To celebrate Earth Day in April and provide a special service to the Lincoln community, the Nebraska Recycling Council joined forces with Nebraska Innovation Campus, Tetrad Property Group, Sadoff E-Recycling and Data Destruction, Lincoln Goodwill, Interstate All Battery, Plastilite, and Shredding Solutions. Together, we collected a total of 37,507 pounds of materials!

NRC was awarded funding for two grants at the April board meeting of the Nebraska Environmental Trust for the July 2021-June 2022 grant cycle. NRC’s projects are two of 113 projects that will receive $18,350,515 in lottery proceeds for natural resource work in Nebraska. This is the 28th year of grants from the Trust, which has provided over $349 million dollars in lottery revenue to preserve and protect the air, water and land of our state.

SEW Nebraska, which stands for “sustainable, eco-friendly work,” is the sister company to the Black Market Clothing Exchange that launders and repairs items for resale. The BMCE is a resale company that buys, sells, and trades clothing. The BMCE started in 2004 in downtown Lincoln and is currently at 5740 Old Cheney in a smaller boutique called the Glamhouse. The SEW recovers textile waste from the BMCE by repurposing the material into new products such as dog beds and covers, household goods such as hot pads, and other fashion accessories such as scrunchies. The SEW also sells B quantity items to the public through a brick-and-mortar 91 Cent Sale. We spoke with Jennifer Murrell of SEW Nebraska to get an inside look at the SEW’s history and practices.

The University of Nebraska Federal Credit Union located on P Street in Lincoln provides personal financial services, serving University of Nebraska students, faculty, staff, volunteers, alumni and their families. We spoke with Dena Noe, Vice President of Member Experience at the Federal Credit Union, to find out more about the operation and how they have implemented recycling efforts into their business plan. 

On March 11th, NRC held its annual legislative engagement event with Keep Nebraska Beautiful. Nine senators and legislative aides joined our virtual breakfast to learn from both organizations regarding our missions, programs, upcoming events, and how we can consult on future studies or legislation. It was also an opportunity to meet members of our organizations that are represented throughout the state, including NRC’s Advisory Council and Board of Directors, and the Keep Nebraska Beautiful affiliate sites. See a recording of the event here.