Household Waste Reduction Tatiana Gelaf, Fiona Grey, and Hannah Liu September 6th, 2014

Objectives Understand/explain the waste items included and excluded (and key assumptions) in the Mass-DEP figures for Waste Per Household for the towns of Dover, Needham, Wellesley and Medfield Compare household waste management practices employed by these towns, identifying those practices that appear to be contributing to achieving more recycling and less waste per household Propose best practices that should be considered by the Town of Dover to improve their recycling and waste per household

Research The research composed of compiling data using figures found online on the Mass-DEP and town websites and conducting research with members of the surrounding towns Kathi Mirza - Mass-DEP Regional Municipal Assistance Coordinator Gordon Martin - Recycling and Disposal Facility Superintendent in Wellesley Ann Dorfman - Former Superintendent of Recycling and Solid Waste Division in Needham Kenneth Feeney - Superintendent of Public Works in Medfield Carol Rubenstein - Chairperson for Recycling in Sherborn

Definitions Solid Waste - trash or garbage consisted of everyday items that are used and discarded by the public, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, wood, food scraps, appliances, paint, and batteries. Recyclables - Raw or processed material that can be recovered from a waste stream for reuse, such as paper, plastic and glass bottles, clothing, electronics, cardboard http://www.epa.gov/waste/hazard/dsw/index.htm http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/recyclable-material.html

Measures of waste considered in our research Solid Waste Per Household (lbs/HH): A measure of the amount of waste, not including recyclables or reused items, in pounds per household per year. Solid Waste Per Capita (lbs/capita): A measure of the amount of waste, not including recyclables or reused items, in pounds per person per year. Recycling Percentage (% Recycling): The amount of waste recycled out of total waste produced (trash+recycling). Does not include e-waste or yard waste.

Case Study Towns % Recycling Trash (lbs/HH) Trash (lbs/Capita) PAYT Dover 23.4% 2,084 684 No Needham 30.6% 1,725 438 Yes Sherborn 31.3% 2,400 758 Medfield 33.1% 2,429 890 Natick 35.5% 1,163 383 Wellesley 43.8% 1,651 483

Case Study: Natick Stats: Notable Practices: 1,163 lbs/HH ~383 lbs/Capita 35.5% Recycling Notable Practices: PAYT Annual Recycling Day for collection of recyclables not generally collected at transfer station Website with information about the transfer station/news regarding waste management.

Case Study: Wellesley Stats: Notable Practices: Not PAYT 1,651 lbs/HH 483 lbs/capita 43.8% Recycling Notable Practices: Not PAYT Many options for diverting waste to reuse/recycling Encourages townspeople to divert waste through Step Up! program

Case Study: Needham Stats: Notable Practices: 1,725 lbs/HH 438 lbs/capita 30.6% Recycling Notable Practices: PAYT About ⅔ of the households (6,250) choose to participate in PAYT about ⅓ of the households pay to have private haulers pick up trash and recyclables at their home

Case Study: Sherborn Stats Notable Practices: 2,400 lbs/HH ~758 lbs/capita (2010 pop. used). 31.3% Recycling Notable Practices: Not PAYT Allow rigid plastics (glass, metal plastics) to co-mingle (aka single streaming) Bigger swap shop, which gives unclaimed items away to charities instead of throwing it away like Dover does The swap shop accepts furniture, whereas furniture in Dover gets thrown away Allows out-of-town people to take items from the swap shop

Case Study: Medfield Stats: Notable Practices: 2,429 lbs/HH 890 lbs/capita 33.1% recycling Notable Practices: Not PAYT Single-stream recycling implemented 4 years ago. 4% increase recycling -333 tons +$25,000 Guides are made available online which provide alternative resources for getting rid of waste and describe town policies and regulations in waste management.

Best Practices

PAYT/SMART: What and Why? Best Practices: PAYT/SMART: What and Why? What: Citizens pay a fee for each bag of waste that they throw out, excluding recyclables. Why: Towns who have implemented this program produce, on average, drastically lower pounds per household and have a significantly higher recycling percentage.

Best Practices: PAYT/SMART Recycling % for PAYT towns is 9.16 percentage points higher than that of non-PAYT towns

Best Practices: PAYT/SMART PAYT towns tend to produce significantly fewer pounds of trash per household. PAYT households produce, on average, 661 fewer pounds of, or 37% less waste.

More Options for Diverting Waste: What and Why? Best Practices: More Options for Diverting Waste: What and Why? What: Providing more options for recycling and for reusing via donations. Why: Giving citizens more options would prevent them from throwing recyclable/reusable materials in the trash, and therefore reduce household waste. Diverting from waste to recycling also reduces cost to the town (estimated at $100 per ton), as getting rid of waste is more expensive than getting rid of re-used recycled materials.

Diverting Waste: Wellesley Best Practices: Diverting Waste: Wellesley Recycling/reuse options that Dover doesn’t provide: Books and book exchange Wood products Stone/brick/concrete Waste oil Tires Paint Textiles Home composters and recycling containers made available for purchase at their transfer station Wellesley also makes more distinctions between types of recyclables (e.g. metals and glass), making their recycling more environmentally clean and economically profitable.

Diverting Waste: Wellesley Best Practices: Diverting Waste: Wellesley Wellesley, with no PAYT, has the highest recycling percentage of all neighboring towns at 43.8% Wellesley’s recycling revenue and cost savings benefits amounted to almost $1.5 million in the fiscal year of 2013.

E-Waste Recycling of Surrounding Towns Best Practices: E-Waste Recycling of Surrounding Towns Medfield - fee of between $5 and $25 for TVs and computer monitors, depending on size and type. All other electronics are accepted free of charge. Needham - all-in-one computers such as the iMac, computer monitors, and any size TVs have a fee of $15. All other electronics are accepted free of charge. Sherborn - TVs are recycled for a free but all other e-waste can be recycled for free in the Electronics Shed. Natick - computers and TVs have a fee of $25. Millis - computers, monitors, TVs, stereo equipment, and microwave ovens have a fee of $40 each. Limit 2 per Transfer Station sticker per day

Single-Stream Recycling Best Practices: Single-Stream Recycling Definition: a recycling system where all recyclables are mixed in a container instead of being sorted individually by the depositor by type Medfield implemented single-stream recycling 4 years ago and saw a 4 percent recycling increase and saved $25,000. Tonnage dropped 333 tons out of 4,000 tons Dover Trucking switched to single-stream in April of 2013, and their average total pounds of recycling collected has since risen from 9968 to 14,249 Makes recycling easier for the residents because they don’t need to hand sort all their recyclables Save money because more recycling = more savings Less clutter and chaos at the transfer station because residents no longer need to dispose each type of recyclable in its respective container.

Best Practices: Spreading Awareness Medfield creates pamphlets and web-based forms that spread awareness about recycling Dover has a free, weekly food waste collection service, paid for by taxes through the Department of Health. The food waste, including all kitchen waste such as bones, egg shells, fruit and vegetable matter (including peels and tops), moldy cheese, spoiled meat and poultry, becomes pig food. Only 10-20% of residents use this free service

Discussion/Analysis

PAYT/SMART Considerations Discussion/Analysis: PAYT/SMART Considerations Receiving public approval: Be mindful of the name Offer tax-cuts at a fixed rate or as a percentage of property taxes to balance the cost of throwing out trash. Offer greater recycling options Fundings: Mass-DEP often offers grants to those towns implementing PAYT, as they have seen it succeed consistently. How? Neighboring towns have worked with local businesses to sell trash bags to be used by the townspeople. The cost of these bags is what the townspeople pay for dumping.

Discussion: Dover Practice for E-Waste Discussion/Analysis: Discussion: Dover Practice for E-Waste Dover residents recycled around 28.2 tons of electronics in 2013, including televisions and computer monitors Currently, residents can recycle an unlimited amount of electronics at the transfer station for free Televisions and computer monitors require a tremendous amount of manpower to transport, increasing the likelihood of injury. All the surrounding towns have a fee for recycling televisions and monitors, either at a flat rate or at a rate proportional to size

Providing More Options for Diverting Waste: Methods Discussion/Analysis: Providing More Options for Diverting Waste: Methods Expanding the transfer station in size. Having periodic collections days (similar to that of Natick) for recyclables that are not usually collected at the transfer station. Providing periodic, curbside pickup of recyclables that are not usually collected at the transfer station. Recommend recycling TVs at other companies such at Office Depot, Samsung, and Sony for free. Best Buy takes computers and small TVs for free.

Recommendations and Next Steps

Recommendations and Next Steps: PAYT Send a survey to the townspeople describing the program and its benefits, and gauging public approval of the program under varying circumstances (with tax cuts, without tax cuts, etc.) Do further research on the logistics for implementing the program: How to receive a Mass-DEP grant How to balance tax cuts with fees imposed on citizens How to continue long term funding of the program How to impose the fee

Recommendations and Next Steps: Single-Stream Recycling Further research on the proven economic and environmental benefits of single-stream recycling. Further research on possible drawbacks of single- stream recycling (i.e. contamination). Investigation into the logistics of implementing single- stream in Dover: changes at the transfer station new customers to whom we can sell single-stream recyclables

Recommendations and Next Steps: E-waste Investigate if out-of-town people are taking advantage of Dover’s e-waste recycling or whether there is an unusually high e-waste per capita (8-9 lbs/capita per year) Investigate if charging money for each computer and TV or limiting the number of computers and TVs will adversely impact the town Considering moving the e-waste container farther away from the gate to prevent out-of-town people from dumping their e- waste in the Dover e-waste container

Other Recommendations and Next Steps Consider expanding options and implementing new methods for diversion of trash. Work on spreading awareness of programs Dover currently has via schools, the internet, pamphlets, and the newspaper.