Rehrig Pacific Company has sponsored a named EREF internship. Corey Johnson-Erday, the recipient of this award, is an intern with EREF’s Data & Policy Program and an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University. Corey’s work with EREF includes the School Cafeteria Discards Assessment Project and the State of Leachate Management and Treatment study.
Hear from Corey on the value of his EREF internship and the impact of the Rehrig Pacific Company named internship.
In early 2017, the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) and the Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA) convened in Ontario, Canada with the goal of strengthening the funding of Canadian-based research and scholarships in support of sustainable materials management. The purpose of the meeting was to explore the work EREF is undertaking in the United States, and discuss the development of a Canadian research platform that would meet the needs of the country’s waste management sector.
Raleigh, NC (March 27, 2018) – Gear up for the Environmental Research & Education Foundation’s (EREF) Annual Charitable Auction, one of the highlights of WasteExpo, held April 24 – 25, 2018 in Las Vegas. This can’t-miss, two-day event, which has raised $18 million since its inception 24 years ago, consists of the Live and Silent Auctions, as well as a networking reception. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, sponsors and participants, last year’s event raised over $1.9 million to support EREF’s mission to fund and direct scientific research and educational initiatives.
Raleigh, NC (March 15, 2018) – In an effort to inform discussions regarding elevated temperature landfills, the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) and the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) have partnered to create a microsite presenting some of the most recent research on the topic.
Raleigh, NC (February 22, 2018) – The Board of Directors of the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) is pleased to announce the election of 3 new members:
Raleigh, NC (December 19, 2017) – The Board of Directors of the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) are pleased to announce the award of 4 new research grants in the summer of 2017. Research conducted through these grants aligns with EREF’s mission to advance sustainable solid waste management practices.
Raleigh, NC (November 30, 2017) – The Board of Directors of the Environmental Research & Education Foundation are pleased to award the 2017 Ice River Springs Master’s Scholarship for Sustainability to James Souder, a Master’s of Environmental Management candidate at Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
The holiday season is upon us, filled with family time and tasty holiday meals, and that means a substantial amount of waste.
Before hitting the grocery store for some last minute shopping or carving up that turkey this Thanksgiving, consider how much waste is produced and steps you can take to reduce it.
After landfilling, recycling is the most common method of waste management in the United States with 21% of municipal solid waste (MSW) processed at recycling facilities and 64% sent to landfills.* Across the U.S., cities and states are setting recycling goals to increase the recovery and beneficial reuse of materials.
This America Recycles Day, learn more about these goals and U.S. recycling operations.
While recyclables may be defined specifically as commodity recyclables (i.e. paper, plastic, metal, glass) or include activities like composting or energy recovery from waste, an upcoming report from EREF has found at least 18 different ways states are defining and reporting recycling. This variability in definition makes it difficult to quantify actual diversion rates, as there is no set standard.
The most commonly cited reasons are to increase energy conservation, protect environmental quality, improve public health and better manage our resources.
Currently, 45 states (90%) have set recycling or diversion rate goals, which range from encouraging specific, stated activities (e.g. recycling, composting) to focusing on reducing total waste being managed each year. Twenty-three of these goals are written as recycling goals.
States’ target recycling rates range from 10% – 80% with some citing a deadline to reach the goal while others are open-ended.
The sorting and processing of commodity recyclables happens through a network of over 3,900 recycling facilities made up of Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and non-MRFs (i.e. smaller, low-technology facilities).
MRFs accept, sort and process recyclable material for re-use. These facilities are classified either as clean, where recyclables are already pulled from the waste before arrival at the facility, or mixed-waste, where recyclables and waste materials are collected together, then separated from the waste through manual and/or automated sorting upon arrival.
Each year, over 70 million tons of recyclables are processed. A large MRF could manage up to 200,000 tons/year.
Additional recycling data can be found in EREF’s Data & Policy (D&P) reports here. Look for EREF’s report on recycling policy this winter!
Data is collected, aggregated and analyzed through the foundation’s Data & Policy Program. D&P projects serve as a resource for solid waste-related data for researchers and decision-makers within other areas such as sustainability and environmental policy. Fees charged for D&P reports are used to provide internships to college students who assist in data gathering and analysis efforts for the program.
*Found in EREF’s report “Municipal Solid Waste Management in the U.S.: 2010 & 2013.”
Raleigh, NC (November 7, 2017) – The Board of Directors of the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) are pleased to announce the award of seven scholarships to Master’s and Doctoral students across North America pursuing education in solid waste management.
