CCSMM

Increase Reuse and Recycling (IRR) Working Group

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

1:00pm - 3:00pm

Food: Wasting Less & Recovering More

Speakers:

Federal Updates

Christine Beling, Project Engineer, U.S. EPA Region 1

Jennifer England, Head of Partner Development, Food Rescue Hero

Community Initiatives to Waste Less Food

Andrea Collins, Senior Specialist, Sustainable Food Systems, People & Communities Program, Natural Resources Defense Council

Krishana Abrahim-Petrie, Project Staff, Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA)

Food Recovery and Community Food Rescue Programs

Haley Schulman, Site Coordinator, Food Rescue US

Lori Martin, Executive Director, Haven's Harvest

Heather Latino, Clinical Instructor, Food Law and Policy Clinic, Center for Health and Law Policy Innovation, Harvard Law School

Sophie DeBode, Clinical Student, Food Law and Policy Clinic, Center for Health and Law Policy Innovation, Harvard Law School



CT Legislative Update: Food Waste Reduction and Food Recovery

Harrison Nantz, Legislative Director, CT DEEP

Register here

IRR Working Group page

Comprehensive Materials Management Strategy Amendment

Draft CMMS Amendment released January 24, 2023

To address reduced in-state solid waste disposal capacity and achieve greater source reduction and return Connecticut to self-sufficiency, DEEP has released a draft amendment to the Comprehensive Materials Management Strategy (CMMS), which is currently available for public review and comment. Click here to learn more! DEEP held a Public Informational Hearing on February 16th on ZOOM (recording here). Comments are accepted until March 10, 2023.

DEEP has also announced the availability of $1.5 million in state grant funding through the Sustainable Materials Management Grant Program to help municipalities and regional waste authorities evaluate interest and identify governance to form new or expand existing regional waste authorities and engage in planning activities for diversion programs and infrastructure development.

Regional Waste Authority

Grant Opportunity

Application due March 31, 2023

DEEP has announced the availability of $1.5 million in state grant funding through the Sustainable Materials Management Grant Program to help municipalities and Regional Waste Authorities evaluate interest and identify governance to form new or expand existing Regional Waste Authorities and engage in planning activities for diversion programs and infrastructure development. DEEP held an informational webinar on March 7th via Zoom (recording here), and applications are due by March 31. More information here.

Connecticut Materials Management Infrastructure Request for Information

Comments due April 14, 2023

DEEP has issued a request for information to solicit information on materials management infrastructure – including disposal infrastructure, recycling infrastructure, and composting infrastructure – to meet the goals outlined in the draft amendment to the Comprehensive Materials Management Strategy. DEEP is seeking comment and information on the best approaches to support waste infrastructure development, particularly in alignment with long-term contracts, siting, or complementary programs such as food scrap collection that are under municipal authority and control. DEEP will hold a public listening session on March 14 via Zoom and accept concept papers and public comments until April 14. Find out more here.

Kneads Bakery, Café, and Mill’s Perfect Recipe for Waste Reduction Case Study

Right off Interstate 95, moments from the Saugatuck River, in Westport, Connecticut, sits Kneads Bakery, Café, and Mill. Kneads is all about local ingredients, quality food, and community. They began their own recycling efforts to reduce and divert waste wherever possible, but knew they wanted to do more. Sustainable Westport connected Kneads with the Center for EcoTechnology (CET) to receive technical assistance, with the goal of creating even more sustainable practices and utilizing donation networks. As a result, the café was able to partner with a local food bank and divert 90 lbs of food waste weekly from disposal.

View case study

View video

School Events and Resources

Mission of Campaign: to educate and inspire real cultural change around food waste in order to help families save money, reduce the negative impact of food waste on the environment, and address hunger in our communities. 

Learn. Learn more about food waste and how to take action to reduce it at home, at work, and in our communities.

Promote. Partners, sponsors, teachers, leaders: Find powerful ways to raise food waste awareness.

Pledge. Take or share the pledge, to reduce food waste at home, at work and in our communities.

UPCOMING EVENTS

FOOD WASTE PREVENTION WEEK

Student Art Contest

Theme: "How Does Reducing Our Food Waste Protect Our Planet?"

Entry deadline: April 22, 2023

Cash Prizes

Teacher Resources.

Workshop on April 1, 2023

In-Class Resources/Toolkits

Teaching Videos (Introduction to Food Recovery, Student Food Waste Audits, Share Tables and Food Donations, Gleaning Field Trips)

School Food Recovery Webinar

Florida school district's work on inventory management, Smarter Lunchrooms, share tables and food donation.

April 4th, 9:30am

Or

April 12th, 2:30pm

Zero Food Waste at Large Scale Events

April 11th, 3:00pm - 4:00pm

LIVE PODCAST

Indisposable Live:

Reuse in EPR

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

11am PT / 2pm ET

Register

With momentum surging in state legislatures to tackle the growing waste crisis, we face a pivotal opportunity to catalyze the new reuse economy. Join Upstream and friends for our first livestream of 2023 as we explore how best to incorporate waste prevention and reuse into one of the most popular waste policies – Extended Producer Responsibility. Strong EPR policies should support a just transition to a circular economy that prioritizes reuse. Upstream's interim Strategic Policy Advisor, Sydney Harris, will provide an overview of our new Principles for Reuse/Refill in EPR and DRS and host a conversation with special guest panelists who craft and support EPR legislation – including Jennifer Navarra, Program Director for Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island; Scott Cassel, CEO of Product Stewardship Institute; and McKenna Morrigan, Policy Advisor at Seattle Public Utilities.

The program will run for one hour, with an additional, optional 30 minute “speed networking” event at the end. This event is free, open to the public, and will be recorded and shared with all registrants (whether you can join us live or not). Space is limited so please register today.

Want CET to speak to your local Chamber of Commerce about Business Recycling?

CET is under contract with CT DEEP to provide Business Recycling Assistance and would benefit with an introduction to your local Chamber or Business Association.

Contact CET: 888-410-3827 or ReduceWasteCT@cetonline.org

Microplastics in Composts, Digestates, and Food Wastes: A Review

Diverting food waste from landfills to composting or anaerobic digestion can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enable the recovery of energy in usable forms, and create nutrient-rich soil amendments. However, many food waste streams are mixed with plastic packaging, raising concerns that food waste-derived composts and digestates may inadvertently introduce microplastics into agricultural soils. Research on the occurrence of microplastics in food waste-derived soil amendments is in an early phase and the relative importance of this potential pathway of microplastics to agricultural soils needs further clarification. In this paper, we review what is known and what is not known about the abundance of microplastics in composts, digestates, and food wastes and their effects on agricultural soils. Additionally, we highlight future research needs and suggest ways to harmonize microplastic abundance and ecotoxicity studies with the design of related policies. This review is novel in that it focuses on quantitative measures of microplastics in composts, digestates, and food wastes and discusses limitations of existing methods and implications for policy. Link to paper conducted by researchers at the University of Vermont here.

Upcoming Repair Cafes in Connecticut

March 11, 12:00-3:00pm: Trinity Lutheran Church, Centerbrook.

Hosted by Sustainable Essex. If you would like to volunteer to be a fixer, email sustsxct@gmail.com https://sustainableessex.com/

March 25, 8:30am–12:00pm:

Cheshire High School, 525 S. Main Street, Cheshire.

Hosted by Coalition for a Sustainable Cheshire

https://www.sustainablecheshire.org/event-info/repair-cafe-2

April 22, 10:00am-2:00pm:Cannon Grange, Cannon Road, Wilton.

Hosted by Wilton Go Green and Cannon Grange. Learn more and sign up for a time slot https://wiltongogreen.org/repair-cafe/

Are you coordinating a Repair Cafe?

Let me help promote it, email Sherill.Baldwin@ct.gov

BLACK PLASTIC CONTAINERS ARE OUT

While black plastic containers haven't been accepted in the mixed recycling program for some time, RecycleCT recently added this information to their webpage and the flyers and posters that can be downloaded and printed to emphasize the point.

Check out Resources:

RecycleCT - Resources

 Upcoming Events: 

MARCH 2023

March 14, 2023 - 1:00pm - 3:00pm - Food: Wasting Less & Recovering More. Register here. Hosted by DEEP, an Increase Reuse and Recycling Working Group of the CCSMM. Virtual.

March 15, 2023 - 1:30pm - MassDEP Demystifying Deconstruction Workgroup. The third meeting of the MassDEP Demystifying Deconstruction Workgroup, sub-working group of MassDEP’s Reduce & Reuse Working Group is focused on Building Materials Reuse. More information. Hosted by MassDEP. Virtual

March 22, 2023 - 1:00pm - 2:00pm -Innovation Demo Day: Early Supply Chain Food Waste Reduction Solutions. Register here. Hosted by ReFed. Virtual.

March 23, 2023 - 2023 MassRecycle Conference & Trade Show. Register here. Hosted by MassRecycle. Marllborough, MA. In-person.

March 28, 2023 - 9:30am - 11:30am - CT Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting.

Register here. More information/agenda. Hosted by CT DEEP. Virtual.

APRIL 2023

April 3-4, 2023 - NERC's Spring Workshop: Recruiting, Hiring and Retaining A Diverse Workforce. Register here. Hosted by NERC. Virtual.

April 4, 2023 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm Panel Reusable - To Go Programs. Register here. Hosted by PLAN. Virtual.

April 11, 2023 - 2:00pm - Material Reuse Forum 3 - Measuring Economic Impacts of Reuse. Register here. Hosted by NERC. Virtual.

April 13, 2023 - 2:00pm - EPR for Packaging & Bottle Bill Programs: How Can They Coexist?

Register here. Hosted by NEWMOA/NERC. Virtual.

April 27, 2023 - 1:00pm - Properly Managing E-Cigarettes & Vaping Waste Streams. Register here. Hosted by NEWMOA/NERC. Virtual.

MAY 2023

May 1-5, 2023 - 17th Annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit. Register here. Hosted by the Composting Association of Vermont. Virtual and In-Person.

May 16-18, 2023 - C2023 Food Waste Solutions Summit. More information here. St. Louis, MO. Hosted by ReFed.

SAVE DATES

June 27, 2023 - 9:30am - 11:30am - CT Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting. Register here. More information/agenda. Hosted by CT DEEP. Virtual.

October 24, 2023 - 9:30am - 11:30am - CT Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting. Register here. More information/agenda. Hosted by CT DEEP. Virtual.