News
Food Waste Diversion and Composting Workshop April 2024
Diverting food waste from disposal in landfills can reduce methane emissions from landfills, save towns money, and create new economic opportunities, and is an important goal of New Hampshire’s solid waste management plan. The Northeast Resource Recovery Association, NH Department of Environmental Services, and Mark King of the Maine Compost School will present a two-day workshop on food waste diversion and composting for solid waste facility operators and municipal officials on April 16 and 17.
NH House Committee Recommends Passage of Solid Waste Bills
The New Hampshire General Court’s Environment and Agriculture Committee has voted Ought to Pass on two bills that would limit the amount of out-of-state trash deposited in New Hampshire landfills. HB 1145 would prohibit private ownership of new landfills, enabling a state or municipal owner to restrict waste accepted for disposal.
Environmental Justice and Aluminum Recycling
Can Manufacturers Institute recently commissioned a report on environmental justice considerations in aluminum recycling programs and community engagement.
Learn About Anaerobic Digestion
Curious about anaerobic digestion as a disposal option for food waste? The Northeast Recycling Council and Solid Waste Management Officials Association are sponsoring a free webinar at 1:00 on March 27 that you might like to attend. Learn about successful anaerobic digestion facilities in Exeter, ME, Southington, CT, and Jessup, MD with plenty of opportunity for questions.
Talking Trash Conference 2024
The Environmental Business Council’s 10th Annual New England Regional “Talking Trash” conference will be held at UTEC in Lowell, MA on April 10, 2024. The Conference will bring together waste management professionals from throughout New England to discuss the evolving landscape of solid waste management in the region.
Maine packaging EPR update
Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection has prepared draft regulations for the state’s first-in-the-nation Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging law for review by the Board of Environmental Protection.
Refillery – NH’s first zero-waste grocery store
(By Maureen Milliken, Manchester Ink Link, August 4, 2023) Manchester area residents will get a chance to check out the area’s first zero-waste grocery store, if they already haven’t, when Live Free Refillery holds a grand opening Thursday… Owner Juliette Buell, with 15 years of experience in agriculture, created Live Free Refillery to share her passion for food and the environment with the community. To eliminate single-use plastic packaging, everything at the store is in reusable, recyclable or biodegradable packaging…
Lebanon Landfill Continues to Innovate
New Hampshire’s municipal landfill in Lebanon continues to innovate with more waste diversion programs by accepting plastic grocery bags for recycling with Virginia-based partner, Trex.
Statewide Networking at the Keep NH Green Environmental Summit in Laconia
(By Arnie Alpert, InDepthNH.org August 12, 2023) “I’m from Cornish Flat, New Hampshire, near Claremont and Lebanon, and my environmental concern is single use plastic waste and pollution in our state.” So began the introductions at the Keep New Hampshire Green Environmental Summit Saturday morning and on they went for most of an hour….By the time the 66th person introduced herself (a recently retired EPA employee who said she’s been involved in environmental campaigns since she was 6 years old), the summit was already a success.
Mount Carberry Landfill Expansion Praised
(By THOMAS P. CALDWELL, InDepthNH.org December 16, 2021) A public hearing on the proposed expansion of the Mount Carberry landfill in the town of Success brought only one comment, and that was largely in praise of the operation.Adam Finkel of Dalton, a professor of Environmental Health Science at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, commented, “Just this one expansion alone, I think, would be ample to reduce any possible shortfall [in solid waste capacity] out into the 2030s and 2040s … and it would continue, I think, to be a great resource for the towns of the North Country.”
DES Faces Skepticism Over Transparency in Landfill Regulations
(quoted from the Concord Monitor) The NH Legislature has for several years been debating and voting on a number of bills to update the state’s rules for siting landfills. These rules, administered by NH’s Department of Environmental Services (DES), are a hot mess. They were written not by DES but largely by and for the solid waste industry 30 years ago, with virtually no changes since…The state is witnessing a grassroots movement as more and more individuals are actively engaging in environmental issues that were previously seen as beyond their concerns.
Hooksett Company Making a Difference in Textile Recycling
Hadley Barndollar reports in the New Hampshire Bulletin that Apparel Impact in Hooksett, NH, diverted 10 million pounds of textiles from the wastestream.
It’s not all about big business – op ed
The NH Legislature has for several years been debating and voting on a number of bills to update the state’s rules for siting landfills. These rules, administered by NH’s Department of Environmental Services (DES), are a hot mess. They were written not by DES but largely by and for the solid waste industry 30 years ago, with virtually no changes since…
EPA composting toolkit
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed a toolkit to help municipalities, states, tribes, and non-governmental organizations promote composting of food waste.
NH House Kills Last Surviving Bill to Address Landfill Siting
After a Committee of Conference resolved differences between House and Senate versions of HB61, the NH House voted 134 to 238 against concurrence with the compromise version.
If New York City can do it…
A successful pilot program for curbside collection of organic wastes in Queens will be expanded to the entirety of New York City after City Council passes Zero Waste Act.
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