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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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.

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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.

13. Best Practices

14. 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.

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

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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

21. 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.

22. 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

23. Discussion/Analysis

24. 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.

25. 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

26. 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.

27. Recommendations and Next Steps

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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.