The Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA), Epsom, New Hampshire, has been named the 2015/2016 recipient of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Rural Utilities Service Technical Assistance Grant Program. School districts, municipalities, solid waste districts and regional planning agencies are invited to partake in the services offered through this grant program.
NRRA says it plans to fund waste administration training as well as educational resources.
The program’s funds are primarily targeted to help the rural communities of Carroll, Coos and Grafton counties in New Hampshire, as well as Bennington, Caledonia, Essex, Franklin and Orleans counties in Vermont, with obtaining long-term compliance with state solid waste regulations, according to USDA. Other communities throughout New England and the nation also may avail to take advantage of this opportunity, USDA says. The goal of the Rural Utilities Service Technical Assistance Grant Program is to help rural, low-income communities in the targeted regions reduce the contamination of their solid waste stream while increasing its value.
To do this, NRRA says it is developing a free on-site technical support program that will accomplish the following:
NRRA says it plans to fund waste administration training as well as educational resources.
The program’s funds are primarily targeted to help the rural communities of Carroll, Coos and Grafton counties in New Hampshire, as well as Bennington, Caledonia, Essex, Franklin and Orleans counties in Vermont, with obtaining long-term compliance with state solid waste regulations, according to USDA. Other communities throughout New England and the nation also may avail to take advantage of this opportunity, USDA says. The goal of the Rural Utilities Service Technical Assistance Grant Program is to help rural, low-income communities in the targeted regions reduce the contamination of their solid waste stream while increasing its value.
To do this, NRRA says it is developing a free on-site technical support program that will accomplish the following:
- assess the municipal solid waste (MSW) streams;
- broaden hands-on professional development workshops to implement proven best practices for managing MSW; and
- create and distribute comprehensive leadership manuals that provide educators, decision-makers and operators of landfills and transfer stations with the safety and maintenance planning necessary to meet permit requirements, focusing on the revised solid waste rules in New Hampshire and the new Act 148 in Vermont.
NRRA’s W.A.T.E.R project is an educational resource collaborative between constituents, regional solid waste planning districts and school supervisory unions seeking to implement programs that reduce the volume and toxicity of their solid waste stream, according to NRRA.
The USDA says its funds focus on expanding the training opportunities for rural communities in New Hampshire and Vermont by means of shining three of NRRA’s spotlights. The first spotlight illuminates the need for providing training workshops and webinars to educate municipal transfer station operators, waste haulers and others working in the waste management industry. This addresses the need to implement best management practices while remaining in compliance with unfunded state mandates. The second spotlight shines on evolving professional development workshops for in-service teachers, decision-makers and department professionals to multiply the effect of NRRA’s outreach in schools, supervisory unions and school districts. The third spotlight shines on bringing hands-on lesson plans to educators burdened with meeting the Common Core state standard initiatives while continuing to teach science and social studies in the classroom.
NRRA says it is seeking assistance from teachers and school administrators in the targeted regions with providing professional development workshops for in-service teachers, decision-makers and department professionals. NRRA also is interviewing retired teachers, graduate students and part-time educators for a part-time paid position to assist with updating nationally renowned curricula to align with the common core standards. The researchers, editors and pilot sites will be compensated for their expertise.
To learn more or discuss these initiatives or opportunities, contact NRRA’s Grant Manager Cindy Sterling by email at csterling@nrra.net or by phone at 603-736-4401, ext. 10.
Founded in 1981, NRRA says it provides a clearinghouse for current, up-to-date information and a source of technical and marketing assistance in the general areas of waste reduction and recycling. The nonprofit is a member-driven organization made up of more than 400 municipalities, individuals and businesses in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and southern Maine. NRRA’s School Club assists schools in implementing, maintaining and improving recycling programs.