Northeast Recycling Council 30th Anniversary Fall Conference Nov. 13-14 In Massachusetts

The Northeast Recycling Council will hold its 30th Anniversary Fall Conference November 13-14  in Amherst, Massachusetts.

NERC's conferences and workshops provide attendees with opportunities to learn, share ideas, discuss the issues, and network with others. Frequent attendees include: businesses; federal, state, and municipal environmental officials; recycling trade associations; haulers, processors, and manufacturers; municipal recycling coordinators and facility operators; school and university recycling coordinators; environmental consultants and nonprofit organizations; and public and private sector sustainability coordinators.

The Conference will open with introductory remarks from Commissioner Martin Suuberg of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.  

Following Mr. Suuberg will be Keynote Speaker, David Levine of the American Sustainable Business Council, a network of businesses committed to the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. Mr. Levine will talk about the connection between sustainable materials management and doing business in an environmentally friendly manner.

The Conference will continue with Shannon Davis of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Liza Casella of Casella Waste Systems, and Lisa Skumatz of Skumatz Economic Research Associates, who will discuss solutions for and the future of sustainable materials management.

Another noteworthy session will feature Monique Oxender of Keurig Green Mountain, and Kathleen Niesen of Pepsico, who will present on brand name companies’ recycling involvement and impact over the past several decades.

And the last session of Day One will include Resa Dimino of Resource Recycling Systems, Peter Cooke of Manomet, and Megan Pryor, of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, who will present on the successes and not so successful extended producer responsibility initiatives.

Day One will end with NERC’s 30th Anniversary celebration and awards ceremony.

Day Two of the Conference will begin with a recycling train the trainers session that will be presented by Ray Dube of Coca Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England.  

Concurrently, a  session on plastic grocery bag recycling programs and bans will be presented by  Tonya Randell of More Recycling and the WRAP Recycling Action Program; Sherill Baldwin of the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection and the Connecticut WRAP PROGRAM; Jennie Romer, Esq. of plasticbaglaws.org; and Kayla Montanya of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (participating remotely).

These sessions will be followed by Ted Siegler and Natalie Starr of DSM Environmental Services discussing the state of construction and demolition waste in the Northeast region.  

And the final session will include Mark Lennon of the The Reuse Network and Kyle Wiens of iFixit discussing the role of reuse for dealing with surplus furnishings as assets and the Right to Repair electronic devices.

For more information, visit NERC’s Conference webpage or contact Events Coordinator Mary Ann Remolador at 802-254-3636.