considered a wine.
B.Spiked Egg Nog - No, why? It's a spirit.
C.Holiday Ales - Yes, ale is a type of beer, beer bottles and cans are in CT bottle bill.
D.Peppermint Twist Vodka - No, why? It's a spirit.
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Great time to review: House Bill No. 6671, Public Act 23-1, Sec 11. (page 43)
Sec. 11. Subdivisions (1) and (2) of section 22a-243 of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(1) "Carbonated beverage" means beer or other malt beverages, hard seltzer, hard cider and mineral waters, soda water and similar carbonated soft drinks in liquid form and intended for human consumption. "Carbonated beverage" does not include any product that contains wine or spirits;
(2) "Noncarbonated beverage" means any water, including flavored water, plant water, nutritionally enhanced water, juice, juice drink, tea, coffee, kombucha, plant infused drink, sports drink or energy drink and any beverage that is identified through the use of letters, words or symbols on such beverage's product label as a type of water, juice, tea, coffee, kombucha, plant infused drink, sports drink or energy drink but excluding mineral water. "Noncarbonated beverage" does not include any product that contains wine or spirits, any food for special dietary use, as defined in 21 USC 350(c)(3), or any medical food, as defined in 21 USC 360ee(b)(3);
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Upcoming Events:
JANUARY 2024
January 9, 2024 - 1:00pm - 3:00pm - Material Reuse Forum 5: Reuse in Climate Action Plans webinar. More Information here Hosted by Northeast Recycling Council.
January 10, 2024 - 10:00am - 11:30am - Waste Reduction and Savings for Municipalities: Transfer Station Forum. Virtual. More Information here. Hosted by NVCOG and SCRCOG.
January 17, 2024 - 10:00am - 11:30am - Waste Reduction and Savings for Municipalities: Curbside Collection Event. Virtual. More Information here. Hosted by NVCOG and SCRCOG.
January 17, 2024 - 1:00pm - Household Food Waste: New Research on Why There's So Much webinar. More Information here Hosted by ReFED.
January 17, 2024 - 3:00pm - EPA Tools & Resources: Food Waste webinar. More Information here Hosted by U.S. EPA.
January 18 & 19, 2024 - Advancing Circularity PA ReMaDe Conference 2024. Bethlehem, PA. More information here. Hosted by Pennsylvania Recycling Markets Center.
January 22, 2024 - 8:30am - 3:00pm - CT Tire Stewardship Meeting. Hosted by CT DEEP. Hybrid. Register to attend in person at 79 Elm St, Hartford here. Or register to attend remotely via ZOOM here.
January 23, 2024 - 9:30am - 11:30am - CT Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting. More information/agenda. Hosted by CT DEEP. Virtual.
January 24, 2024 - 1:00pm - Advancing the Circular Economy in Healthcare: Successful examples of reuse & reprocessing to reduce healthcare waste webinar. More information/agenda. Hosted by Busch Systems.
FEBRUARY 2024
February 1, 2024 - CT Recycling Conference. More information here. Hosted by the Connecticut Recyclers Coalition.
MARCH 2024
March 14, 2024 - CT Compost Conference. Registration coming soon. Connecticut College, New London, CT. Hosted by the CT Compost Alliance.
March 21, 2024 - 11:30am - What's IN, What's OUT recycling workshop. Bristol, CT. Hosted by the Bristol Garden Club.
SAVE DATES
April 30 - May 1, 2024 - NERC Spring Conference, King of Prussia, PA. More information here.
June 3 & 4, 2024 - Next Level Recycling NRRA conference & Expo. Grappone Conference Center, Concord, New Hampshire. More information here.
June 11–13, 2024 - 2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit. Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland. More information here. Early-bird pricing until January 19, 2024.
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The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act. To request an accommodation contact us at (860) 418-5910 or deep.accommodations@ct.gov. | |
CT DEEP | Source Reduction & Recycling Group | 860-424-4193 | www.ct.gov/deep/recycle | | | | |
