The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) held their annual event from October 7 鈥� 8 in Boston, MA. Renamed the Rethink Resource Use Conference, the name reflects an update in the approach of managing materials and discussing key strategies to drive sustainable practices forward in communities. 鈥淭he new name, Rethink Resource Use, makes us consider how we can leave a more positive impact. NERC brings together professionals from across the materials management chain to improve management practices and ensure the health of the people and the environment. The event aims to mobilize others to take action and engage people in recycling programs, community engagement, trends, and more,鈥� said NERC鈥檚 Executive Director, Megan Schulz-Fontes. Gathering together leaders from academia, government, and the sustainable materials industry, the conference was a great way to reconnect through networking and learning opportunities.
RRU DAY ONE
Material Shifts and New Terrain
On Tuesday morning, October 7, Schulz-Fontes welcomed attendees to Boston and expressed that she was looking forward to having meaningful discussions and making connections with people around the industry. With great speakers from across the world, a wide range of important topics would be covered from innovations in infrastructure to technology. She also thanked talented colleagues who evaluated this event and made it even better, welcomed emerging professionals, and emphasized that it is important to acknowledge that human practices are shifting and evolving, and new programs and regulations are coming online to address the growing waste problem. We need to safeguard public health and biodiversity to help life on earth.
Schulz-Fontes then introduced John Fischer, Deputy Division Director for Solid Waste Materials Management for the Massachusetts鈥� Department of Environmental Protection, who made the opening remarks, reflecting on Massachusetts鈥� Solid Waste master plan. He pointed out that they set an aggressive reduction goal鈥攖o reduce 1.7 tons of waste by 2030. While they have seen progress in certain areas, waste has continued to rise. So, they are reviewing it now to see how they can shift elements for greater progress. Massachusetts has been successful in food waste reduction (from small businesses and residents) with a waste disposal ban and recycling market grants, as well as loans to try to build the infrastructure. He said they have also seen success in their mattress disposal ban and an increase in textile recovery since implementation in 2022. There is also a long-standing disposal ban on construction waste to ensure more effective separation. In 2020, diversion was at 15% and increased to 20% in 2025. They would like to get to 30% by 2030. Fischer also pointed out that the Massachusetts DEP needs to take a comprehensive approach and grow market funding. They have collaborated with state and local health officials to create best practices with food containers and replace single waste food service ware to reusables. There are growing suites of market recycling program grants, including market reduction innovation grants launched this year. Smaller and more flexible grants could grow waste diversion over time and help facilities grow at scale. He said that while they are looking at doing the best they can to manage waste, the goal is to learn from colleagues in other states and in the business communities.
David Allaway, Senior Policy Analyst, from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, gave the keynote address, first pointing out that about 20 years ago, they started taking a deeper look at their solid waste and recycling program and the connection with the waste and climate situation. Because of that, it caused a shift in programming. Going back to 2004, the Department was tasked with looking at solid waste management opportunities鈥攔ecycling and waste prevention was primarily reducing in other states but not Oregon. The community was ready for climate protection, but emissions reductions don鈥檛 count. That was the beginning of Oregon鈥檚 Consumption-Based Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory (CBEI) and the results were an eye opener and the inventory has been updated since to look at current trends. The key takeaways from this was that all studies point in the same direction鈥攎aterials matter! The production and use of materials does have a profound impact on our environment. Most impacts occur upstream of use and disposal. Recycling and composting can be helpful but alone are insufficient. From this, Oregon鈥檚 2050 Vision and Framework for Action was born. This also included end of life materials. Allaway explained that the legislative report and technical supports were published last fall. For Oregon:
- Materials are driving growth in emissions
- Most emissions occur pre-purchase (most in food and vehicles and parts)
- Sector based emissions have flattened while consumption-based emissions have grown
- Emissions are out of state but not out of reach
Oregon Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Solid Waste Management) includes:
- Landfill methane reductions
- Recycling improvements
- Expand composting
- Prevent wasting of food
- Plant-rich diets
- Upstream packaging EPR
- Reduce embodies carbon
He pointed out that not all materials are equally beneficial to recycling, and not all recycling pathways are equally beneficial. Maximizing recycling is not the same as optimizing recycling. Lifecycle impacts versus material attributes begs the question; how well do popular material attributes correlate with reduced environmental impacts? When comparing different packages based on recyclability, recyclable packages are better for the environment, however, downstream impacts must be taken into consideration. Recycling and composting are a means to an end鈥攖he conservation of resources and reduction of pollution, however, not all are effective. Design your programs to maximize them instead of just chasing tonnage diversion targets. Is education effective? It depends on how recycling is communicated and how local authorities think about it and treat it. Whether it is advanced through policy through broader benefits, it depends on you and what choices you make and the paths take in the coming years.
Discussions on EPR
After the welcome remarks and morning keynote, focus turned to 鈥淓PR for Packaging State of Mind: Lessons and Progress in the Northeast鈥� Moderated by Kevin Budris, Deputy Director for Just Zero, the discussion featured Jason Bergquist, Vice President of U.S. Operations for RecycleMe; Erin Victor, PhD, Member of the Senator George J Mitchell Center Research Team at the University of Maine; Shannon McDonald, Natural Resource Planner at the Maryland Department of the Environment; and David Allaway, Senior Policy Analyst for Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
Bergquist kicked it off by talking about the current EPR landscape in the U.S. Seven EPR packaging bills have been passed and 10 states have introduced legislation for EPR for packaging from 2024 to 2025; this number continues to rise. Those that have been signed into law include Oregon and Maine (2021), Colorado and California (2022), Minnesota (2024), and Washington and Maryland (2025), with implementation ranging from July 2025 to July 2029. California has the most ambitious goals鈥攂y 2032 100% of all packaging must be recyclable or compostable, 65% of all single-use plastic packaging to be recycled, and there should be a 25% reduction in packaging. He said that challenges producers face in the west are when is a producer a producer, when is a package a package, where should the focus be (fees, targets, modulation plans). There are always different definitions, two different scopes, bottle bill vs non-bottle bill, primary, secondary, tertiary鈥攚hich is in scope?
Victor covered the research she鈥檚 been doing the past couple of years. Her research approach included a qualitative case study of the emergence of Maine鈥檚 EPR for packaging legislation situated within a larger 24-month ethnographic research project on the politics of disposable packaging. Maine is a primarily rural state and much of it relies on drop off centers. However, the state has yet to meet the 50% waste diversion goal, so something more needs to be done. She did explain that there have been disruptions to Maine鈥檚 materials management system that have been a challenge: centralized waste planning agencies disbanded, Green Fence/National Sword, COVID, and the shuttering of the Coastal Resource of Maine facility in Hampden. Maine鈥檚 packaging journey started in 2019 when the DEP recommended EPR for packaging. In 2021, the state passed the first in the nation EPR law, the rules were adopted in 2024, and in 2025, the goal is to define 鈥榬eadily recyclable鈥� and selecting a stewardship organization. She emphasized that it is critical to have a strong commitment to stakeholder outreach, maintain municipal operational control over materials management, look at the need for more transparent and robust data and the burden of reporting (for both producers and municipalities), and consider what elements of packaging regulation to address through market-based approaches versus command-and-control regulations. Fortunately, LD1423 was introduced this year which really updated and harmonized the program. She said that she is currently working on estimating the impact of tradeoffs in U.S. EPR rulemaking scenarios.
McDonald followed up with an implementation overview for Maryland. In 2023, SB 222 was enacted, and in 2024, a needs assessment began. In 2025, SB901 was enacted, and the goal in 2026 is to have PRO registration, where producers may develop and operate an Alternative Collection Program. She said for current waste compositions, paper is the bulk of their materials that is being disposed of at the municipality鈥攖his is why they have included both packaging and paper products in the bill this year. Goals of Maryland鈥檚 EPR program is to reduce the financial burden on taxpayers, minimize environmental and human health impacts of packaging, increase reuse and recovery of materials, and improve market stability of materials (increased PCR, improved access and efficiency, who is paying). Where does Maryland sit currently? There is no bottle bill, no state tipping fee, it has the same PRO as most other states, but they host monthly advisory council meetings, evaluating Canadian and European programs, and they are active in all states鈥� meetings for the EPR packaging harmonizing task force, TRP鈥檚 state leader鈥檚 forum, NERC, and reuse solutions network (RSN) meetings.
Finally, Allaway covered Oregon鈥檚 鈥渂ig ideas鈥�, including #1) Using EPR to improve (not just fund) recycling. Oregon鈥檚 Recycling and Steering Committees and DEQ conducted a thorough assessment of recycling; #2) Evaluating responsible end markets. He said we need to regulate processing and oversee disposition. Joint obligation on MRFs and the PRO, mechanisms for reposting assessments, audits and corrective actions. #3) Real eco-modulation since many companies making false claims about their packaging. He emphasized that we should not enable it with state laws without any considerations given to actual impacts on the environment (toxics, GHG emissions). There should be an assessment and disclosure of impacts, disclosure, assessment and financial incentives. #4) Not just recycling; implementing Project MIRROR (Materials Impact Reduction & Reuse 鈥� Oregon). This will move forward waste prevention and reuse. Upstream product stewardship is an opportunity to reset the relationship between government and industry as well as realize deeper environmental, community, social and economic benefits. Advances EPR without environmental discriminations.
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During the networking break, attendees and exhibitors mingled in the conference hall talking about what was happening in their states and checking out what was being offered by the companies that were in display: it was a mix of reuniting with colleagues as well as meeting new contacts and stretching legs while taking a break from the interesting content that was presented in the first half of the morning.
Circularity in Life Sciences
After the break, attendees had the chance to choose between two concurrent sessions. One examined the intersection of batteries and electronics and the other focused on 鈥淐ircularity in the Life Sciences Industry鈥�. Gayatri Kasi, Product Sustainability Portfolio Manager for Corning Life Sciences moderated the life sciences session. She talked about proprietary fusion glass manufacturing that reduces waste and how Corning has been energy efficient and sustainable, which attributes to innovative products. She pointed out that 5.5 million tons of plastics lab waste are generated per year. Labs use 10x more energy than offices and 4x more water. Just in Boston, 5 million pounds of pipette tip boxes are being discarded, and by 2030 biotech is expected to double and so is the waste and emissions. Why is circularity (vs. recycling) important? It is necessary to be able to collaborate across the value chain. Today, only 7% of used materials are cycled back into the economy. Kasi pointed out that Corning is working towards circular solutions by integrating sustainability into the design of products and advancing stewardship with their recycling program.
Next, Anna Goldman, Physician and Medical Director of Sustainability for Boston Medical Center (BMC), the first municipal city hospital in the U.S., described how their patients served are disproportionately minority and low income. She said it is important to invest in sustainable best practices because communities are affected by climate change and pollution; it also cuts costs for the hospital, in turn, making the campus more energy efficient. By downsizing for efficient use of space and energy, the facility saved a lot of money and was able to reinvest in patient care. Project objectives include: 1) Tackling carbon emissions from regulated medical waste, including pharmaceutical packaging, 2) developing pilots at BMC to implement sustainable practices and measure impact, and 3) developing scalable models that can be shared broadly and accelerating progress toward decarbonization across the healthcare industry. She expressed that they are trying to reduce the plastic waste coming out of their health care system. They have developed pilots in the hospital that will reduce and regulate plastic waste. She explained that in the first year, there were three waste stream audits: outpatient pharmacy, inpatient pharmacy, and infusion center. Waste stream types included white bag (MSW), Recycling, Red bag (biological), Chemo/Path, SUD Processing, Battery Bucket (non-lithium), Black Bucket (hazardous pharma), Blue bucket (non-hazardous pharma). For the second year of program, they will be talking to experts from packaging manufacturers to waste handlers and everyone in between. In the third year, they will pilot waste interventions and see how they work. Currently, they are working with Veolia and Heritage and have found that advanced recycling techniques can be engaged, syringes can be recycled separately to recover medical grade plastic, red bag waste causes higher GHG emissions, only 15% items of red bag stream were correctly sorted , and that blister packs are made from a mix of foil and plastics and makes them extremely difficult to recycle (makes up 25% of pharm packaging waste).
Next, Steven Todisco, Vice President of Sustainability for Triumvirate Environmental, talked about what kind of products the company makes from plastics, emphasized that it is extremely important upfront to know what you have, and focused on major areas that are screened for recyclability: 1) plastic waste prepared for processing, waste is physically separated to remove incompatible compounds, such as metals or glass, 2) materials are compounded, plasticized and blended, 3) blended mixture is extruded into molds to create the final lumber product, 4) finished plastic lumber is cooled, cut, and undergoes a quality audit. Plastics4Purpose鈩� is their product. They also do pickups to end disposal and selling of lumber. Recycled football fields are turned into benches. Triumvirate has recycled 17 million pounds in 2024, with 520,000+ boards made from recycled plastics.
Lastly, James O鈥橞rien, Co-Founder and CEO of Polycarbin, emphasized that life science labs care about waste not only because of disposal, but also to reduce carbon emissions and a mass 3 footprint. Polycarbin collects recyclable plastic from biopharma and life science companies, re-manufactures and reports. They re-manufacture the collected material into lab products and provide scientists the data they expect with engaging sustainability and emission reporting. He said that opportunity is abundant in the life sciences sector. Their core competency is rigid plastics and nitrile gloves, but they have also expanded to flex plastics, etc. Polycarbin is creating a closed loop supply chain and making it regional. He said there is no bigger problem than the single use technologies. That is why they are focused on very specific streams that are infectious and using what is available out of that material. Labs are now exploring onsite treatment capacity, rendering what MSW is capable of being recycled.
Once morning sessions were complete, attendees were invited to a catered lunch where they dined and conversed about the industry and the sessions they just heard, as well as met new people and connected with old friends. At the same time, the event offered concurrent lunch sessions that focused on best practices from DRS implementations in nine countries and new innovations and a workshop on engaging the public through effective facilitation.
Plastic Overproduction Challenges
That afternoon, everyone came back together for the session on 鈥淗ow Plastic Overproduction Undermines Local Recycling and the Circular Economy.鈥� Moderated by Resa Dimino, Managing Principal of RRS, the discussion featured Alexandra Tennant, Director of Global Recycled Plastics Service, at Chemical Marketing Analytics, Megan Byers, Program Director, for the US Plastics Pact, and Kate Bailey, Chief Policy Officer for Association of Plastic Recyclers.
Tennant gave a market overview covering macro level assumption. There is slower and steadier growth of world population from a consumption perspective. Global GDP growth is forecast to slow in 2025 as headwinds dampen business and household spending. Chemical Demand Elasticity shows demand growth at or above GDP. Other drivers of plastics consumption include world population, disposable household income, and chemical consumption per capita. There are six core themes on the overall perspectives of plastics: 1) Demand, capacity build continues to be led by China, 2) O.R./Margin Popularity, 3) Circularity (demand for recycled content), 4) Supply Chain Bottlenecks persist, 5) Plant Closures 鈥� there is a record excess build-out of capacity is largely focused in Asia, and 6) Regulatory Drivers, particularly in Europe 鈥� age, capacity and last turnaround all signals for rationalizing with European assets particularly viewed as risk. Commodity plastics end use includes, packaging, consumer goods, construction/infrastructure, transportation, medical/personal care, and single use. U.S. patchwork of regulations can be difficult to navigate, so she stressed that improved standardization of circularity reporting could drive inefficiencies for participants.
Byers covered Roadmap 2.0 Targets: 1) Turning off the plastics tap, 2) Designing to fit the system, 3) Increasing recycling rate, 4) Using more recycling content, and 5) Identifying reusable packaging systems. She asked why are we not at 30% in 2025?听 Some barriers include color issues, volatile pricing, too expensive, supply risk, lack of transparency, spot markets, economies of scale, black specs, inconsistent quality, inadequate supply, complex supply chain, consumers don鈥檛 care, food safety requirements, environmental regulatory, and economic factors. So, what are the broad strokes to reduce reliance on virgin material? She said a lot of it comes back to circular by design, reducing price differential, long term purchase contracts, domestic sourcing, and certification. Byers pointed out that all of APR鈥檚 members have a publicly stated PCR commitment, which includes acknowledging problematic materials lists and design for circularity playbooks and driving progress for all packaging formats. She also explained that they have the PCR toolkit as a resource, which contains Procurement and Purchasing resources, R&D/Quality Assurance, Brand, Sustainability and Govt Affairs, Education and Myth Busting, and PCR Certification Principles.
Finally, Bailey talked about the fact that there 85% plastic recyclers in the U.S. and Canada, and less than 6% of plastics are exported (used to be 30%). So, what are your barriers to increasing plastic recycling? You need more companies to buy the product from you. She emphasized that bad markets are bad for all of us鈥攖hey buy less from the MRF or pay less to the MRF, then they charge the community, or stop taking plastics all together. Key policy solutions are: 1) Expanded Recycled Content Laws; we need to broaden the scope of PCR laws (shipping containers, film plastics, rigid plastics, rolls carts and containers, trash bags, nursery pots and trays, 2) Need to make sure material is coming from us; we need to put North American programs first. Recycled content laws only help recycling programs if they use your materials. Plastics recyclers are losing contracts, closing operations because of imported recycled PET. 3) Optimize for recycled content in packaging EPR laws鈥攖hey play a role but won鈥檛 solve the problem. We should set targets for plastic based on resin type, limit PRO investments to U.S., North America Infrastructure, specify PRO allocation. 4) Role for the federal government. This includes supporting the US Circle Act (HR4466) 鈥� Cultivating Investment in Recycling and Circular Local Economies. This allows for 30% investment tax credit for recycling infrastructure. Fifty organizations have endorsed it. Why does it matter? The study shows recycled content is the strongest global policy to reduce plastic waste, including lowering energy and emissions.
Emissions Strategies
Breakout into afternoon concurrent sessions covered topics on MRF Operations with regards to technology, partnerships, and policy impacts, as well as 鈥淎 Material Shift: Implementing Consumption-Based Emissions Strategies鈥� moderated by Megan Mansfield-Pryor from Maine鈥檚 Governor鈥檚 Office of Policy Innovation. She talked about a Waste Reduction Model tool that anyone can use. It gives you lifecycle perspective of managing materials, metrics of labor, pricing, etc. based on national averages, and a WARM Tool Lifecycle Snapshot covers Reuse vs. Recycling.
Reed Miller, PhD, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, at the University of Maine, explained that North American cities have high per capita consumption based on GHG emissions. Consumption impacts are from emissions along supply chain and during use; there is waste generation from non-durables and lead consumption durables. When comparing types of emissions inventories, he explained that consumption based includes domestic emissions from products used, products we make and buy, and imported emissions along the supply chain. How are CBEI estimates calculated? Government economic data, high level environmental data, EEIO Model. CBEI current challenges are government economic data (detailed U.S. input-output tables only published every 5 years), high-level environmental data (U.S. EPA proposed on 9/12 to end GHG reporting program), and that the U.S. EPA ended the U.S. EEIO model on 9/30, but cornerstone still reports.
Next, Nathan Robbins, Climate Change Specialist at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, discussed how 80% of Maine鈥檚 carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels comes from transportation and buildings. The Maine Climate Council includes Materials Management Task Force (Jan-June 2024) and Maine Won鈥檛 Wait Strategies. Global emissions sources come from 45% products, 55% energy, so what actions can help? What can individuals do? The Regional Consumption Based Inventory Project looked at associated consumption-based emissions for participating states, identified consumption-based hotspots, determined possible mitigation actions, improved understanding of impacts region-wide, developed a regional understanding of the methodology, created a streamlined procedure, and improved messaging around consumption. The largest consumption emissions rates are from manufactured goods.
David Allaway spoke about Implementing Consumption Based Emissions Strategies in Oregon. Packaging is not the only material that matters. The impact of producing the food is much higher than the packaging. Food and construction are the most emissions by category. Opportunities to reduce embodied carbon come from using lower carbon materials and materials overall. A DEQ Low-Embodied Carbon Housing Program received a 25-million-dollar climate pollution reduction grant from EPA. This included 1) Reuse 鈥� turning empty spaces into usable housing projects, and 2) Space Efficient 鈥� housing units that do not exceed a specified area as determined by number of bedrooms. These housing projects must demonstrate a 10% reduction in embodied carbon. Allaway emphasized that they are working on reducing food waste at the source. The Pacific Coast Waste Commitment consists of goal setting, action, evaluation and identifying better solutions. They have received 5 years of data from food manufacturing companies, and they have reduced food waste by 30%. Expanding it to a food waste pact nationally. High-income households consume more so their emissions are higher and have more opportunities to reduce emissions.
Terri Goldberg, MassRecycle Board Member, at MassRecycle, talked about why MassRecycle undertook a plan about materials management and climate change. Currently, there is a MassRecycle White Paper out and she would love for people to review and give feedback. They want to see the state accelerate its leadership in this area. With regards to prevention and reduction, they are looking more upstream to focus on wasted food, C&D, paper, cardboard, plastics, metals, glass, refrigerants, and renewable energy tech (battery, solar, wind). Recycling often is the solution to reduce impacts on GHG, but it depends on how the material is handled and the recycling process. 28 actions include Educate, Measure, Legislate, Collaborate, Invest. Two examples from action plan, include 1) Mixed glass used in Pozzolans found to have more GHG benefits. Strategies are to develop state EPP guidance, Enact EPR for packaging, modernize bottle bill, reuse options, education, mandate PCRC; 2) Wasted food 鈥� significant lifecycle GHG impacts. Strategies are to educate with a focus on reduction, mandate date labeling consistency, expand diversion requirements, and support technical assistance. Laws/policies: EPR/PCRC mandates date labels modernize BB EPP. Take advantage of the NERC and NEWMOA education resources. The next steps will be podcasts, outreach, and creating materials to help make message more accessible, developing template articles that can be customized, and reaching out to climate change organizations.
Community Engagement
The final session of the day 鈥淚mplementing Programs Using the Community Engagement Continuum鈥� was moderated byJoe Whitten, Co-Founder and CEO, of Apparel Impact. He explained that his company works with municipalities to collect clothing while building a system to collect as much textiles as possible. The impact of one town with 9 locations was tremendous: 135,000 pounds of textiles were diverted, 94.5 million gallons of water was saved, $5,000 tax dollars were saved, 180 residents had wardrobe access at no cost to the town. The process is to designate liaisons responsible for submitting forms online. Submit that request to a fulfillment center and they send it directly to liaison to provide for the person in need. Clothing is the fastest growing waste streams we need to divert it. The program was just launched program this year. Apparel Impact services 350 municipalities as a company. Annual impact is reported to town and DEP. 1.1 million pounds of Co2 emissions avoided. This is a working system that you can build in your town.
Courtney Forrester, Waste Reduction and Compliance Lead, at Harvard University, then spoke on creating a framework for facilitating large group discussions, which can also be used by communities, workplaces, universities, etc. They worked to create a zero-waste plan by the end of 2024, so a waste stewardship working group came together from all over the school and different units. They did surveys, prioritized, created draft zero waste framework, and released zero waste framework all within one year. Their Liberating Structures program transforms how people interact and work together, and is designed to include everyone, ensuring inclusive high-quality engagement鈥攑articipants were encouraged to find common ground. Meeting #1 was a Pre-meeting survey to understand motivations. Meeting #2 Focused on defining framework categories, Meeting #3 focused on refining definitions, individual work and small group work. Meeting #4 broke down into 7 waste stewardship essentials: 1) standard recovery infrastructure, 2) sustainable procurement practices and policies, 3) reuse infrastructure, 4) education, 5) zero waste grants, 6) tracking waste generation, 7) institutionalizing waste stewardship. Meeting #5 focused on empowerment, supporting and enabling people to take action. Meeting #6 was the final thank yous and celebrations.
Andrea Folsom, Education and Grants Manager, at NH Recycles (formerly NRRA) discussed recycling education and why we should care. She asked the question: Why don鈥檛 some people recycle? Some reasons are convenience, confidence, and system barriers. It could be confusing as to whether efforts make a difference, and there is a hesitation to participate. They took on the challenge with EPA education and outreach grant to small, rural NH communities that primarily have source separated recycling but lack the capacity to apply for and execute large grants. The rural area had 6 landfills, 3 unlimited service areas, no MRFs, no industrial composting, and only half of the municipalities had source separated recycling. She said they focused on convenience and meeting residents where they are 鈥� homes, transfer stations, pickup points, and provided recycling education with radio PSAs, newspaper articles, and went door to door to multi-unit homes and apartment complexes. They provided clear communication through videos shot, workshops and presentations, handouts, magnets, and postcards. Through strengthening the system, they trained the trainer, empowering solid waste operators to become educators in their communities especially since everyone does do everything just a little bit differently. In order to sustain change, the strategy must be designed for long term impact, designed for unique needs, and available through multiple channels well after the project ends. They are aiming for higher participation, a stronger recycling culture, and less contamination. It is not just about recycling more; it is about recycling better.
Finally, Nik Balanchandran, Founder of Zabble spoke about their software solution and the company. Zabble provides data management, mobile tagging/identify contamination, and notifications. The Borough of Franklin Lakes, NJ uses mobile tagging to conduct their annual cart tagging program to increase recycling participation and reduce contamination. Inspectors are in the field visiting properties, containers are inspected, and data analyzed. The program sends out oops tags identifying problem. As they started providing instant feedback, the contamination rates started going down. The second case study was SUNY ESF using invoice analytics in order to get a sense of everything that was being shared with them as far as waste data. The entire project was funded by CSMM. Challenges were inconsistent bin configurations, multiple streams and vendors across several campuses, and complex spreadsheets to track data. So, they started to standardize the signage, introduced compost and liner less bins, and deployed Rheaply and Zabble to quanify resue and generation data. As a result, there was a 56% diversion rate in 2024, up from a 27% diversion rate in 2018. Zabble leverages the power of AI to engage with communities, empowering people, benchmarking, compliance, and targeted outreach.
Shulz-Fontes wrapped up the first day with closing remarks, thanking attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors. She also acknowledged Josh Kelly for 8 years of his tenure as part of NERC鈥檚 Board and presented him with a Recognition Award. Kelly made a few remarks on his time with NERC and thanked you to NERC staff for a great conference and first day.
Environmental Leadership Awards Ceremony and Reception
After the day wrapped up, attendees were invited to the reception for the Annual 2025 Environmental Leadership Awards that highlighted several innovators and advocators for the industry through their work in sustainability and diverting waste. Guests mingled and networked with each other as they enjoyed some light fare and cold drinks. A great way to relax after a day full of great information.
Shulz-Fontes kicked off the ceremony and introduced Bonnie Heiple, MassDEP Commissionser, who sent a videotaped message welcoming everyone to the conference. She said she hoped the event went well and emphasized her appreciation of the value of a regional forum talking about strategies to reduce waste. She is invested in these goals and talked about what they鈥檝e done to meet them and strengthen the economy. She stressed the need to tackle common solid waste issues together and to continue to listen to each other and collaborate.
Alyssa Eiklor, Environmental Analyst at Vermont DEC, announced the Outstanding Leader Award, which went to Paige A Wilson, Waste Reduction and Diversion Planner, for the New Hampshire DES. In her current role, Paige has created opportunities to improve state policies, help with inaugural waste studies, provide training for facility operations, and educate the public about the importance of sustainable waste management.
John Fischer, Deputy Division Director for Solid Waste MassDEP presented the Outstanding Community Award to the City of Medford for increasing nearly 1.6 pounds of diversity of material collected. They introduced a campaign that included a ride along and social media postings, growing its reputation as leader in sustainability and waste reduction. The award was accepted by Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn. She stressed that they have diverted up to 3 million pounds from 75,000 homes and are focused on removing cost barriers to shifting to sustainability lifestyle.
Michael Nork, Material Management Section Supervisor for New Hampshire DES and NERC President, presented the Outstanding Program award to NH Recycles, which was accepted by Reagan Bissonette, Executive Director. Formerly known as NRRA, the organization developed crucial composting programs and resources, developed maps for drop off food waste options, organized a composting bus tour learning about small-, mid-, and large-scale operations, and developed toolkits and workshops for residents to learn about food waste diversion and best management practices. They are currently joining with other leaders to lay the groundwork for other composting efforts.
Mariane Medeiros, Senior Project Manager at NERC, introduced the Outstanding Innovator Award to Dr. Isabella Angelelli for achievements in environmental sustainability. A pediatrician at the UPMC Children鈥檚 Hospital of Pittsburgh, she is a national leader in sustainable healthcare, co-founding Clinicians for Climate Action, a grassroots network of more than 500 clinicians committed to integrating sustainability into clinical practice. Under Dr. Angelelli鈥檚 leadership, she has helped shape UPMC鈥檚 climate strategy, including signing the Health and Human Services Climate Pledge, and committing to a 50% reduction in GHG emission by 2030.
Christian Tolentino presented the Outstanding Organization Award to Boston Children鈥檚 Hospital spearheaded by Chuck Blanchette, who said that thanks to a grant and cross department collaboration, the hospital is able to recycle lab plastics and divert 2 to 5 tons per year. They collect and discard cold packs and divert it to a local cheese farm鈥�980 ice packs were recycled in first year. Estimated waste stream is 2,000 pounds per year. He also implemented an equipment reuse program that redistributes lab equipment internally. He emphasized that complex institutions can become leaders in sustainability. This strategy started with no funding but through being that one voice they were able to get things done. A sustainability department has been created and they partnered with Polycarbin. While this program will hit 15 tons recycled, he said they are going to keep pushing forward.
RRU DAY 2
The second day of the RRU conference opened with remarks from Michael Nork, President of NERC. He welcomed attendees back, went over the day鈥檚 sessions, thanked the event sponsors, and gave a huge shout out to the NERC staff for all of their hard work in making the event a success.
Building Reuse Systems
The day鈥檚 first session 鈥淏uilding Reuse Systems: Overcoming Barriers to Scale鈥� featured Moderator Michelle Ciccolo, State Representative for Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Robert Kutner, Chief Revenue Officer for USEFULL, and Heather Billings, Senior Waste Reduction Consultant at CET (Center for Ecotechnology). Ciccolointroduced the panelists and remarked that reuse is the way out of the waste crisis; it reduces production and provides end of life cost savings. By increasing the use of reusables, we will stop almost half of the plastic waste used globally. It is not just in beverages; by switching to reusables in food service ware, as an example, 21 average schools would reduce carbon emissions by approximately 220 tons of CO2 per year. So, why does zero waste matter and why should we pursue those strategies? Changing systems is hard. It can it be done in the U.S. but where do we start? While a lot of innovative small companies are starting up in this sector, Ciccolo covered best practices in Germany, Brussels, and France. Europe has 鈥淭he New Circular Economy Action Plan.鈥� These locations have high functioning markets driven by consumer beverage refill programs. For example, 54% of all German single-serve beverages are sold through refill services. There are also takeout food container reuse systems, wholesale restaurant refills of beer and wine, and wholesale reusable crates for food shipping and consumer display. This grows local jobs in manufacturing, technology, system operations, warehousing, and shipping and receiving. Lessons learned from European best practices: glass bottles can be used up to 40 times or more, while PET bottles can only be used a maximum of 20 times; water consumption for new versus reused is virtually the same or lower; and for DRS to be cost effective, redemption rates need to be at 90% or higher. Other key takeaways were that systems that are optimized for local distribution achieve higher energy efficiency and more local jobs that are not exportable; some markets are readily converted to refill, in particular institutions which can establish closed-loop systems, systems need to be sufficiently at scale to achieve desired results; and government incentives, policy, and funding are required to pave the way for scaled systems. Lessons from Quebec OPLN tour in 2025 were that reuse works best when it is market driven. An average small business saves between $3,000 and $22,000 per year with durable service ware and 193,000 jobs are created for reuse in the near term. Well-functioning Deposit Return Systems should be market-based. If you want a reuse model you can鈥檛 get to it without DRS. Focus first with the states that have DRS and the density. She covered policy approaches that included EPR (can be a form of DRS and the two systems should work in tandem), but we need to work on the demand because there is not enough materials that are made with recycled items. So, where do we go from here? We need to focus on all levels of government: Federal (laws, funding, grants), State (laws, programs, operations, capital funding), Regional (planning and collaboration), and Municipalities (laws, pilots, planning, developing zero waste plans).
Next, Kutner talked about USEFULL and their specialty and goals. They have developed completely plastic free containers, partnering mostly with universities (13) but are also talking with retirement communities and other closed loop entities. They also deal with tracking technology, inventory management, and impact reporting. It is similar to a library book checkout model. The container is checked out to a student who gets it for a certain amount of time. UNCW tried plastic-based reuse for residential dining. Only 4% of containers remained after 1 year. 听After switching to the USEFULL program, containers circulate with a 99% return rate. NAU had fewer than 1,000 container used after 1 year with low return rates. After switch, they were seeing 140,000 checkouts per year.
Finally, Billings discussed RecyclingWorks Massachusetts, a no cost assistance for businesses. She pointed out that the MASSDEP solid waste master plan goal is to reduce 1.7 million tons by 2030. The best lever to address capacity is through waste reduction and diversion. RecyclingWorks gives technical assistance to evaluate existing waste streams, identify opportunities to prevent recover and divert waste, connect with service providers, create customized bin signage, etc. They also provide guidance on reduction, donation, diversion, and how to work with your hauler. The Guidance Process Input and Applicability deals with food servicing, health department officials, industry associations, recycling coordinators, organizations, advocacy groups for reusables or waste prevention, service providers, and vendors of reusable service waste containers. She said they really wanted to make sure they were following the Massachusetts food code for health and safety, so they created a quick guide for implementation that included setup, considerations, and links to guidance. Containers should be suitable for intended use and need to be washed, resistance to pitting, chipping, etc., should be free of soil or food debris. Examples of contamination free filling methods are gravity fed dispensers. She encouraged attendees to listen to read the blog series on Successful Reusables Programs including Arlington Beer Garden, Fulfilled Goods, Boston U, Re:Dish, and CARE Cape Cod.
A Focus on Food Waste
The final session of the day focused on 鈥淓nding Food Waste: Prevention, Donation, and Upcycling.鈥� Nate Clark, Communications and Content Manager, for ReFED, moderated the session and kicked off the discussion talking about food waste trends and impacts of uneaten food, pointing out that surplus food uses 4% of GHG emissions, 24% of landfill inputs, 16% of crops use, and 16% of freshwater use. Barriers to addressing food waste include misalignment of costs and benefits, low cost of food and disposal, etc. Food loss and waste solutions focus on prevent, rescue, recycle. A 16-billion-dollar investment is needed for waste reduction. The System tool driving change is understanding the problem, identifying potentiation solution, and knowing the potential impact of your diversion efforts. He closed by emphasizing that the 2026 REFED Food Waste Solutions Summit will take place May 19 鈥� 21, 206 in Charlotte, NC.
Liz Miller, Senior Community Relations Manager, at Spoonfuls, talked about who they are and what they do. She pointed out that 31% of available food in the U.S. goes unsold or uneaten, 1 in 6 households in Massachusetts deals with food insecurity, and food waste is the #1 material in landfills. As the largest food recovery organization, they work across the state and are on track to recover 5.8 million pounds this year and have recovered 40 million pounds since 2010. Typical reasons food is available to recover are surplus, imperfect but still good, the date on the label, made fresh daily, factory mistakes. She said they get a lot of good products. Working with over 90 food retailers and brands, they distribute to 200+ community-based organizations. An Act encouraging the donation of food to persons in need incentivizes up to 25K for donating entities. It is moving through the state house, and it builds on liability protection offered federally by the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act/Food Donation Improvement. The are also a big supporter of Food Date and Labeling Act, which calls to standardize and clarify date labels. Two simple options 鈥� USE BY as a safety label or BEST IF USED by as a quality label. Reintroduced this session with, for the first time, bi-partisan sponsors both the House and senate. This will help to get rid of consumer confusion. A lot of big box grocers are also supporting the bill.
Helene Lanctuit, CEO of Share My Meals, Inc., said that the organization, based in New Jersey is five years old and focuses on taking food from commercial kitchens (corporate, hospitals, etc.) and donating to those in need. She pointed out that only 2% to 3% of food is recovered for donation, 40% goes unsold or uneaten, 20% of which is prepared food. They use sustainable packaging and reusable trays for meals, so there is no single-use packaging waste. It is a community-based model focusing on building bridges between organizations and community partners and complementing current food emergency programs. The organization relies on corporate and non-profit volunteering with an integrated tech platform tracking reusable containers, barcodes on each tray, salesforce CRM, and an impact dashboard. The meal donor network in New Jersey consists of corporate cafeterias, food service providers, schools/universities, hospitals. It does benefits food donors with an impact on community and environment, financial benefits through tax exemptions and food waste management costs, etc. They deliver through non-profit partners. Some people will reportion and deliver meals to homes through the schools. Last year, they recovered 130,000 meals and are on track to double that this year. There is potential for 500,000 meals per year recovery. She emphasized that there is a need to create a set of guidelines for food recovery because it is unexplored and complex.
Lorenzo Macaluso, Chief Growth Officer, at CET (the Center for Ecotechnology) talked about the critical components of the organization鈥攊nfrastructure development, enforcement, policy, educational and technical assistance. He covered what the organization does (focusing on MA, RI, CT, NY) and pointed out that the practical solutions in each area will vary. Businesses will need to know what is practically available to them within a certain distance. At the Boston Public Market, they have partnerships with Spoonful鈥檚, Food for Free, The Greater Boston Food Bank, and Shibuya Eatery, reducing purchasing costs by over 10% and preventing a lot of wasted food. Hope & Main diverts 5 tons of scraps annually, with customized waste signage and reusables for dine-in customers. Johnny鈥檚 Luncheonette collected 600 to 700 pounds of food scraps per week for composting, reduced nuisance conditions in the trash area, and provided educational signage for staff and customers. Since 2013, 500,000 donated meals have been recovered annually.
Conference Wrap Up
Mariane Medeiros gave closing remarks, saying that NERC hoped attendees found all the presentations valuable, and thanked the amazing speakers and the sponsors for their support. Next year, the Rethink Resource Use Conference will be held from October 5 鈥� 7, 2026 in Princeton, NJ at the Crowne Plaza Princeton Conference Center. She concluded by thanking everyone and wishing them safe travels home.
Another great NERC event is in the books, and we look forward to the next one in October 2026!
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