Steve Bean, transfer station manager in Littleton, NH, and Brian Patnoe, solid waste manager in Lancaster, NH, were recently named recipients of the Northeast Resource Recovery Association (NRRA) recycling awards. The awards recognize organizations and individuals for their contributions in support of NRRA’s partnership mission to strengthen recycling through economical and environmentally friendly solutions. The awards were announced at the NRRA’s 40th anniversary annual meeting on November 10.
Each year, the NRRA rewards a solid waste operator who is new to their position for their initiative and connection with the NRRA. Bean was named Rookie of the Year and Patnoe was named Recycler of the Year.
Bean became manager of the transfer station in early 2021. Littleton is one of NRRA’s Processed Glass Aggregate (PGA) host sites, where the glass is ground into aggregate and used in projects for infrastructure. Bean oversaw the use of the crushed glass on site to build a new staging area for the PGA program. “The NRRA enjoys working with Steve, and Littleton is fortunate to have his knowledge and leadership,” said Reagan Bissonnette of the NRRA.
Patnoe started working in the recycling business as a freshman in high school in 1998. What he thought was a temporary three-week job turned into a lifelong passion. After working part-time while in high school at the Lancaster Transfer Station, he obtained his Associate’s degree in Computer Information Systems from NHTI (New Hampshire Technical Institute) and co-founded the NHTI Recycling Group. After graduation in 2003 he worked at Littleton Transfer Station and eventually took over as Manager in 2013. In early 2021 he became Manager of Lancaster Transfer Station and was recently appointed by the NH Municipal Association as a representative of rural communities. communities with source-separated recycling on the NH Solid Waste Working Group, which is designed to help plan the future of New Hampshire’s solid waste.