E-newsletter highlighting grant deadlines, upcoming workshops and available resources for municipal recycling and solid waste leaders. |
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EPA Hosting Two Public Feedback Sessions on Infrastructure and Recycling
Please join us for two virtual conversations and feedback sessions with stakeholders across the country to discuss new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding about solid waste infrastructure and recycling. EPA wants to learn the specific recycling education/outreach concerns and recycling infrastructure concerns from overburdened and underserved communities to ensure the grant addresses their challenges.
Webinar on New Recycling Education and Outreach Funding Opportunity
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern Time
The session will cover the following EPA funding program that is currently under development:
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Education and Outreach Grants - $75,000,000 ($15 million nationally/yr. from FY22-26), focused on improving material recycling, recovery, management, and reduction. EPA was also directed to develop a model recycling program toolkit for States, Tribes, and local governments.
EPA is seeking feedback on:
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Education and Outreach Needs: What are the challenges you and your community face when it comes to how to recycle? What are your most needed educational resources? What would enable you or your community to reach your recycling education and outreach goals?
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Measurement: What would be ideal measure(s) of recycling education and outreach program success, and what is needed to collect and use this data?
Webinar on New Solid Waste Infrastructure and Recycling Funding Opportunity
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern Time
The session will cover the following EPA funding program that is currently under development:
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Solid Waste Infrastructure and Recycling Grants - $275,000,000 ($55 million nationally/yr. from FY22-26), which supports improvements to local post-consumer materials management, including municipal recycling programs, and assists local waste management authorities in making improvements to local waste management systems.
EPA is seeking feedback on:
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Infrastructure Needs and Priorities: What are your greatest needs or challenges when it comes to recycling? What projects or activities should EPA consider eligible for funding as part of the recycling infrastructure grant program? What is the ideal amount of funding per grant that would enable you and/or your community to reach your recycling goals?
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Measurement: What would be ideal measure(s) of recycling program success, and what is needed to collect and use this data?
Notetakers will record feedback for both sessions. You can also provide written feedback if you are not able to attend this session. For additional information on this grant funding program and all of the new funding opportunities available, visit:
We look forward to learning your ideas to support the development of this unprecedented federal investment in waste reduction and recycling!
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Tracking Solid Waste Generation in Your Community
A Sustainable CT Webinar with Eligibility to Earn Points
June 14, 2022
10:00am - 11:00am
Wondering how you calculate residential solid waste disposed per person and how you can use this data to reduce solid waste generation in your town? Join us to hear from Jennifer Weymouth of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as she walks attendees through the steps to calculate your residential solid waste disposed per person and meet the requirements of Sustainable CT’s action 9.1.1. Ginny Walton, Recycling Coordinator for the Town of Mansfield will share insights about why this information is important, and how a community can use it to reduce waste.
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Upcoming NERC/NEWMOA Webinars
Purchasing Standards for Low Carbon Concrete
June 1, 2022 - 1:00pm eastern
Concrete is a critical building material but the cement binder is responsible for 8% of greenhouse gas emissions. This webinar,co-hosted by NERC and NEWMOA, will explore options with lower emissions and the purchasing specifications being used by local and state governments to give preference to these products.
Successful Glass Recycling in Rural Communities
June 6, 2022 - 12:30pm eastern
Developing and maintaining a successful glass recycling program in a rural community may seem like a daunting task. The webinar will feature three rural recycling centers that are successfully collecting post-consumer glass and the non-profit organization they are working with to prepare it for use by a fiberglass manufacturer. The presenters will discuss their strategies for educating residents about glass recycling, minimizing contamination, storing the glass, and accessing end markets. The webinar is made available with funding from a USDA Rural Utilities Grant.
Avoiding Contamination in Food Waste Feedstock for Composting
June 14, 2022 1:00pm eastern
The usefulness and value of finished compost depends on a feedstock that is free of contaminants, such as plastic and non-degradable service ware and bags. Unfortunately, it is all too common to find these materials in food waste destined for composting. This webinar, jointly hosted by NERC and NEWMOA, will address successful educational strategies and programs to avoid these contaminants.
Starting a Glass Recycling Program in Rural Areas - the Nuts & Bolts
June 29, 2022 11:00am eastern
The webinar will feature two rural areas in Maine that began new glass collection programs. Michael Berry, Board Member & Treasurer of Unity Area Recycling Center and John Sutherland, Administrator of the North Aroostook Solid Waste Association (NASWA), will share their experiences with starting and running transfer station glass recycling programs. Presentations will include details about operations, funding, education, markets, and more. The webinar is made available with funding from a USDA Rural Utilities Grant.
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Connecticut Recyclers Coalition's
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2022 Connecticut Recycling Conference
June 9, 2022
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM EDT
CT MIRA Trash Museum
Murphy Road, Hartford
The CT Recycling Conference is the CRC's signature event featuring a robust discussion of key issues facing the recycling and materials management industries and markets in Connecticut, as well as the impacts on the many customers and stakeholders in the state.
The 2022 Conference program will include expert panel discussions of timely issues in recycling and sustainable approaches to materials management. Plus, CRC's annual legislator panel will round out the day, providing insight on how to make a difference in Connecticut.
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Reports, Toolkits and Other Resources |
Updated EPA website pages
EPA has just launched new webpages to highlight our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law work. These pages will continue to be updated as these programs develop.
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Wasted Food to Fuel: Diverting Food Scraps for Anaerobic Digestion in Middletown, CT
Through support from Middletown Sanitation Department, the EPA, and CT DEEP, the Center for EcoTechnology put together this instructional video with Blue Earth Compost and their customer Perk on Main to help other restaurants set up and operate successful food scrap diversion programs for anaerobic digestion.
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Glass Recycling Story Map
Full of Scrap Newsletter 4/27/2022
Learn about how over 100 municipalities in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts are recycling glass for their over 500,000 residents in partnership with the Northeast Resource Recovery Association. This interactive story map includes photos, videos, and maps. Explore the maps to see which municipalities participate and where the nearest glass recycling site is to your community.
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Maryland Department of Environment
Food Waste Minimization and Related Activities:
A Toolkit for Maryland Schools
This document provides a toolkit for Maryland schools on food donation, share tables, composting, and other strategies to recover wasted food.
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NERC Releases Latest MRF Values Report - Downward Trend
This is the 12th in NERC’s series of quarterly reports on the market value of commodities from MRFs in the Northeast. The report covers the period January – March 2022. Seven states are represented in the report, including Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Overall, values were down somewhat from the previous quarter.
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Average value per ton with the expense of handling residuals: $147.12– down 15% from the previous quarter.
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Average value per ton without residuals: $184.63 - down 14% from the previous quarter.
These survey results reflect the differing laws and collection options in the participating states. Four of the states have beverage container deposit laws. As a result, fewer glass bottles, PET bottles and aluminum cans are processed in MRFs in those states. Those MRFs are also likely to have less revenue from those recyclables. In addition, the report reflects a mix of single stream, dual stream and source separation to collect recyclables with single stream being the most common approach. The type of collection used will have an impact on MRF design and operation. Thus, the data from this report reflects the unique blend of facilities and statewide laws in the reporting states.
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Wasted Food Wasted Money: Stakeholder Resources
Wasted Food Wasted Money is a public awareness campaign designed to help commercial generators of food save money by reducing wasted food. This includes grocers, restaurants and commercial kitchens and campaign materials are designed to address each audience. To reduce waste, this campaign outlines four simple steps and provides tools and resources to help businesses succeed.
The Wasted Food Wasted Money Toolkit Guide provides an overview of all campaign material and guidance on how to use them. There are three main categories of materials. Items that require no customization and can be used as is. Items that require some customization, and are available in Word documents to make simple changes at your agency. And a third category of materials that involve more advanced customization requiring use of design software.
All of these materials are available in Spanish, Russian and Vietnamese upon request.
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Explore New Infographic on Mattress Recycling Council website
The infographic on the MRC website to provided a comprehensive look and information about each mattress layer’s composition, current uses in secondary markets and common challenges encountered with separating or processing the material.
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Climate, Plastics, and Reuse Toolkit
View Upstream’s Climate, Plastics, and Reuse Toolkit to learn more about how reuse can be a solution to our climate & plastics problems, and what organizations, governments, and individuals can do to be a part of the movement.
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On Earth Day, EPA New England Opens Nominations for Annual Environmental Merit Awards, 4/22/2022
These regional awards have been given out annually since EPA was created in 1970. Past recipients have included scientists, community activists, non-profits, business representatives and public officials committed to preserving the environment. An independent EPA panel will select the winners based on the environmental problem being addressed, what actions were taken to address this environmental issue and the degree to which the positive results can be measured and sustained. EPA's mission is to protect human health and the environment. Nominations should explain how the nominees' work connects to EPA's mission of reducing waste, air, water, or land pollution. The agency also looks for projects or activities that can be replicated or widely shared and that are innovative.
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Call for Papers for NERC’s Fall 2022 Conference
Conference Dates: November 2 - 3
Sheraton South Hotel, Rocky Hill Connecticut
The Northeast Recycling Council invites you to submit an abstract about one of the topics listed below for its Fall Conference on November 2 - 3.
NERC’s Conferences are unique in that they provide an opportunity for government and industry to discuss the issues considered the most important and timely for advancing toward a circular economy. The Conferences attract an expert speaker pool and a diverse audience of government, industry, non-profits, consultants working in sustainable materials management, and students interested in recycling issues.
TOPICS LIST
Only abstracts that relate to one of the topics listed below will be considered.
Food Waste Reduction
· Food and waste reduction strategies and implementations
· Incentives for food waste reduction
· Partnerships with food rescue organizations
Reuse/Waste Reduction
· C&D reuse & deconstruction
· Repurposing movement
· Other reuse successes
Market Development & Support
· Supply and demand balances
· Product design standardization for recyclability
· Partnerships that achieve quality recycling outputs
· Market development programs
· Raw material subsidy impacts on markets
Relationship Between Materials Management & Climate Change
· Source reduction to reduce use of natural resources
· Impacts of food waste reduction on climate change
· Consumption’s impact on climate change
Abstract Submission Requirements
All items listed below must be submitted in order for the submission to be considered complete.
No more than two abstracts will be accepted from one person/organization.
1. Abstract (350 words or less sent as a Microsoft Word or PDF file)
a. Detail the proposed presentation content and specify the topic listed above in which it fits.
b. Specify if and when you have presented the topic at another event (include event name, location, and date)
2. Speaker bio & contact information (must include cell phone number and email address)
3. Headshot (JPG file)
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June 24
Send Complete Submissions to: Mary Ann Remolador, NERC’s Assistant Director & Events Organizer – Feel free to call with any questions at 802-451-8852.
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QR Code on Promotional Flyer
download and print
RecycleCT has received feedback that adding QR Codes would be helpful. So far, this flyer has a QR Code and RecycleCT hopes to add more QR Codes to additional resources.
The QR Code brings people to the RecycleCT homepage - including the RecycleCT Wizard
What is a QR code? It works similarly to barcodes at the supermarket. Each QR code consists black squares and dots which represent different pieces of information. When scanned, the unique pattern on the barcode translates into human-readable data. This transaction happens in seconds.
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Missed the last Newsletter or recent Webinar?
Check out the
on the CT DEEP webpage.
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Upcoming Events:
MAY 2022
May 24, 2022 - 2:00pm - 3:30pm - New Recycling Education and Outreach Funding Opportunity webinar. Register here. Hosted by U.S. EPA.
May 25, 2022 - 2:00pm - 3:30pm - New Solid Waste Infrastructure and Recycling Funding Opportunity webinar. Register here. Hosted by U.S. EPA.
JUNE 2022
June 1, 2022 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm - Purchasing Standards for Low Carbon Concrete webinar. Register here. Presented by NEWMOA and NERC.
June 6, 2022 - 12:30pm - Successful Glass Recycling in Rural Communities Webinar. Register here.
Presented by NEWMOA and NERC.
June 8, 2022 - 1:00pm - 2:00pm - Government Support for Community Composting Part 2: Food Scrap Collectors & Composters with Municipal Contracts Webinar. Register here. Hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. $ Free to local government (use code LOCGOV)
June 9, 2022 - 8:30am - 1:00pm - Connecticut Recyclers Coalition Annual Conference, CT MIRA Trash Museum. Register here. Hosted by the CT Recyclers Coalition. In-person. $
June 14, 2022 - 10:00am - 11:00am - Tracking Solid Waste Generation in Your Community webinar. Register here. Hosted by Sustainable CT, Eligibility to Earn Points.
June 14, 2022 - 1:00pm - Avoiding Contamination in Food Waste Feedstock for Composting webinar. Register here. Presented by NEWMOA and NERC.
June 15, 2022 - 11:00am - 12:00pm - Enhancing Policies to Support Recycling Webinar. Register here. Hosted by SERDC.
June 21, 2022 - 9:30am - 11:30am - CT Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting. Register here. Hosted by CT DEEP. Virtual.
June 23, 2022 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm - Government Support for Community Composting Part 3: Cities and Counties with Public-Private Partnerships webinar. Register here. Hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. $ Free to local government (use code LOCGOV)
June 29, 2022 - 11:00am - Starting a Glass Recycling Program in Rural Areas - the Nuts & Bolts Webinar. Register here. Presented by NEWMOA and NERC.
JULY 2022
July 13, 2022 - 11:00am - 12:00pm - Increasing Collection and Improving Materials Management Infrastructure Webinar. Register here. Hosted by SERDC.
AUGUST 2022
August 10 13, 2022 - 11:00am - 12:00pm - Standardizing Measurement and Increasing Data Collection Webinar. Register here. Hosted by SERDC.
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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 [email protected]. |
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CT DEEP | Source Reduction & Recycling Group | 860-424-4193 | www.ct.gov/deep/recycle |
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