Contamination may be one the biggest challenges associated with strategies to recover food waste.

Whether it’s inappropriate materials (e.g. plastic, glass) or emerging contaminants (such as PFAS), contamination leads to a low quality final product, problems for facilities, and environmental challenges.

Dr. Jean MacRae, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maine, will lead the conversation on emerging contaminants in organics.

In this Science Session, you will learn:

Lithium batteries are key to our modern connected world, from our cellphones and computers to our cars - and not just electric cars! Lithium batteries also have an increasing role in storing electricity for the electric grid which is critical to society and future progress. However, used lithium batteries aren’t like the used alkaline or lead acid batteries that many of us are familiar with handling. Because of the battery’s high energy density and the potential for serious incident, special preparation is needed when shipping these batteries.

Safely managing used lithium batteries has become a significant challenge for the waste industry. NERC and NEWMOA are jointly offering a two-part webinar series to help participants understand the different battery types, their uses, recycling opportunities, and safe handling and management at end-of-life.

Safely managing used lithium batteries has become a significant challenge for the waste industry. NERC & NEWMOA are jointly offering a two-part webinar series to help participants understand the different battery types, their uses, recycling opportunities, & safe handling & management at end-of-life.

Recycling in outdoor parks, streetscapes, and other public spaces can be challenging. The unrestricted, "on-the-go" nature of these public spaces makes them more susceptible to contamination, wear and tear, and other issues.

In this webinar, we’ll hear from a diverse panel of Canadian and US speakers, sharing:

Back by popular demand, the Product Stewardship Initiative's EPR Masterclass webinar series is relaunching in 2021 with a new lineup of key topics.

Contamination in the recycling stream hinders the ability of a material recovery facility or secondary processing facility to produce high-quality recycled materials. During this webinar, participants will learn from representatives from state and local governments and materials recovery facilities about successful strategies and programs that are reducing contamination in the recycling stream.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has had far-reaching impacts on business operations. While we are all eager to put the pandemic behind us, other catastrophic events will inevitably occur. To strengthen organizational resilience going forward, we must examine lessons learned and position product stewardship as a key player in business continuity and crisis management.

This future-focused webinar will identify the broad range of complex, unresolved, and evolving issues product stewards have faced and continue to face because of the pandemic.

In 2018, the United States generated more than 292 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW).