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April 2025

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Nebraska Legislature Update

By Kimberly Carroll Steward


The Nebraska Legislature has passed the halfway mark of this year’s 90-day session, reaching Day 45 on March 17. This milestone signifies a transition to more intensive legislative activities, with full-day floor debates commencing on March 31 to deliberate on priority bills. A significant focus during this session has been addressing the state's projected budget shortfall of over $432 million for the upcoming fiscal years, with Speaker Arch emphasizing the importance of fiscal responsibility and the need for strategic solutions to navigate this financial challenge. 


Previously, NRC highlighted several bills that we found valuable to follow for our work in sustainable materials management.


LB 167 – Introduced by Sen. Stan Clouse, this bill extends the Nebraska Litter Reduction and Recycling Act’s termination date from 2025 to 2030.


LB 167 Passed on final reading with an emergency clause February 21, 2025 and approved by Governor Jim Pillen on February 25, 2025, going into effect immediately. With the enactment of LB167, the Nebraska Litter Reduction and Recycling Act will continue its efforts to manage litter and promote recycling programs across the state for an additional five years!


LB 247 – Introduced by Sen. Barry DeKay, this bill amends the Integrated Solid Waste Management Act.


Passed on Final Reading February 19, 2025 and approve by Governor Pillen the following day. This increase will become operative July 1, 2025. The enactment of LB 247 will continue the enhancement environmental management through increased funding for waste disposal and remediation programs.

 

Still in progress:

 

LB 264 – Introduced by Speaker John Arch, on the behalf of Governor, a part of this bill alters the allocation and investment earnings of the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund. 


During an Appropriations Committee hearing held on February 18, the bill has elicited varied reactions. Organizations opposition, particularly concerning the reallocation of funds from workforce development initiatives, environmental projects, and the Financial Institutions Assessment Cash Fund. Conversely, supporters argue that reallocation is necessary to address the state's projected budget shortfall of over $432 million for the upcoming fiscal years.


LB 264 remains pending before the Appropriations Committee, awaiting further legislative action.

 

LB 121 – Introduced by Sen. Brian Hardin, this bill amends the Integrated Solid Waste Management.


 A hearing was held before the Natural Resources Committee on January 30.


There have been no further actions or advancements reported regarding LB 121.

 

LB 163 – Introduced by Sen. Ashlei Spivey, this bill establishes the Office of Climate Action within the Department of Environment and Energy.


A public hearing was conducted by the Natural Resources Committee on January 30th.

During the hearing, proponents argued that establishing the Office of Climate Action would enable Nebraska to better coordinate its climate initiatives and leverage federal funding opportunities. They emphasized the importance of a dedicated office to addressing the state's climate challenges effectively. 


No further actions have been recorded regarding LB 163 and the bill awaits advancement from the Natural Resources Committee to the full Legislature for debate.


Read more here.

 

LB247 Passes, Signed by Gov. Pillen

By Julie Naughton


Nebraskans are now paying more for their solid waste.


The Nebraska Legislature passed LB247, introduced by Niobrara Sen. Barry DeKay, on March 13. LB247 increased the fee from $1.25 to $2.34 per ton of solid waste, six cubic yards of uncompacted solid waste, or three cubic yards of compacted solid waste, and was effective immediately after its passing.


Sixty-five percent of the total fees collected each quarter are directed to the State Treasurer for credit to the Integrated Solid Waste Management Cash Fund to be used to cover the direct and indirect costs of responding to spills and other environmental emergencies, as well as cost sharing, operation and maintenance of superfund remediation.


The remainder of the fee will go to the Waste Reduction and Recycling Incentive Grants Fund, which provides grants to assist in financing sound integrated waste management programs and projects such as recycling systems and intermediate processing facilities.


The bill also repeals a provision allowing the Legislature to direct transfers from the Petroleum Remedial Action Cash Fund to the Superfund Cost Share Cash Fund. 


A Beautiful Nebraska Story: Conversation with a Local Vermicomposter


By Carina Olivetti


Daniel Buller and his family love gardening, and his kids enjoyed collecting worms while doing so. This led them to wonder if worms could be bred, which sparked an interest in vermicomposting. Through research, he discovered the process and became excited about its potential. He also considered food waste and how much is discarded at the homeless shelter, Crossroads Mission Avenue. This food could be saved from landfills and repurposed for the homeless, with millions of pounds of food rescued every year for those in need.


In 2024, nearly 1.5 million pounds of food were rescued in Central Nebraska. However, what happens when large quantities of food, like bananas, go bad? Vermicomposting offered a potential solution. Daniel Buller, Executive Director of Crossroads Mission Avenue, began learning about it by using small totes with worms and developed a vermicomposting program. This program provides part-time jobs for people facing employment challenges, teaching them to care for worms and harvest the castings. The initiative has the potential to address both environmental waste and poverty, creating a win-win situation for both the community and the environment.


NRC: Do you have data on how much food waste is going to your worms?


DB: The operation has not previously tracked the amount of waste fed to the worms. In the first year, an estimated 8,000 lbs. of paper and food waste was vermicomposted. This year, the worms are being raised in larger containers to expand their population and handle more waste. The process will be more closely monitored to track waste processing. We are feeding the worms a variety of produce from a food recovery program, along with 50% cardboard and newspaper for carbon content, and adding some peat moss for worm health.


Read more here.

Don’t forget about the Compost Operator’s Training Course happening in Lincoln, NE, on UNL East Campus, June 2-6! NRC has 8 scholarships available. Apply for NRC Scholarship before April 19, 2025.


Use this Google Form to apply for the scholarship. If you have any questions, please contact Carina Olivetti at 402-436-2384 x104. 

Spotlight On Ameritas and Its Green Team Successes

By Julie Naughton


While Ameritas - founded in 1887 and offering a wide range of insurance and financial products and services to individuals, families and businesses – has actively recycled materials for more than 35 years, the program got a super-sized boost 14 years ago, when the company created its first dedicated green team. Its exemplary dedication to recycling led to recognition as green team of the year in 2021 by the Nebraska Recycling Council.


“Our recycling started with records that needed to be destroyed per our records retention program,” noted Chris Swearingen, safety and security manager for Ameritas, who leads the company’s green team. “We have evolved from caddies on our trash cans to our large scale recycling that we do today.”   


It’s an effort Ameritas employees are proud to support, said Swearingen. “We motivate our associates by continuing to show them how we’re making a difference through our recycling efforts,” he said. “Another factor that helps us educate our associates is using the savings breakout figures we receive from the NRC based on our monthly pounds recycled numbers. This information gives us a great educational tool to show our associates how we’re doing as an organization.” 


The Lincoln location currently recycles office paper, toner cartridges, aluminum, plastics #1 - #7, cardboard, light bulbs, batteries, metals, furniture, electronics, plastic films, and other hard-to-recycle plastics through the Hefty Energy bag program. In addition to their recycling efforts, Ameritas offers water bottle refilling stations for their associates and donation of furniture that is in usable condition to encourage reusable.


The company currently uses multiple recycled items in its cafeterias and pantries, and continuously educates its associates on what can be recycled and where to do so. “We also have many recycling containers throughout our building to make it easy for our associates to recycle, which keeps any contamination down to a low percentage,” said Swearingen. 


“Ameritas is committed to reducing waste and minimizing our carbon footprint,” said Swearingen. “We strive to achieve a sustainable and environmentally conscious workplace to improve the quality of life of our clients, our associates, and their families. Our long-term goal is to continue building on the program that we currently have in place and expanding where we can.”

Upcoming

SWANA Scholarships Available; Apply by May 1


Applications are now open for 2025 scholarships from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA)'s Nebraska Cornhusker Chapter, is awarding three scholarships to graduating high school students with award amounts of:$2,000, $1,000, and $500.


College students who are entering their junior or senior year and graduate students are encouraged to apply for the Harvey W. Gershman Scholarship or the Robert P. Stearns/SCS Engineers scholarship, respectively. 


The Nebraska Chapter Scholarship application is attached to the email. The scholarship applications for college students are provided here.


Deadline for submissions is May 1, 2025.


For further information, please contact the Nebraska Cornhusker Chapter Scholarship committee at scholarships@neswana.org




Events

Rescue and Reuse-Omaha

April 8-12, 2025


Earth Day Lincoln

Saturday, April 19, 2025


Omaha Earth Day

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Resources, Webinars and Articles of Interest

Webinar: Exploring EPR Legislation: State Innovations and National Trends

Tuesday, April 15, 1 pm to 2:30 pm Central. Register here.


Articles we're reading:


Recycling Facility Fires Increase Substantially in 2024

Foam Recycling Grant Opportunity Offered

Recycling Trends to Watch For in 2025

EPW Committee Unanimously Passes Brownfields, Recycling Legislation

Seven Predictions for IT Asset Disposition and Battery Recycling in 2025

Five Trends for Plastic Recycling in 2025

The Waste and Recycling Industry Outlook for 2025

Opportunities in Organics

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