Focusing on fresh ideas and innovative strategies for Rebooting Recycling is the theme for the Northeast Recycling Council’s (NERC) Conference on April 20 – 21 in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. The jam-packed agenda will feature groundbreaking sessions and expert presenters that are paving the way for innovative thinking about recycling at the Sheraton Hartford South Hotel.
In his keynote address, John Mascari of Blueland will focus on building a planet-positive business and describe Blueland’s journey to eliminating plastic waste from everyday products. Following Mr. Mascari, Caren McNamara of Conscious Container will host a session describing the reemergence of refillable bottles.
The Conference will continue with Cherish Changala Miller of Revolution presenting her company’s circular business model. Following Changala Miller’s presentation, effective recycling messaging will be explored by Jessica Shrout of Circle Three Branding, Kathy Boucher of Decker Creative Marketing, and Mel Gilles of North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. Day One will wrap up with a session about moving up the hierarchy, with Stephen Lisauskas of Waste Zero, Joe Connell & Pam Howland of Build Reuse, and Kelley Dennings of the Center for Biological Diversity.
The second day of the Conference will begin with presentations that focus on multi-family residences by Rachel Kenyon of Fibre Box Association and David Refkin of Resource Recycling Systems. Sean Plasse of Call2Recycle and Mia Rothlein of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources will host a session about managing lithium battery safety, and updates to state Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations. The Conference will close with Bob Cappadona of Casella Resource Solutions, Peter Keller of Republic Services, and Susan Robinson of Waste Management participating in a panel discussion about their perspectives on recycling end markets.