Upcoming Events
Webinar: Recycling in the Workplace - Research on Bin Type and Placement;
Wed. Feb 4, 1pm - 2pm
Register Here
Webinar: Food, Too Good To Waste - Successes and Lessons from Communities
Tues, Feb. 10,12:30-2pm Register HereWebinar: Increasing Packaging RecyclingProduct Stewardship Institute Thurs, Feb. 5, 2-3:30pmRegister HereWebinar: Connecting Rural HHW Program Manager to Manufacturer-Funded Take-Back ProgramsThurs. Feb. 12, 2-3:30pm The first of a special 4-part FREE webinar series!Learn More and Register Here Tour of Complete Recycling Solutions: Sponsored by MassRecycle Feb. 18th, 9AM 1075 Airport Road Fall River, MA 02720 CRS is a processor of mercury-containing household products and other universal waste and was our featured expert organization during our R3 Webinar on Mercury Management. Come see how your universal waste is processed safely! R3 Tours are FREE to full municipal members and MassRecycle Members, $10 to basic municipal members, and $20 to nonmembers. Register today!2015 R3 Recycling & Organics Conference & Trade Show March 30th, 2015 Quincy Marriott Learn More Here MassDEP Sustainable Materials Recovery Program Grants Workshop Early May - Exact Date TBA
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If a business needs help setting up a recycling program- you now have a number to give them. Call (888) 254-5525 or email info@RecyclingWorksMA.com 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. |
Funded in part through a grant from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protections
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Contact Me:
Dave Quinn Regional Waste Reduction Coordinator, Barnstable County dquinn@barnstablecounty.org (508) 375-6974
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 Using data submitted by Massachusetts' municipalities, the map shows the average "pounds per household" for each city/town in the state in 2013. The greenest communities are the ones that produce the least amount of trash per household. Not surprisingly, communities with Pay-As-You-Throw tend to produce less trash on average. If you're interested in comparing 2013 with previous years to see if you've made progress, here is the 2012 map and 2011 map. MassDEP is in the process of collecting 2014 data from municipalities. Click here to access ReTRAC Connect and complete your 2014 Recycling Survey. In addition to being used in this colorful map, the data is required to be eligible for any MassDEP grants. Contact me with questions at dquinn@barnstablecounty.org.
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Commonwealth Magazine Asks: Is This The Best We Can Do?
This month's edition of Commonwealth Magazine has a good overview of solid waste management in Massachusetts, the challenges we face, and how we can do better.
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The Uncertain Future of the Upper Cape Regional Transfer Station
The Upper Cape Regional Transfer Station (UCRTS), located on the grounds of Joint Base Cape Cod, has served as a disposal location for trash from Mashpee, Falmouth, Sandwich, and local private haulers for decades. Once tipped at the UCRTS the trash was loaded onto rail cars and sent to Covanta SEMASS, the waste-to-energy facility Rochester, MA. | | Train from Joint Base CC to SEMASS |
However, with the towns' SEMASS contacts ending on December 31, 2014, the UCRTS has now officially closed. It's unclear whether the closure is permanent or if the facility will be used for some other public purpose in the future. In order to answer that question, the four towns that operate the facility (Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, Mashpee) are working with the Cape Cod Commission to try and secure funding to conduct a feasibly study.
If funded, the study would examine potential re-use of the UCRTS for a regional food waste, sludge composting, recycling facility, commercial solid waste, or other difficult-to-manage waste and determine the condition, cost and feasibility of expanding the use of the rail line for freight, food waste and/or recycling programs.
Click here for a recent Mashpee Enterprise story on the UCRTS.
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NPR Story on a New Composting Business in Falmouth According to the EPA, Americans throw out 14 percent of the food we buy. And all but 2 percent of that goes into landfills. On the Local Food Report, Elspeth Hay talks with Falmouth resident Mary Ryther about her new composting business that's working to change that.
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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.
Good Riddance to the Foam Take-Out Carton, New York Times Opinion, Jan. 28, 2015, Read Article...
Statewide Bag Ban Back on R.I. Agenda. EcoRI News, Jan. 24 2015, Read Article...
Q&A on future of Upper Cape trash-transfer station on Joint Base Cape Cod. Wicked Local Bourne, Jan. 20, 2015. Read Article...
Pay-As-You-Throw pays in Brewster, Wicked local Brewster, Jan. 9, 2015, Read Article...
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