Raleigh, NC (October 12, 2016) – The Board of Directors of the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) is pleased to announce the award of the first Ice River Springs Master’s Scholarship for Sustainability to Jillian Treadwell, who is currently a student at McGill University in the department of Bioresource Engineering.
EREF Blog
EREF and OWMA Collaboration Expands Canadian-Based Research & Scholarships
Raleigh, NC (October 5, 2016) – The Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA) and the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) have completed an agreement to strengthen EREF’s funding of Canadian-based research and scholarships. EREF is currently one of the largest sources of funding in North America for research and scholarships for sustainable materials management.
EREF Data & Policy Report on Waste Generation Revealed at Waste360 Recycling Summit
Raleigh, NC (September 20, 2016) – The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) introduced its new Data & Policy Report “Municipal Solid Waste Management in the U.S.: 2010 & 2013” at the Waste360 Recycling Summit, held September 19 – 21, 2016 in Austin, Texas (www.waste360recyclingsummit.com).
Waste Connections and Waste Management to Co-Sponsor 2016 EREF Fall Classic & Networking Event
The 2016 Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) Fall Classic & Networking Event – to be held Thursday, November 17 at The Golf Trails of The Woodlands in The Woodlands, Texas – will be co-sponsored by Waste Connections and Waste Management. All proceeds from the tournament will support EREF’s mission to fund scientific research and educational initiatives to establish sustainable waste management practices.
This year, the tournament will be played on two courses, the Oaks and Panther, to accommodate more players.
Join the School Cafeteria Discards Assessment Project (SCrAP) Today!
The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) has developed the School Cafeteria Discards Assessment Project (SCrAP) to quantify both food waste and related wastes (eg. recyclables, to landfill) generated in cafeterias at K-12 schools nationally.
Roughly 40% of food produced in America is thrown away which equates to nearly $165 billion worth of food each year.
SCrAP aims to gather information regarding the quantity of waste generated in school cafeterias and gain an understanding of how this waste is managed both at the school and after it is hauled away.
Additionally, SCrAP could provide benefits to schools such as:
- Educating students/school staff regarding more sustainable waste management strategies,
- Reducing unnecessary food waste,
- Reducing food costs to schools, and
- Developing ways to better manage institutional food waste.
To register, please click here or e-mail SCRAP@erefdn.org with any questions.
EREF Annual Charitable Auction Raises More Than 1.6 Million at WasteExpo
The Board of Directors of the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) is pleased to announce that the 2016 EREF Annual Charitable Auction has raised more than $1.6 million.
EREF holds its Annual Charitable Auction each year at WasteExpo to support the foundation’s mission to fund and direct scientific research and educational initiatives for waste management practices. Having raised more than $17 million since its inception in 1994, the Auction features generous donations from members of the waste industry and provides opportunities for exhibitors to increase their visibility at WasteExpo.
EREF Annual Charitable Auction Goes Online
For 22 years, the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) has held its Annual Charitable Auction to help support its mission to fund and direct research and educational initiatives for waste management practices.
The EREF Annual Charitable Auction, held each year at WasteExpo, is EREF’s largest fundraiser and consists of both Silent and Live Auctions. Together, these auctions have raised more than $16 million for the foundation.
EREF Honors Mack Trucks for 20 Years of Donations
The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) is pleased to announce that this year’s 22nd EREF Annual Charitable Auction will mark the 20th year that Mack Trucks has donated to the EREF Live Auction.
The EREF Annual Charitable Auction, the foundation’s largest fundraiser, is held annually at WasteExpo to help EREF further its mission to fund and direct research and educational initiatives for waste management practices. The Auction has raised more than $16 million for the foundation and is made possible through the generous donations of waste industry members.
For 20 years Mack has maintained a long-standing commitment to supporting EREF and its mission to further research and education for the waste industry. “We at Mack are proud to help support EREF in any way we can because its research and scholars are making groundbreaking strides for this industry,” said Curtis Dorwart, Mack Refuse Product Manager and Vice Chairman of the EREF Auction Committee.
NWRA and EREF to Hold Coal Ash Management Forum
The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) and the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) will partner to hold the Coal Ash Management Forum on July 21 – 22, 2016. The conference aims to be a forum where both the utility and waste management industries can share ideas, research, operations strategies and case studies on how to manage coal ash beneficially or in a landfill setting.
This forum is geared toward engineers, landfill managers, ash managers, as well as the consultants and suppliers that provide solutions for managing coal ash. Opportunities to better understand challenges in how coal combustion residuals on the power generation side will be discussed as will experiences from existing landfill owners and management companies.
EREF Report Documents the Threat Potential from a Closed MSW Landfill using the EPCC Process
Regulations specify that owner/operators of closed landfills are responsible for maintenance, monitoring and condition of the site for 30 years (Subpart F of Subtitle D). This period could change depending on the time required for a site to no longer pose a threat to human health and the environment (HHE). Current regulations provide no guidance or specific criteria to release a landfill from post-closure care (PCC). To provide guidance on ending PCC, the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) funded the development of a performance-based Evaluation of Post-Closure Care (EPCC) methodology in 2006. This methodology provides a modular approach for evaluating the four primary PCC elements, leachate management, landfill gas management, groundwater monitoring and cover maintenance. The EPCC methodology defines the end of PCC in terms of “functional stability.” Functional stability is achieved when a closed landfill no longer presents an unacceptable threat to HHE in the absence of active care.
Since this time, EREF has funded additional grants to further evaluate the methodology and is pleased to announce the availability of a final report from a recent effort aimed to illustrate how EPCC methodology can be applied to demonstrate step-wise reductions in PCC activity from active controls to fully passive measures. To do this, a series of retroactive data evaluations at a case study landfill were conducted over a 20 year PCC period. The landfill evaluated is a 29-acre municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill on an 80-acre property located near Frankfort, New York that operated between the early 1970s and 1991 and was closed in 1993.