Solid Waste Strategies: Maximizing Diversion Amy Donovan Franklin County Solid Waste Management District

1. Amy Donovan
Program Director
Franklin County Solid Waste Management District
2012 Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors (MAPD) Conference

2. • Regional management of municipal solid waste
• Member municipalities pay assessments
• Fee for service
Services:
• Bundle waste hauling bids
• Educational services
• Regional grants, special projects
• Hazardous/ special waste collections
Mass DEP Sustainable Materials Recycling Program Grant:
Pilot Programs and Regional Initiatives
Formation of Regional Solid Waste/Recycling District
• “…significant potential for more regional cooperation in certain areas.”
• $10,000 - $50,000 in funding for a 1-year project or $10,000 -
$100,000 for a 2-year project.

3. Hilltown Resource Management Cooperative
Southern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District

4.  Bernardston
 Buckland
 Charlemont
 Colrain
 Conway
 Deerfield
 Erving
 Gill
 Hawley
 Heath
 Leverett
 Leyden
 Montague
 New Salem (CC since 2009)
 Northfield (CC since 2008)
 Orange (CC since 2011)
 Rowe
 Shelburne
 Sunderland
 Warwick
 Wendell
 Whately (CC since 2003)
22 member towns: 500 square miles, 30 public schools,
17 transfer stations, 4 municipal compost programs

5.  Annual Household Hazardous Waste Day
 Biannual Bulky Waste Day (+ e-waste)
 Sharps Disposal Program
 Special Event Recycling Materials Loan Program
 What Do I Do With…? 350 items listed
 www.franklincountywastedistrict.org
 MassRecycle’s Recycler of the Year:
 FC Solid Waste District, Municipal Program, 1996
 Jan Ameen, Executive Director, 2005
 Amy Donovan, Program Director, 2011
 www.massrecycle.org

6.  MRF currently pays 74 western Mass municipalities
$15.67/ton + revenue, now about $45/ton
 Solid Waste District on MRF Advisory Board (MAB)
 MAB = annual Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Guide
 www.springfieldmrf.org

7. “Commercial Composting”=
“Organics Recycling”=
“On-Farm”=
“Food Waste”
…goes way beyond the backyard bin!

8. Generally accepts:
 All food including items not composted at home:
 Meat, chicken, fish, bones, dairy, fats, oils
 All paper including non recyclable:
 Paper cups, paper plates, napkins, paper towels, waxed
cardboard, soiled paper, soiled pizza boxes
 Wood: skewers, chopsticks, coffee stirrers, sporks
 “Compostable plastic:” PLA cups, certain bags
 NO plastic, metal, glass, foil, etc.!

10.  Save money on tipping fees:
 MSW (trash): $75/ ton
 Compostables: $45/ ton
 Reduce trash p/u or dumpster size = reduced
trash disposal /hauling costs
 Supports infrastructure for organics recycling:
local composting facilities, farms, anaerobic
digestion
 Saves space in landfills
 Creates valuable soil amendment from waste
 Mitigates climate change!

11. Climate Change is caused by greenhouse gases in
our atmosphere.
Greenhouse Gases:
Carbon Dioxide
Methane
Nitrous Oxide
(School slides)

12. • Biodegradables decaying in anaerobic landfills release methane.
• Methane is a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than carbon
dioxide.
• Landfill Gas Recovery not always a solution.
• For every ton of food waste composted, nearly a ton of greenhouse
gas emissions is avoided (MassDEP).
Methane pipe at a landfill

13. More info:
Why doesn’t composting release methane? Because oxygen is part of
the composting process (aerobic). There is no oxygen in a landfill.
Windrow turner
at Martin’s Farm,
Greenfield, MA

14. Martin’s Farm accepts 10 tons/organics day from schools:
Pioneer HS,
Turners Falls HS
Mohawk HS,
Northfield ES,
Deerfield ES,
Erving ES,
Sunderland ES,
Amherst, more..
transfer
stations:
Northfield,
Vernon VT,
markets:
Big Y stores,
Stop & Shop,
Co-Op Markets,
plus
restaurants…

15. Windrows at Martin’s Farm:
150 yards long

16. Windrows
Bear Path Farm, Whately MA

19.  San Francisco, Seattle, Ontario, Halifax NS
Massachusetts:
 Only 1 municipal curbside program:
 Hamilton/ Wenham
 (About 8 municipal drop off programs)
 Mass DEP SMRP grant opportunities
San Francisco’s
compost, trash, recycle bins

20. Gill Elementary: all food, milk
cartons, paper in green
compostable bag
Bag= “Comp-lete” from
Fortune Plastics
• 15 of 30 FCSWMD schools
• Up to 89% of school lunch can
be composted
• + kitchen, classroom waste
2 yard compost dumpster:

21.  Plan for plenty of space for different types of dumpsters
 Loading docks: adequate electrical for compactors
 Pictured: One 8 yard trash dumpster and two 8 yard
organics dumpsters at Pioneer Valley Regional School,
Northfield, which has a 70% diversion rate.

22. Free resources:
 MA DEP Green Team: free recycling/ composting
equipment, activities, contests
 www.thegreenteam.org
 ACE Climate Assembly: www.acespace.org
Mass DEP SMRP Grants:
 School districts
 School organics

23.  5 eateries, 1 shared compost dumpster
 Cost is prorated according to volume
 SFABA and FCSWMD manage program
 Shredded paper: Mirick Insurance, Trailside Health (free)
 Bridge of Flowers: garden waste (free)

25.  EPA and MassDEP: less than 5% food waste is
currently diverted from disposal.
 MA could increase diversion by 1 million tons.
 MassDEP Solid Waste Master Plan:
 2014: Waste Ban on Commercial Food Waste
 Need more infrastructure for implementation
 MassDEP Sustainable Materials Recovery Program
Grant:
 New regional Anaerobic Digester and/or Food Waste
Composting Projects
 $500,000

26.  www.recyclingworksma.com
 FREE – assists businesses and institutions to
maximize recycling, reuse, and composting
opportunities.
 “Find-A-Recycler” database
Pedal People,
Northampton’s
bike powered
waste haulers

27. Western MA:
 Triple T Trucking: dumpsters
 $70/ 2 yd., $130/ 4 yd., p/u weekly
 Alternative Recycling: toters
 Allied Waste: dumpsters
Eastern MA:
 Save That Stuff, Cambridge/ Boston
 EL Harvey, Central/ Eastern MA
 Black Earth Hauler, North Shore
Compost Facilities:
 www.findacomposter.com
 Sumner Martinson, MassDEP
 Your DEP Municipal Assistance Coordinator (MAC)

28. Waste Diversion: public spaces,
special events

29.  25,000 attendees, 4 days
 2011 Fair: 29% diversion rate
 50% savings: disposal costs

30. Pictured: Recycling
Volunteers at
Conway Festival of
the Hills
Solid Waste
District’s
Special Event Bin
Loaner Program

31. Shelburne Falls and
Northampton MA:
MassCor: $170 each
Green Communities:
Big Belly solar trash
compactor / recycle
bin
RecycleAway.com:
Bins for municipalities

32. Amy Donovan
Program Director
Franklin County Solid Waste Management District
50 Miles Street
Greenfield, MA 01301
(413) 772-2438
amy@franklincountywastedistrict.org
www.franklincountywastedistrict.org