Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Emergency Burn Ban In Effect 10/26/24 - An emergency burn ban is now in effect for all Connecticut State Parks, Forests, and Wildlife Management areas, prohibiting the use of all outdoor grills, firepits, and campfires, and the kindling and use of flame outdoors. DEEP and local agencies are working to contain several active fires across the state. Please avoid all affected State Parks and Forests, as well as the blue-blazed Mattabesett Trail. The Enduro Trail in Voluntown and portions of North Stonington within the Pachaug State Forest are closed at this time. Please note that today's forest fire danger report remains at an 'extreme' level. More information about the current fire danger, burn ban and recommended safety measures can be found here

CCSMM

Connecticut is looking to the future of waste reduction and sustainable materials management. DEEP and over 90 municipalities from across the state joined together to form the Connecticut Coalition for Sustainable Materials Management (CCSMM) to explore ways to reduce the amount of waste that is generated in our state, improve reuse, recycling, organics collection, support EPR legislation, and consider other innovative solutions.
 
This initiative is co-chaired by:
  • Katie Dykes, DEEP Commissioner
  • Laura Francis, First Selectman, Durham
  • Matt Knickerbocker, First Selectman, Bethel

Watch a webinar sharing preliminary results of municipal SMM pilot programs

Sign up to receive email updates on CCSMM

CCSMM Working Groups

As part of the CCSMM initiative, four Working Groups have been established to focus on specific areas of interest. Presentations and materials from the Working Group meetings can be found on each specific Working Group page: 

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Working Group 
Food Scraps/Organics Collection & Diversion Working Group
Increase Reuse and Recycling Working Group (IRRWG)
Unit-Based Pricing (UBP) Working Group 

Members of the CCSMM have signed the following statement: CCSMM Sign-on Statement

We recognize that by working together, we have the potential to achieve economies of scale and send a strong signal for private investment and sector transformation.  At the same time, we respect the unique needs and policy preferences of each participating jurisdiction, and the importance of flexible approaches.  We recognize that each municipality can contribute in different ways, through different measures, to achieve our shared goals.

We welcome all municipal partners that would like to join us in this endeavor.


Participating Jurisdictions:

Public Engagement Questions, Comments and Solutions  

Sign up to receive email updates on CCSMM
Past CCSMM email updates:
  • February 28, 2024 update - Compost conference, SWAC, and recordings of past meetings 
  • February 26, 2024 update - Reminder, Tomorrow 1pm - IRRWG Food Waste and Climate 
  • February 22, 2024 update - Next IRRWG and upcoming CT Compost Conference 
  • February 1, 2024 update - Next IRRWG, CT Compost Conference and recordings of past meetings
  • January 18, 2024 update - Tire EPR, SWAC, CT Compost Conference
  • January 10, 2024 update - Reminder, Tomorrow 1pm - IRRWG Food Waste & Climate 
  • December 21, 2023 update - SWAC, recordings for EPR and Bottle Bill Meetings 
  • December 11, 2023 update - EPR, Bottle Bill, and SWAC
  • December 7, 2023 update - EPR working group
  • November 28, 2023 update - Save the date: EPR working group 
  • October 30, 2023 update - Bottle Bill Stakeholder, past meeting recordings 
  • October 16, 2023 update - Bottle Bill Stakeholder, IRRWG working group, SWAC
  • October 12, 2023 update - Bottle Bill Stakeholder, IRRWG working group, SWAC
  • September 20, 2023 update - October meetings and September recordings 
  • September 14, 2023 update - Upcoming September and October Meetings
  • August 31, 2023 update - EPR, Bottle Bill and SWAC
  • July 13, 2023 update - FWP/FR Working Session, Gas Cylinder Public Comments 
  • July 6, 2023 update - Upcoming & Past Meetings 
  • June 13, 2023 update - Upcoming Meetings 
  • May 22, 2023 update - Tomorrow! Support and Incentivize Businesses 
  • May 16, 2023 update - Next week Support & Incentivize Businesses 
  • May 3, 2023 update - Upcoming IRRWG Meetings 
  • March 21, 2023 update – RWA Grant Q&A, legislation, upcoming meetings, and recordings of past meetings
  • March 13, 2023 update – Upcoming meeting, myth busters, and recordings of past meetings
  • March 1, 2023 update – Full Coalition and IRRWG meetings
  • February 23 2023 update - promotes current waste efforts in CT, next Full Coalition meeting and IRRWG meeting with full agenda
  • February 15 2023 update - current waste efforts in Connecticut, includes information about CMMS Amendment, DEEP’s RFI for Infrastructure, Governor’s Bill and public hearing dates
  • January 23, 2023 update - promotes next IRRWG meeting in March, provides recording of January IRRWG meeting January 10, 2023
  • December 28 2022  update - promotes IRRWG meeting in January, provides recording of December EPR WG meeting
  • December 13, 2022 update - includes links to upcoming working group meetings
  • November 14, 2022 update - includes links to upcoming working group meetings
  • October 24, 2022 update - includes links to upcoming working group meetings and Center for EcoTechnology business event on Reducing, Rescuing, and Recycling Food Waste: Solutions and Success Stories for Business
  • August 21, 2022 update - includes links to upcoming working group meetings and a recording of the August 1st Increase Reuse and Recycling Working Group meeting
  • July 28, 2022 update – includes links to upcoming working group meetings and a recording of the July 20th EPR Working Group meeting
  • July 11, 2022 update - includes links to upcoming working group meetings and a recording of the June Full Coalition Meeting
  • June 8, 2022 update - includes link to upcoming full coalition meeting and Center for EcoTechnology business recycling assistance information
  • February 2, 2022 update - includes link to upcoming full coalition meeting and coalition member projects in the news
  • January 20, 2022 update
  • October 20, 2021 update
  • September 22, 2021 update
  • August 5, 2021 update
  • July 27, 2021 update – includes links to upcoming Learning Series program, Bottle Bill Stakeholder Kick-Off meeting and full Coalition recording
  • July 15, 2021 update – includes links to upcoming full coalition meeting and upcoming Learning Series program
  • June 22, 2021 update - includes links to the upcoming full-coalition meeting, new learning series opportunities, the upcoming SWAC meeting and DEEP job opportunities
  • May 24, 2021 update - includes links to Lee Sawyer Community Waste Reduction and Recycling Grant RFP Info Session
  • April 26, 2021 update - includes links to the recording of two Learning Series topics: Hauler Registrations and Collecting Food Scraps in Town, the RecycleCT Lee Sawyer grant and April 1 full-group CCSMM recording
  • March 15, 2021 update - includes links to the recording of the Organics Infrastructure Forum and the client concierge permit assistance information
  • February 18, 2021 update - includes links to the recording of the CGA Environment Committee meeting
  • February 4, 2021 update - includes links to final Menu of Options and the Survey results about the Menu of options
  • December 23, 2020 update - includes links to recording of mid-point check in meeting and working group report out
  • November 25, 2020 update - includes links to recording of #4 Working Group meetings and Full Coalition Mid-Point Check-In meeting
  • November 10, 2020 update - includes links to recording of #3 Working Group meetings and recording of EJ & Equity Presentation
  • October 29, 2020 update - includes links to recording of #2 Working Group meetings and recording of EJ & Equity Presentation
  • October 19, 2020 update - includes links to recording of #1 Working Group meetings
  • October 6, 2020 update
  • Kick-off meeting email
Additional Information:  

  Content Last Updated on March 21, 2024.