Call for Nominees
This year, NERC will honor an Individual, Organization, or Community for their outstanding contributions to recycling education and innovation. This is the 10th Annual Environmental Leadership Awards Ceremony, recognizing those who further NERC’s mission to minimize waste, conserve natural resources, and advance a sustainable economy through facilitated collaboration and action.
Eligibility
Nominees must have a presence in one or more of the NERC member-states, which include Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Criteria
Self-nominations are accepted and encouraged for all categories!
- Individual Award -recognizes a person who has made a significant impact in advancing sustainable materials management. This individual has demonstrated leadership, innovation, and dedication to expanding recycling, composting, or waste reduction efforts. Their work has led to measurable improvements in material recovery, market development, policy advancement, or public engagement within the region. (Please note, the individual earning this award cannot be from an organization receiving another award)
- Organization Award – has demonstrated activities that resulted in expanded markets for post-consumer feedstock of materials collected from residential recycling or composting programs or helped to foster an increase in supply of post-consumer materials. The end-market itself does not need to be in one of the NERC states, but preference may be given if it is.
- Community Award – A municipality, county, community, or likewise that has demonstrated programming to effectively engage with and educate its residents resulting in increased participation in recycling and/or composting, and increased diversity of materials collected. The program should have a measured impact.
Application
Deadline: Tuesday July 14th, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
Awardees will be selected and notified by early August. Awards will be presented at the Rethink Resource Use Conference on October 6th, 2026, at the Crowne Plaza Princeton Conference Center, in Princeton, NJ.
Deadline: Tuesday July 14th, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
Awardees will be selected and notified by early August. Awards will be presented at the Rethink Resource Use Conference on October 6th, 2026, at the Crowne Plaza Princeton Conference Center, in Princeton, NJ.