Education & Events
For upcoming events, conferences, and webinars – check out the latest news below.
Upcoming MRN Events

Other Industry Events
Webinars:
Keep America Beautiful: Zero Waste Communities: A Vision for the Future – Thu, Feb 25, 2021, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST: Cities and towns across the United States have developed and launched comprehensive plans with clear timetables in their drive toward waste-free communities. They are now taking action to achieve these ambitious goals. These actions are also proving key to making our urban centers cleaner, healthier, more resilient. In this webinar, you’ll be learning how these municipalities are: Defining zero-waste, Creating an inclusive process for building a city-wide consensus, Identifying key elements of a zero-waste plan, Securing measurable gains.
Conferences:
NERC Virtual Conference: Reframing Recycling in 2021 – March 30 – 31 (1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern): The many challenges that recycling has faced over the past few years have created a fresh opportunity for us to take a look at our practices and strategies from new perspectives. The Northeast Recycling Council’s (NERC) Spring Conference—Reframing Recycling—will focus on what we have learned from past experience, and provide a forum for discussing the industry’s future.
Past Events
Click here for a recap of our 2019 Annual Conference
Click here for a recap of our 2018 Annual Conference
Click here for a recap of our 2017 Annual Conference
Click here for a recap of our 2016 Annual Conference
Click here for a recap of our 2015 Annual Conference
Click here for a recap of our 2014 Annual Conference
Click here for a recap of our 2013 Annual Conference
Click here to view a recap from Harvey Gershman’s October 2013 presentation “Costs: More or Less”
Exploring the Impact of EPR on Maryland’s Recycling Programs
What is EPR? In brief, EPR, also known as Product Stewardship, places responsibility for end-of-life product management on producers and other companies involved in the product chain while encouraging design changes that make products more recyclable. Sounds good, but...
How Will You Make the Math Work in 2021?
The financial impact of Covid-19 will undoubtedly be felt through 2021 as state, county and municipal budgets feel the pinch of declining revenues. At the same time, our citizens will continue to expect to recycle via curbside or drop-off without interruption. Given...
Member Feature: Carroll County Recycling Manager Maria Myers
On November 18, we sat down virtually with MRN member Maria Myers, Recycling Manager at Carroll County Maryland Department of Public Works to talk about the County’s recycling program including the ups (increasing the recycling participation in the County while...
The benefits of buying recycled materials (webinar recap)
On October 13, Richard Keller of the Baltimore County Bureau of Solid Waste Management, Recycling Division shared the significant benefits of buying recycled products and offered tips on how to get started on a “buy recycled” program in your agency. One takeaway was...
MRN Member Feature Webinar: Takoma Park MD
The Berkeley of the East and Waste Wizard MRN Member Daryl Braithwaite, Public Works Director for the City of Takoma Park, takes us on a tour of the city's waste management and recycling system. Known as the “The Berkeley of the East,” Takoma Park brings one of our...
COVID-19 Check-in with Allegany and Baltimore Counties (Recap)
On Monday, June 8, we gathered for our third virtual town hall. Joining us were Siera Wigfield, Recycling Coordinator for Allegany County and Charlie Reighart, Recycling and Waste Prevention Manager for Baltimore County who shared their experiences operating in the...
MRN Markets Update – May 29, 2020
What does the future hold for national and local market conditions and trends in the age of COVID? On May 29, 2020, Melissa Filiaggi, MRN President, and Manager, Recycling for the Maryland Environmental Service along with Joe Pickard, Chief Economist and Director of...
COVID-19 Check-In: Recyclers’ Virtual Town Hall #2 Recap
On April 21, we gathered virtually for the second of our Recycler’s Town Halls to chat about how we continue to cope with the pandemic. We were joined by Michelle Blair, Recycling Coordinator for the City of Laurel, and Tony Drury, Operations Supervisor/Recycling...
Coping with COVID-19 – Virtual Town Hall
The current COVID-19 crisis has affected the recycling and solid waste industry in unique ways. While some employees may have the option of working from home, many solid waste employees don’t. After all, it’s difficult to work from home when your job requires the...
Leverage the Loop!
On Tuesday, February 11, we listened in as Benjamin Weir, Business Development Manager at TerraCycle, shared how Loop delivers a fundamental change in product ownership and brings entirely new thinking to packaging design. Durability enables reusability, elevated design & new features.
If there’s a topic or speaker you’d like to see in one of our webinars, please click here to let us know.