Latest News
The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) is pleased to announce the release of our 2022 Annual Report .
When executive director, Reagan Bissonnette, joined this organization in June 2019, little did she know that it would be three years before we would hold our conference in person once again, so it's no surprise that gathering together in person in 2022 had the feeling of a reunion among friends. The conference theme, “What’s Next: Rethinking Resource Recovery” emphasized the need for us to rethink the future of solid waste and waste reduction and reset following the pandemic and China’s National Sword policy.
While 2022 may have been a time when many felt discouraged by local or global events and politics, we are proud to say that whether you care about the environment, whether you care about...Read more
We are excited to announce that Josh Whipple, the Solid Waste Manager for the Town of Swanzey Recycling Center and NRRA Board Member - has joined the New Hampshire Solid Waste Working Group (SWWG) . Josh has been a solid waste operator since 2011 in the town of Swanzey, a rural NH community with a strong, resident-driven source separated recycling program.
The Solid Waste Working Group's responsibilities include reviewing and making changes to the state's solid waste reduction, recycling, and management policies, programs, goals, and initiatives.
Josh will be acting as the SWWG representative for rural communities that source separate recycling . Josh will bring the important perspective of how materials - both recyclables and MSW - are managed on a "smaller" scale, including considerations for small communities, and what has (and has not) been successful.
Josh understands...Read more
If you're an NRRA Member (or a supporter of our work) you know our main focus is partnering to make recycling strong through economic and environmentally sound solutions. For example, last year we assisted our 441 members in recycling and managing over 81.5 million pounds of material and returned nearly $3 million net revenue to our members from the sale of their recyclables. Such efforts resulted in 207 million pounds of avoided carbon dioxide emissions, which is equivalent to removing 20,392 passenger cars from the road for an entire year.
We also pride ourselves in walking the walk, taking steps within our organization to minimize our environmental impact through economically sound practices.Since 2006, we have owned our own 10,000 square foot two-story office building that serves as our headquarters in Epsom, NH. NRRA uses the first floor of the building for our staff of eleven, and...Read more
Representative Karen Ebel provided an update regarding legislation related to solid waste management. The most important update for NRRA members is that HB 462—which made an appropriation to the solid waste management fund targeting food waste reduction and diversion—was incorporated into the budget signed by the Governor. As a result, NHDES will be hiring a new full-time position to administer the Solid Waste Management Fund and issuing grants to municipalities, private entities, and businesses for projects that will “provide a demonstrated, significant improvement in waste diversion methods and contribute to a reduction of wastes, including hazardous waste materials, requiring disposal, including a regional or municipal materials...Read more
This month, Member Services Manager, Brian Patnoe, offers operators some insight into the #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic slowdown.
If you've tried moving plastics in the past month, you might have noticed a long delay in getting prices or even moving plastic in general. While the plastics industry is very complex, I wanted to share some of the basic reasons why #1 PET plastic in particular has become particularly challenging to move.
Economic BasicsFirst, we have to look at the supply and demand of recycled PET. Right now, there is an overabundance of global surplus combined with a low demand. Though there are a few reasons for this, one of the biggest culprits can be found in the end use of recycled plastic.
PET is fairly versatile but is predominantly recycled back into new containers, clothing, or carpeting. However, cotton prices are currently down about...Read more
The full NRRA staff recently completed a day-long staff retreat, which began with a visit to the Weare, NH transfer station. The eleven staff members were greeted by Transfer Station Operator, Frank Baker, and Interim Public Works Director, Jason Fiske for a tour of the facility. Both Frank and Jason are relatively new to their respective positions, but it's clear they are both working hard to support and improve the transfer station and public works department. Frank made the transition to the transfer station after honing his organizational and people skills in the restaurant industry for several decades.
Weare, NH has approximately 9500 residents year round, with an influx of vacationers bringing the total to around 11,500 in the summer months. Thanks to Frank's focus on improving resident recycling education, the transfer station has seen a decrease of 20 tons per week of MSW being hauled out, down to...Read more
For the past ten months, NRRA Executive Director, Reagan Bissonnette, represented the recycling nonprofit while participating in the latest Leadership New Hampshire cohort. The mission of Leadership NH is, "building a community of informed and engaged leaders." Participants from across all sectors of NH came together in an opening retreat, several themed days throughout the year, a closing retreat, and graduation. One of Reagan's primary goals of participating was to share NRRA's mission, recycling education, and waste reduction resources with her fellow participants to increase the visibility and understanding of the importance of solid waste management, recycling, and diversion in New Hampshire.
During her first day in October 2022 , Reagan spent the day focused on the theme, “New Hampshire: A Community of Communities.” Participants heard from a variety of speakers from the UNH survey center, Stay, Work, Play, the documentary...Read more
In August 2022, NRRA was awarded a grant by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service to launch a Recycling Tools of the Trade project . This project is aimed at helping to address the unique challenges small, rural communities in New Hampshire face when it comes to solid waste management. With support from this USDA grant, NRRA is developing several new resources for our smallest communities. One such resource, which debuted at the 2023 Annual Recycling Conference & Expo , is a Recycling 101 presentation . Feedback on the presentation was very positive, with residents and operators alike expressing that they learned something new from the presentation.
This Recycling 101 presentation was designed for NH residents to learn more about:
Solid waste and recycling across the country Recycling in...Read more
In this section, we will cover education and technical assistance benefits. In case you missed it, part 1 covers the benefits of logistics and finance. (This was originally presented at the 2023 Annual Recycling Conference .)
In this section we will be covering education - both for operators and residents - and technical assistance for all Municipal Members.
EDUCATION
If you are a principal operator in New Hampshire, per NHDES you must earn a minimum of 2.5 continuing education credits each year. NRRA hosts a variety of video presentations and in-person events that count towards this continuing education requirement. We keep track of which of our workshops, meetings, or other NHDES...Read more