Upcoming Events

 

QUESTION 2 (Yes or No)? A Webinar Presenting Both Sides of the Bottle Bill 

Tuesday, October 28th 2014 at 12:00 pm

Click here to register for this MassRecycle webinar. 

 

Webinar - Introduction to the State Electronics Challenge

October 30, 2014, 3pm.

The State Electronics Challenge is a free program open to local, regional, tribal, and state governments, including public & private K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and non-profit organizations.

Click here to register 

 

Webinar - Mercury Management  

MassRecycle will be hosting a webinar on mercury management on Tuesday, November 4th at 12:00pm. Details will be posted
at http://www.massrecycle.org/  

 

NERC Fall Conference

November 6 - 7, 2014

Lord Jeffrey Inn, Amherst, MA

To see agenda, click here.

To register, click here.

 

Free SMART/PAYT Workshop and lunch!

November 13, 2014

Ashland Community Center

RSVP to Kathi Mirza at [email protected] or

(508) 821-9469.

Click here for more information about this workshop.  

 

Free Webinar - THE CHANGING "WASTE STREAM"

November 13, 2014 at 1pm 

EPA's SMM Web Academy hosts Susan Robinson from Waste Management to learn more about our changing waste stream and its implications for material recovery.

Click here to register. 

Proper Mercury Recycling at Schools


Schools in SEMASS long-term contracted communities have access to incentives that will cover the cost of proper disposal and recycling old fluorescent and mercury containing bulbs through Covanta SEMASS.     

If elemental mercury is found at a school, do not touch it! Call SEMASS's preferred service provider (CRS) @ 866-CRS-9797 to arrange for an on-site pick up of elementary mercury and Covanta SEMASS will pay the bill.


Staff from the Center for EcoTechnology will be reaching out to schools this season to assist in identifying and arranging for free proper of fluorescent lamps and mercury containing items. Please contact Sean Pontani at [email protected] or 413-586-7350 x225 if you have any questions. 



 

 

 

 

 

 

If a business needs help setting up a recycling program- you now have a number to give them.

 

Call (888) 254-5525 or email [email protected]

 

The Recycling Works program is run by the Center for Eco Technology, under a contract with MassDEP.  

 

Click here to learn how to install the RecyclingWorks widget on your local website. 

Quick Links

Funded in part through a grant from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protections

 


Contact Me:

Dave Quinn 
Regional Waste Reduction Coordinator, 
Barnstable County 
(508) 375-6974  

In This Issue
Upcoming Events
Proper Mercury Disposal at Schools
Barnstable Waste Study
DEP Kicks-off Food Waste Ban
DEP Grant Awards Announced
Question 2 (Yes or No)?
In the News
 

Last month, a diversion rate study was conducted at the Barnstable Transfer Station by DSM Environmental to see how the Town is doing at recycling and how it can do better. The study will determine the recovery rates by material type (i.e. % glass bottles recycled versus brought in in the trash) as well as how they compare to other communities.



The trash sort involved having a four person sort crew on-site to randomly collect samples of trash and recycling from incoming users. Participation in the study was optional for residents and completely anonymous for those who did participate. The samples were dropped off at a designated area for sorting and weighing by material type, pulling recyclables from the trash and from the recycling. The study was funded through the Massachusetts Recycling Challenge.

We will share the results and recommendations from the study when they become available.
New Food Waste Ban in Effect.

On October 1st, MassDEP officially added food waste to the list of materials banned from disposal in Massachusetts. The new ban requires that any entity that disposes of at least one ton of organic material per week to donate or re-purpose the useable food. Any remaining food waste will be sent to composting or animal-feed operations or shipped to an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility, where it will be converted to clean energy.

 
Map of food waste disposal locations in Mass.
 
The disposal ban affects approximately 1,700 businesses and institutions, including supermarkets, colleges and universities, hotels, convention centers, hospitals and nursing homes, large restaurants, and food service and processing companies. It does not affect residences.

For more information on the food waste and organics ban, check out the MassDEP's web site.

Recycling Dividends Program (RDP) and Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP) Awards Announced
 
On September 16th, MassDEP announced the inaugural round of payments to municipalities qualifying for the new Recycling Dividends Program (RDP). Payments are based on the number of households served by the municipal solid waste and the features of its recycling program. Across the state, the grants ranged from the $1,200 given to the communities of Granby, Shutesbury and Williamsburg up to the $14,400 awarded to the City of Lowell. Awards to Cape Cod towns totaled $36,800 to nine towns (see the table below).

Town

RDP Payment

Barnstable

$4,800.00

Brewster

$5,600.00

Chatham

$5,200.00

Dennis

$3,200.00

Eastham

$3,600.00

Harwich

$4,400.00

Mashpee

$2,400.00

Sandwich

$2,800.00

Wellfleet

$4,800.00














Next year, DEP plans to make some adjustments to categories and increase some award amounts. Click here to read about the changes for next year's program.

In addition to the RDP grants, $63,650 was awarded to Cape Cod towns as a part of DEP's annual Sustainable Materials Recovery Program.  The grants will fund educational efforts, recycling compactors, food waste containers, and pay as you throw start-up funds. Click here for a full list of awards. 

 

Question 2 (Yes or No)?

Still haven't made up your mind on Question 2?  If that's the case, please join MassRecycle for a webinar on Question 2 to hear from both sides of the issue.



On October 28th, 12pm (Noon), come listen to the proponents and opponents to the expansion of the Bottle Bill before the vote on November 4th. Hear all the facts about the potential impacts on litter, waste, economics and existing public and private infrastructure!  Click here to register.
Thanks to MassDEP, all 351 municipalities enjoy a basic membership with MassRecycle, which includes discounted registration to the R3 Webinar Series and Tours
 
MassRecycle is accepting pertinent panel questions from the public to ask panelists until Friday, October 24th. To submit a question, please email [email protected]. 
In the News:

Here are a few solid waste and recycling related stories from around the Cape and beyond.  Click on the underlined links below to read the full articles. 

Bourne Selectmen Sign Harvest Power Land Lease, Bourne Currier, Sept. 19, 2014, Read Article...

Mashpee Selectmen Hear From Residents on Pay As You Throw.  CapeCod.com, Oct. 16, 2014, Read Article...
 
Plastic Bags in the news:
  • Falmouth Town Meeting To Vote On Single-Use Bag Ban, Falmouth Enterprise, Oct. 7, 2014, Read Article... 
  • Provincetown gets second chance to ban plastic bags, Cape Cod Times, Oct. 8, 2014, Read Article...
  • California Becomes First State to Ban Plastic Bags, CBS News, Sept. 30, 2014, Read Article...