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Vendor site visits are important for a number of reasons. First, we have a responsibility to vet our vendors to make sure they are recycling our members' material using environmentally sound practices. This vetting happens both when we bring on a new vendor and also periodically throughout our working relationship. Second, there is nothing better than visiting a vendor at their place of business and getting a tour to better understand and appreciate the complexity of their operations so we can help our members work better with our vendors! Lastly, meeting in person allows us to build relationships with our vendors and talk through how we can work together more and better, including talking through any issues that have arisen.
This fall, we had the chance to visit four of our...Read more
The logistics department is a very busy but well-oiled machine consisting of our Member Services Director, Logistics Coordinator, and Administrative Specialist. Together, we help our 450+ members with their logistics-related needs and questions. This includes requests for standard pickup or delivery; baled plastic, fibers, aluminum, and steel pickups; baling wire and gripples purchases; and tracking member loads that are on a routine schedule. Our logistics team, along with our finance department, also work hard to resolve any issues pertaining to member material loads, pickups, deliveries, or price discrepancies.
Standard Loads...Read more
There is a global overabundance of recycled PET right now. Add that, plus the fact that low quality/low priced imports of recycled PET and cheap virgin material and you can see why the market has been pretty gloomy. It is not all bad news though; market prices have risen around 1.5 cents per pound lately. We are slowly seeing PET become a source of revenue again.
#2 HDPE Mixed ColorThis saw a large market price increase of 7.75 cents per pound increase, but consumer product sales are still down, which affects...Read more
Contact: Reagan Bissonnette Executive Director Phone: (603) 736-4401 ext. 116 rbissonnette@nrrarecycles.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 15, 2023
NRRA receives highly competitive EPA Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach grant to implement a 3-year Recycle Right North Country project.
EPSOM, NH: The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) has been awarded one of only 25 highly competitive, nationwide Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach Grants . NRRA is one of two recipients in New England. NRRA’s three-year Recycle Right North Country project is designed to increase residential recycling rates and recycling participation, and decrease recycling contamination rates for thirty rural communities “north of the notches” in New Hampshire’s North Country. 90 percent of New Hampshire communities are members of NRRA, the oldest and largest cooperative-model recycling nonprofit in the United States.
Through Recycle Right North...Read more
The panel consisted of: Mark Richardson, Board Treasurer and retired Transfer Station Coordinator for the Town of Hampton, NH; Joan Cudworth, Board President and Director of Public Works for Hollis, NH; John Fay, Board Member and Programs Manager for the Windham Solid Waste Management District in VT; Brian Patnoe, NRRA Member Services Manager; and Tara Albert, SWOT Training and Certification Coordinator for NHDES.
The panel reflected on several questions including: How has the solid waste field changed from when you started compared to now?Respondents noted the move from using cash registers at the transfer station to now adopting credit card machines and the advent of recycling ("back...Read more
NRRA staff, Board of Trustees, and voting municipal members gathered on Wednesday, November 1st at the Puritan Backroom conference center to celebrate this year's NRRA award winners, hear from a fantastic "Voices of Experience" panel, and vote on the new Board of Trustees slate.
NRRA Executive Director, Reagan Bissonnette, opened the meeting reflecting on NRRA's 42-year history of being a member-centered nonprofit operating in what has generally been a for-profit space of the recyclable market. In fact, when NRRA was founded in 1981, we were the sole organization helping New Hampshire municipalities market their recyclables!
Originally founded for cooperative marketing, technical assistance, and education, NRRA is still going strong today, thanks to our continued partnership with members, vendors, and our dedicated Board and staff. For example, through cooperative marketing in 2022, NRRA managed over 81.5 million pounds of recyclables - the equivalent of pulling over 20,000 passenger cars...Read more
EPSOM, NH: The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA), is pleased to announce the 2023 Recycling Award winners: Bonnie Bethune, Sami Izzo Recycler of the Year; Frank Baker, Rookie of the Year; APC Paper, Vendor of the Year; Bob Fanny, Continuing Education Award; Stacey Morrison, NRRA Hall of Fame; and fifteen Honorary Lifetime Membership recipients. Awardees were celebrated at the November 1 st Annual Meeting.
NRRA Senior Member Services Representative, Bonnie Bethune, received the highest award , named in remembrance of Sami Izzo, a high energy, multi-talented individual known for her contributions in the world of waste reduction and recycling.
This lifetime achievement honors those who best combine the qualities of commitment, leadership, and enthusiasm in developing and sustaining an environmentally and financially sound solid waste management program. In her award remarks, NRRA Executive Director, Reagan Bissonnette, shared staff reflections of the award winner:...Read more
On October 18, NRRA staff and municipal member certified solid waste facility operators headed out on the Annual Fall Bus Tour. The plan for the day included a driving tour of the Waste Management Turnkey Landfill in Rochester, NH, followed by a walking tour of Universal Recycling Technologies' to see their cathode-ray tube (CRT) electronics recycling process, and finally a tour of the Lee, NH Transfer Station.
In a follow up survey, it's clear the sold-out bus tour was a success! Participants enjoyed getting an insider's look into three aspects of solid waste management - landfilling, universal waste recycling, and source separated recycling. Said one operator:
"It was helpful being able to see the facilities in action and having essentially a tour guide to walk you through the ins and outs of everything. It's always so informative and appreciate the time that everyone takes...Read more
EPSOM, NH: The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA), the largest and oldest cooperative-model recycling nonprofit in the United States, enables communities to manage their own recycling programs, in part, through its recycling education and technical assistance work. This fall, NRRA successfully wrapped up its Recycling Tools of the Trade project, made possible by a grant from the Rural Utilities Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
New Hampshire law states that each town must “provide a facility or assure access to another approved solid waste facility for its residents,” regardless of how big – or small – a town may be. NRRA partners with 85% of all towns and cities in NH, working primarily with small, rural municipalities. Through the Recycling Tools of the Trade project, NRRA launched several new recycling and solid waste diversion tools and resources with small towns in mind.
...Read more
by Hadley Barndollar, New Hampshire Bulletin
Coos County’s Mount Carberry Landfill took in more than 162 million pounds of construction and demolition debris in 2021. That, according to the Northeast Resource Recovery Association, means the disposal of wood, metal, sheet rock, shingles, asphalt, brick, and concrete was more than twice the amount of food waste landfilled there that same year.
Construction and demolition debris is often an overlooked contributor to landfill waste, said Reagan Bissonnette, executive director at the NRRA, and in the North Country, it’s an environmental justice issue.
This year, using a federal Healthy Communities Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NRRA worked with local officials, transfer station operators, and solid waste management stakeholders in 21 towns through a series of roundtables, site visits, pilot programs, and audits. The award of a second grant will expand construction and demolition...Read more