March 2019
E-newsletter highlighting grant deadlines, upcoming workshops and available resources for municipal recycling and solid waste leaders.
Weathering the Storm:
How SMART Communities are Surviving Rising Costs
Webinar
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
2:00pm - 3:30pm

Wonder how you'll meet budget this year with rising costs for trash and recycling? Join us to learn more about Save Money and Reduce Trash (SMART) programs where residents pay for what they generate instead of paying for the capacity to generate. SMART programs reduce residential waste by 44%, saving your municipality money from avoided tip fees. Analysis of CT communities shows that savings from waste reduction will cover increasing recycling costs. Join us to learn about DEEP's SMART program, available resources and technical assistance. There will be an opportunity to ask lots of questions.


Presenters:
Jennifer Weymouth, CT DEEP
Kristen Brown, WasteZero
Jeremy Marsette, Public Works Director, Natick, Mass.
Additional speaker TBA


  • DEEP's focus on SMART as #1 tool for waste reduction and controlling municipal costs
  • What is SMART? How could it work for your community?
  • Discussion of CT's rising costs and how SMART can help
  • Available resources and technical assistance
  • Time for your questions


  Who should attend?
DPW Directors
Recycling Coordinators
Solid Waste/Recycling Committee Members
CT Municipal Leadership
Chief Financial Officers
Sustainability Coordinators
Chief Elected Officials
Reducing Our Plastic Footprint:
Experiences from the European Union
Thursday, April 25, 2019
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Held at:
CT Dept. of Energy & Environmental Protection
Gina McCarthy Auditorium
79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106

Please join us for this presentation to learn more about the European Commission's strategy for managing plastics in a circular economy. In May 2018, the European Commission proposed a new directive to tackle marine litter. The initiative targets the top ten single use plastic items found on EU beaches and abandoned, lost and disposed of fishing gear, which together constitute 70% of all marine litter items. The Single Use Plastics Directive is an integral part of EC's Plastics Strategy and an important element of the Circular Economy Action Plan.

This event is free ,
but we ask you to please pre-register to allow greater ease in getting through DEEP's security.  

  Can’t make it in person?
Join us online! Ms Torta’s presentation available online via live webinar streaming .
Register for the webinar.

This event is hosted in partnership with the Connecticut River Conservancy and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Guiliana Torta serves as Counsellor for Environment, Fisheries and Ocean policies at the EU Delegation to the US in Washington DC. Giuliana worked in the European Commission headquarters for 11 years before moving to DC in 2017. In Washington, she covers a wide range of environmental policies including Circular Economy and Resource efficiency, the recent EU Plastics Strategy, Food waste, Fisheries and Ocean governance. She was previously posted as Environment Adviser in the EU Delegation for the Pacific, with regional responsibilities. A forester by training with a PhD in landscape and plant ecology, she has over 25 years of experience in implementation and development of environmental policies, ranging from biodiversity and nature conservation, international forestry, climate adaptation and sustainable development.
Archived Municipal Recycling Coordinator E-News and Webinars

Monthly online newsletters began in 2017 in an effort to increase communication with municipal recycling coordinators and voluntary recycling and sustainability committees about important information and resources. Around the same time, DEEP began to recognize the need for more professional development as well as sharing of local programs and initiatives between towns. Initially webinars were not recorded, so there are no recordings. Where possible, audio recordings with audio transcripts are provided. 
Archived e-newsletters often are topical, and provide resources and information of interest to local municipalities. New Archived Municipal Recycling Coordinator E-News and Webinars webpage can be accessed here or through the Municipal Recycling Resource Center webpage.
What's IN? What's OUT?
Recent Questions from CT residents & Added to RecycleCT Wizard
Miniature Liquor aka Nips

OUT.  

Did you know the term "nip" used for miniature liquor bottles is mostly used in the Northeast and Scotland? Other terms used include airplane and mini-bar bottles.

So, due to the size of these containers, glass and/or plastic "nip" bottles are OUT of the mixed recycling stream. We'll have to wait for the end of the legislative session to hear if they are becoming part of the bottle bill/redemption program.
Single-Use Coffee Pods

OUT.   

The metal or plastic coffee pods, used with coffee machines such as Keuring or Nespressor are not acceptable in Connecticut's mixed recycling program.

Consider using machines that use paper coffee pods from Easy Serving Espresso Pod or Senseo machines, or the old fashioned paper filter in the basic electric coffee makers, which can biodegrade. Or better yet, use an old fashioned percolator or hip Italian stove-percolator or a French press which leaves you with just coffee grounds for your compost, worms or blueberry bushes.
CT In the News

Tires dumped on Waterbury trail (Republican American, February 25)
Hamden Bans Single-Use Plastic Bags, Limits Straws (New Haven Independent, February 20)
Op-Ed: Ban The Bag! (We-ha.com, February 19)
Opinion: Plastic bag ban is necessary step (The Chronicle, February 19)
State loan, crowdfunding boost Hartford composter (Hartford Business Journal, February 15)
The Complicated Ethics of Thrift Shopping (Wesleyan Argus, February 7)
Ringing in the Lunar New Year at EcoWorks (North Haven Courier, ZipO6, February 6)
New guide reflects CT recycling changes (New Canaan Advertiser, February 6)
Plastic Bag Vote Delayed (New Haven Independent, February 5)
Middletown mayor proposed plastic bag ban (Middletown Press, February 4)
 Upcoming Events: 

Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - 2pm - 3:30pm EST Weathering the Storm: How SMART Communities are Surviving Costs webinar. More information. Hosted by Institute of Local Self Reliance.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019 - 2pm - 3:30pm EST Community-Scale Composting Systems webinar. More information. Hosted by Institute of Local Self Reliance.

Saturday, March 23, 2019 - 10am - 11:30am -  Zero Waste Schools Coalition, Spring Meeting . More information . Part of Wilton's Zero Waste Faire. Hosted by Wilton Go Green.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019 - 9:30am - 11:30am - Solid Waste Advisory Committee Meeting , CT DEEP HQ, 79 Elm St., Hartford CT.  More information . Hosted by CT DEEP.

Thursday, April 4, 2019 - 1:30pm - 3:00pm - Best Practices for Solid Waste & Recycling Contracts webinar. More information. Hosted by NERC.

Tuesday, April 9, 2019 - 9:00am - 4:00pm Using Recycled Content in Road and Infrastructure Projects workshop , CT DEEP HQ, 79 Elm St., Hartford, CT. More information . Hosted by NERC and NEWMOA.

Thursday, April 25, 2019 - 1:30 - 2:30pm - Reducing Our Plastic Footprint: Experiences from the European Union with Giuliana Torta,  CT DEEP HQ, 79 Elm St., Hartford, CT. Registration to attend in Hartford . OR Register for live streaming . Hosted by CT River Conservancy and CT DEEP.

May 7 - 8, 2019 - Fighting Contamination through Operations and Education - A Proven Systematic Approach , for local and regional recycling coordinators in NERC region, Amherst, MA.  More information . Hosted by NERC and The Recycling Partnership.
Have an idea or topic for future municipal recycling webinar? Let us know what you and your colleagues would like to learn more about. Contact Sherill Baldwin.

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