Summer 2004 News

EBoard Re-elected

The SSRC Board unanimously accepted the slate of candidates for Executive Board, which consisted of the same dedicated officers that served in FY04. At our May meeting, Nominating Committee members Tom Burnett (Whitman) and Helga Jorgensen (Hingham) reported that all current officers were willing to run for reelection for FY05. Merle Brown (Cohasset) will continue in his second year as Chairman, as will Steve Herrmann (Hanover) as Vice Chairman. Joanne Dirk (Norwell) has been an outstanding Treasurer for the 5 ½ years the SSRC has existed, and before that for its predecessor SSRRDPB, as has John McNabb in his role as Secretary. We thank them for their willingness to continue serving in these important leadership roles.

C&D, DTM Contract Awarded

With continued uncertainty about the future of Bourne’s ability to accept the SSRC’s 8-9 tons/year of Construction and Demolition (C&D) and Difficult to Manage (DTM) waste, the Cooperative put out a second RFP in a year for those services this spring. The Board evaluated the three proposals submitted at the June meeting. Phil Goddard of the Bourne ISWMF also offered a tip fee of $70/ton for mixed C&D/ DTM, $50/ton for grits and screenings, $30/ton for street sweepings and catch basin cleanings, and $25/ton for ABC. However, Bourne is unable to offer a written agreement, and they reserved the right to stop accepting any or all materials on short notice, as their currently open cell is limited in capacity. They also will not accept materials on Saturdays.

The ED pointed out the risks of continuing to rely on Bourne after doing two RFPs. Vice Chairman Steve Herrmann noted that Waste Management’s proposal appeared to be the most advantageous to the most member towns, citing JetAway’s inconvenient location in Roxbury and Atlantic North’s high price for mixed loads. The Board unanimously voted to award the two year contract to Waste Management, which has facilities in Taunton and Raynham. Call Brian Powers at 800-872-4545.

Cohasset, Hull, Marshfield Fairs

Recycle with SSRC Grant

On Friday June 18, EOEA Secretary Ellen Roy Herzfelder kicked off the recycling program at the Cohasset Arts Festival. For the first time, festival goers and vendors had an opportunity to recycle bottles, cans, paper and cardboard through DEP’s Municipal Recycling Technical Assistance Grant to the SSRC, which provided staff assistance, recycling bins, wheeled carts, and signs. Two truckloads of materials were recycled, which lightened the load of trash disposed from the Festival. The South Shore Art Center, organizer of the Festival, provided its sanitation crew to collect the recyclables, and Merle Brown, Chair of the SSRC, trucked them to Cohasset’s Recycling Transfer Facility, where the deposit containers were sorted by Boy Scouts and the other materials recycled. Fifty young artists created posters for the Festival's first "Recycling Poster Contest". Winners will receive T-shirts and winning posters will be displayed at the Center and may be used to publicize recycling at the Festival next year.

Hull Board member Nancy Kramer arranged to utilize containers and signs from the grant at Sustainable South Shore’s Climate InfoFest, July 17 from 10-2 at the Mary Jeanette Murray Bathhouse on Nantasket Beach. The SSRC will also have a booth there. Recovered containers will be taken to the Hull Recycling Center.

The biggest “disappearing act” for trash will be at the 10 day Marshfield Fair, running from Aug 20-29. In a heartwarming example of cooperation, DEP Grant Supervisor Ann McGovern, Marshfield recycling committee volunteer Bob Griffin, DPW officials Jeb DeLoach, Paul Tomkavage and Carol Hoy, Fair organizers Carlton Chandler and Roni LaHage, and the SSRC ED have mapped out the logistics of promoting, collecting, consolidating, transporting and recycling cardboard and plastic trays from the 150 vendors, and bottles and cans from the expected 200K fairgoers. It is an ambitious project, but has a successful precedent in the Lowell Folk Festival (see related article, p. 7). In addition to the tons of material that are expected to be recovered, this team’s efforts will remind nearly a quarter of a million people that recycling is important not only at home but also in public.

If you would like to throw your hat into the ring and help Fairgoers do the right thing with their trash, contact Ann McGovern at 617-292-5834 or ann.mcgovern@state.ma.us. Volunteers will receive a t-shirt and one-day pass to the Fair. For more information about Marshfield Fair, visit www.marshfieldfair.org.

Legislators Join Board

The SSRC hosted a Legislative Break-fast at Cameron’s on the Green on May 6. Representatives Tom O’Brien, Kathleen Teahan, Daniel Webster and Mark Carron met with our municipal solid waste managers, who shared their concerns about budget and legislative issues that will impact local recycling and waste reduction efforts.

Vice Chairman Steve Herrmann opened the event, stating, “I'm proud to be one of Hanover's representatives to the SSRC, which is a valuable resource to solid waste managers like myself. It helps us improve and run our programs in an environmentally and fiscally responsible manner. Each year we honor an elected official who shares our ideals.”

SSRC Secretary John McNabb of Cohasset presented Rep. Carron (D-Southbridge) with the SSRC’s third “Environmental Hero” award. Carron joins Rep. Tom O'Brien (D-Kingston) and Rep. Robert Koczera (D-New Bedford), who were named the first and second Environmental Heroes in 2000 and 2003. The SSRC gave the award in recognition of Carron's sponsorship and shepherding of H4535, “An Act to Require the Takeback of Used CRTs”, which would require electronics manufacturers to assume financial responsibility for proper disposal of televisions and computer monitors, which represent a growing and toxic segment of our waste stream.

In his acceptance speech, Carron stated, "In my hometown of Southbridge, I have seen the difficulty and expense involved in collecting and recycling a growing stream of electronics. It’s time for the companies that reap profits from selling these toxic products to take responsibility for their proper disposal.”

Sec. John McNabb, Rep. Daniel. Webster,

Rep. Tom O’Brien, Rep. Kathleen Teahan,

E.D. Claire Sullivan, Rep. Mark Carron,

Vice Chairman Steve Herrmann

ED Coming to a

Transfer Station Near You

One of the Executive Director’s summer “projects” is to visit member towns’ solid waste and town managers and tour their facilities. She has already met with Rockland’s Janice McCarthy, and is scheduling appointments with the other towns now. She will be reminding managers that she is available to review curbside RFPs, as she has done for Abington, Hull, and Whitman, discussing disposal options with towns whose end of contract is in sight, explaining the new C&D and mattress contracts, offering assistance with public outreach, and pay as you throw planning. She will also be seeking current vendor, hauler, pricing and fee information for the database, and HHP collection date requests for 2005. The meetings should take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the town’s needs.

Time to Schedule 2005 HHP Days

The ED will be asking HHP community coordinators to choose HHP dates for CY2005 this summer. Since most HHP collection contractors are booked well in advance, she asked the Board to decide now whether to do an RFP for FY06-07 collections, or to exercise our option to extend for one more year, through FY06. It was noted that after a rough start since they took over Safety Kleen, Clean Harbors’ performance has improved, and our pricing is better than what we would be able to obtain in a new bid. The Board voted unanimously to extend the CH contract through FY06, the final year the option is available.

Fall 2004 collections are scheduled as follows:

9/18/04 9 - 3 Marshfield Furnace Brook School, Rt. 139

9/25/04 9 – 1 Norwell Highway Dept., Rt. 123

10/2/04 9 – 1 Abington Hwy Dept., 225 Central St., w/ Whitman

and Holbrook

10/9/04 9 – 1 Plymouth DPW, 153 Camelot Dr.

10/16/04 9 -1:30 Weymouth DPW, 120 Winter St.

10/30/04 9 – 1 Hanover Transfer Station, Rt. 139, with Rockland

C&D Management Revisited

At our May Board meeting, John Kelso, the retired president of Construction Materials Recycling Ass’n, led a discussion about trends in construction material recycling, focusing on source separation. He recommended that building permits require source separation of C&D, discussed issues with gypsum wallboard, and focused on the separation of wood and metal. He reminded the Board that Boralex in Maine seeks clean wood, which Duxbury offered to consolidate and grind for our towns for a nominal fee. (Call Tom Daley at 781-934-1112 for more info), Transportation costs will be reduced when a proposed rail spur is built. He led a discussion on separating wood from C&D at municipal transfer stations. Difficulties with that include space, staffing, and contamination. Hearings on the proposed waste bans on several C&D materials, including wood, were just concluded. (See related article, page 6)

Waste Oil has Value

Duxbury’s Ed Vickers notified the ED that Cyn Oil had offered to pay 5¢/gal for Duxbury’s waste oil, so she did some further investigating. Cyn Environmental’s president Al Tucchi confirmed that clean waste oil has value, and the company is buying it from large generators, with a 200 gallon minimum. They will pay 5-7¢/gal, a price which may fluctuate on a yearly basis. The oil must pass a field test for contamination (i.e. PCBs, gasoline), and other petroleum based products including kerosene, transmission fluid, and gear oil is acceptable (no brake fluid). He offered 10¢/gal if all seven SSRC towns that take oil sell to them. Karen Tucchi, 781-341-5108.

To be fair, the ED offered Clean Harbors the opportunity to quote on waste oil. CH offered to pay 7¢/gal through the end of FY2005 with a 250 gallon minimum. Specifications are for fuel and motor oil only, with no pesticides, PCBs, or other contaminants. Some water is ok. Christopher Moran 1-800-522-4645.

New Outlet for Tubes

There’s a new kid on the block offering Universal Waste Recycling. At our April Board meeting, Keith Boyea presented information about his company, Complete Recycling Solutions, LLC. Located in Fall River, CRS recycles fluorescent tubes, ballasts, CRTs, batteries, and electronics. The company received its Class C, Level III (Universal Waste) Recycling permit in June, and is now processing fluorescent bulbs and mercury bearing devices on site. He plugged service as their priority, with pickups within 2-3 days of request, and very competitive pricing. Like competitor Onyx Environmental, CRS can provide packaging for all of the materials they handle, including special boxes for U tubes, which are usually difficult to pack. CRS processes electronics, reselling working units, demanufacturing the rest on site. He offered to conduct a tour of the facility, located off Eastern Ave. Clients include several towns, colleges, businesses and property management companies. CRS can be reached at 508-402-7700, kboyea@crsrecycling.com.

Onyx Environmental can (still) be reached at 781-341-6080.

American Waste Brokers

Dave Sullivan introduced the services of American Waste Brokers to our Directors at the June Board meeting. AWB arranges for the transportation and marketing of scrap metal and recyclables.

It transports scrap metal directly to the Proler scrap mill in Everett, which seeks more material. AWB can negotiate floor pricing, based on the American Metals Market, and hauling costs for scrap with towns individually, and will document Freon recovery, done by Interstate Refrigerant Recovery. Better pricing is offered for separated metals. They will provide 50 yard containers, and there is a 4 ton minimum (which is less than half full).

AWB also markets separated and commingled curbside recyclables to Casella and EL Harvey, and will haul C&D out of state to facilities not affected by the proposed waste bans. AWB brokered Roche Bros’ organics diversion program with the DEP Organics Subcommittee. He noted that the State is in need of more compost sites if full scale commercial organics diversion is to occur. AWB can be reached at 508-429-8894.

Market Updates from NRRA Conference

ÆSteve Thompson of the Aluminum Ass’n described aluminum as the most valuable commodity, with high demand and a declining recovery rate. Al-though its scrap value recently hit a high of 65¢/lb, recycling rates have declined from 67% to 50%. He attributed the decline to “hassle factor”, or lack of convenient recycling opportunities, and to the need for more public education on the importance of recy-cling this material. Bottle bill states have a much higher aluminum can recycling rate than non-deposit states.

(ED’s note: Remember global warming? Making a new can from dirt consumes a half can of fuel; recycling one requires a teaspoon. 100B cans/year are consumed in the US)

ÆSteel Recycling Institute’s Greg Crawford also noted steel’s energy saving quality, with a ton of new steel requiring 140 gallons of fuel to pro-duce, a ton of recycled steel consuming 40 gallons. As we know from gasoline prices, energy = $. The new Chinese appetite for scrap steel has driven prices up sharply since they hit an abysmal low from 1998-2003.

ÆSpot marketing paper to China is resulting in job loss and local plant closures here, and Moe Banville of North Shore Recycled Fibers emphasized the importance of long term commitments to sustain less volatile local markets. Pricing now stands at $50/ton for #6 news, $80 for #8 (baled and delivered). the good news is that recovery rates for paper passed the 50% mark this year.

ÆMichael Schedler of NAPCOR lamented low recovery rates for plastic. Similar to aluminum markets, demand exceeds supply, and the Chinese are aggressively buying the petroleum-based material. He noted a market for mixed plastics as it can now be combined with steel to make rebar for mine reinforcement, and that all plastics are marketable if in truckload quantities. He called for the inclusion of resource management in public policy.

Legislature Keeps Some $ for Waste Reduction

After receiving considerable input from the SSRC, MassRecycle and recycling advocates across the state, the House and Senate Con-ference Committee sent a FY05 Budget with a compromise recycling appropriation to the Governor right on schedule last month. Gov. Romney signed off on it with a minor lan-guage change. The final budget kept the Governor’s initial proposal of $3.51M (the same as was appropriated in FY04), but split it into two line items, ensuring a $1.375M subsidy for the State’s 60 remaining redemp-tion centers, and leaving $2.14M for all other state-run recycling programs and staff. The House had proposed this split in its budget, and had slashed the total by $1M. The Senate had proposed a single line item with the original request of $3.51M, earmarking $1.375M for redemption centers within the line item as was done last year.

A subsidy for redemption centers would not be necessary, but the handling fee they receive from the distributors, 2.25¢/container, has not been increased in 15 years, and efforts to raise it to a level sufficient to cover their costs, estimated at about 3¢/container, have been unsuccessful. MassRecycle re-quested that EOEA pursue this handling fee increase aggressively this year to avoid such a large portion of the recycling budget going to such a small segment of the recycling infrastructure.

The final appropriation for recycling represents a net decrease of another $600K to fund recycling grant and support programs, as the redemption centers did not qualify for their full earmark in FY04. Functionally, this will mean that DEP will be able to provide even less support and leadership for efficient solid waste management than it did in FY04, but it could have been worse.

ED’s Editorial: The State is certainly benefiting from the $40M +/ year it is taking in from unclaimed bottle deposits, which formerly went into the Clean Environment Fund to improve waste reduction and recycling programs. Let’s hope the budget has hit bottom, and that in FY05 the climate will be better to advocate for greater investment statewide education, infrastructure and sustainable waste management programs for the next year.

Hearings on C&D, LF Regs Held

After three years of stakeholder meetings and internal deliberations, DEP held four public hearings on its proposed amendments to the Solid Waste Management Facility Regulations in late June. The proposed changes to 310 CMR 19.000 include:

More stringent double liner requirements for new or expanding landfills
Completely revised Beneficial Use Determination (BUD) regulations that will provide a more tailored application and review process
New waste bans on asphalt, brick, concrete, metal and wood
Elimination of the ash monofill requirement which will allow ash and trash to be co-mingled in lined landfills
Streamlining the regulations by elimination of old, out of date transition requirements

The ED attended the first hearing in Worcester, but a lack of attendance had caused the meeting to end before her arrival. She forwarded her testimony to DEP Deputy Dir. of Regulatory Standards Jamie Doucett, which included the following:

“Stakeholders, including myself, have raised concerns at several meetings about the inclusion of “dirty” wood containing such toxic substances as arsenic, lead, chromium and creosote, as well as paint, varnish and glue, in the disposal ban. To my knowledge, no safe end use for this type of wood has been identified. The combustion facility in Maine, Boralex, which would like to burn our CDD wood for electricity in its paper mills, is currently prohibited from accepting treated wood by it’s own state’s air quality regulations.” DEP has responded that “C&D wood has other beneficial uses, such as a component of alternative daily cover and as a component of grading and shaping material at permitted lined landfills…new markets will not evolve unless the material is separated.”

She also pointed out that permit requirements which assumed the passage of the CDD waste bans have already resulted in well over $100,000/year in additional processing costs for our member towns that accept it. DEP reminded her of the arduous permit process for Bourne, and of the exemption for municipalities accepting quantities less than 5 CY. However, SEMASS’ specs prohibit many C&D materials in their usual form, so towns that accept it must still consolidate it, and send it either out of state or to an approved processing facility. The good news is that “Additional C&D processing capacity has been approved and more is planned, including in Southeastern Mass. Additional competition should limit upward pricing pressure.”

The written comment period has been extended through July 30. Comments may be forwarded to James Doucett, Business Compliance Division, Department of Environmental Protection, 1 Winter Street, Boston, MA. 02108. For more information, go to http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/dswm/dswmpubs.htm, and scroll halfway down to “Solid Waste Regulations”.

DEP Disposal Fee Tabled

Early in the FY05 budget process, the Governor had directed DEP to fully fund all compliance and enforcement programs through fees to further reduce its dependence on the General Fund. The Department received a reprieve from this budget directive and ultimately was level funded for FY05. This enabled DEP’s proposed solid waste compliance fee increase of 70¢/ton for FY05 to be put on hold. The proposed fee, announced at its March 25 Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) meeting, was intended to fund its Solid Waste Compliance and Enforcement Program, but faced stiff opposition and legal issues. The proposed fee increase, which would have been assessed on commercial waste only, together with existing fees would have brought in approximately $3.3 million annually to DEP. The State’s WTE facilities asserted that the cost would have still been passed through to their municipal customers through a Change In Law surcharge, and thus would have been characterized as a tax rather than a fee.

A more open process to determine how best to fund these programs independent of the GF in FY06 will begin in the fall through the SWAC. Stay tuned.

$1M More for MACT Relief!

Although the 3-year WTE grant extension through the Renewable Energy Trust has not been voted by the legislature yet, an additional $1M will be made available to SEMASS communities, thanks to support by Sen. O’Leary. This amount will cover the remaining 10% of capital expenses for mercury retrofits mandated in 1999, further reducing the CIL fee for that cost by about half, in most cases $7.50/ton, for the life of contracts for towns that sign the grant money over to SEMASS.

NRRA Puts on Another Great Show

The Northeast Resource Recovery Ass’n did it again, hosting another fun and motivating 2-day conference in early June. Over 300 recycling professionals traveled to beautiful Waterville Valley, NH, the ED’s home away from home, to be inspired, connect with vendors, bid on items sublime to silly, and party with our cohorts.

Keynote speaker Ned Reynolds reminded us about the significant influence waste reduction has in reversing the climate change now being caused by global warming. He quoted a Pentagon spokesman who referred to the phenomenon as “the mother of all national security issues”. (The movie “The Day After Tomorrow” depicts an accelerated version of the real thing. ED gives it a thumbs up)

Then the Conference got down to the practical, running seven sessions of 3 concurrent panels/ workshops each. One of the first panels discussed market trends for recyclable commodities (see previous article).

Toronto’s residential food waste collection and zero waste as an achievable goal were topics among the other 20 tracks at the Conference.

Worthy of note: the Massachusetts contingent was so hot on the dance floor, most of our northern neighbors just watched in awe at the after hours party.

(Consider that a challenge for next year’s Conference! -ED)

ED “Talks Trash” at Conference

Solid waste professionals from across the State learned about the SSRC at SWANA-Mass Chapter’s “Let’s Talk Trash!” Conference on June 17. SSRC Executive Director Claire Sullivan shared the podium with Jan Ameen, her counterpart at the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District and President of MassRecycle, to explain both regional pro-grams to many of their 122 colleagues in attendance. The ED’s took turns describing their organizations’ structures, contracts, technical assistance services, outreach and advocacy efforts. In spite of their after-lunch slot, hardly anybody in the audience was caught snoozing.

The daylong Conference, coordinated by Franklin DPW’s Morgan Harriman, had 35 sponsors, and featured 20 private, gov’t and nonprofit exhibits. Bob Golledge, Commissioner of Mass. DEP, gave the keynote address, in which he voiced concern about the trend toward local and legislative opposition to the siting of recycling and solid waste processing and transfer stations. He announced that DEP will revisit the Solid Waste Master Plan this fall, realizing that the landscape has changed since the Master Plan’s adoption in 2000. The state of our solid waste infrastructure and our future needs must be reconciled.

The Conference also included presentations by panels of experts who discussed C&D waste management, technology in the waste world, creative uses for catch basin cleanings and street sweepings, and wrapped up with discussions on disposal contract negotiation and an update on the proposed disposal fee increases (see related article). Best of all, it offered an opportunity for people from the public, private and nonprofit sectors who are passionate about efficient waste management to get together, eat a delicious lunch, learn what’s new, and “talk trash”.

Lowell Folk Fest Call For Help

It’s that time of year again. Music is in the air, food is on the table, cans are in the bins and the compost is cooking. On Friday night, July 23, Saturday, July 24, and Sunday afternoon, July 25 there will be six stages located throughout downtown Lowell and about thirty ethnic food booths. Recycling King Pat Scanlon is issuing his annual "Call for Help" for the Recycling / Composting Program at the Lowell Folk Festival, the largest festival of its kind in the country with 200,000+ expected.

Every year recycling coordinators and others from across the state help out. This year Carl Hurst, the head of recycling from the Pennsylvania DEP will volunteer for the entire three days to experience first hand the recycling and composting at the festival.

Since 2000 pilot program Pat’s crew has collected, sorted and sent for recycling over 98,000 beverage containers. In the past two years, they sent to Agresource Inc. in Ipswich the food and paper waste from over 100,000 meals for composting, for over a 90% diversion rate for the beverage and food and paper waste generated at the festival. This year they are striving for a 95% rate. Last year they distributed over 2000 little bags of compost made from the waste discarded the previous year. (That was the ED’s job)

All volunteers receive a Recycling Team T-shirt and hat and free admission to the festival.

If you would like to participate, please contact Pat Scanlon at 978-475-1776 or ScanlonAssoc@Netway.com .

MRCs Discuss CRT Takeback Bill

MassRecycle’s spring Municipal Recycling Council meetings were even livelier than usual, as they took up issues around the CRT Producer Takeback bill, H4535. The purpose of the bill is to make producers of electronics responsible for their end of life management, with the stated intention of inducing them to design their products to be less hazardous and more easily recycled. The bill calls for manufacturers to establish a collection system that will result in no cost to municipalities. It does not specify how the system would be funded, leaving those details up to DEP and the manufacturers. Many municipal managers in attendance run fee based collection programs for residents’ TVs and computers. Both meetings, one in Burlington, the other at American Ref-Fuel in Wareham, included guests Peter Kopcych of CRTRecycling, which processes many town’s electronics, and Kara Reeve of Clean Water Action, who with SSRC Secretary John McNabb authored and is advocating for the passage of the bill. The SSRC had endorsed the bill in 2002.

At the first meeting, while the bill’s intent was supported, concerns were raised about whether the bill in its current form is desirable from the perspective of municipalities. Kopcych recommended inserting language defining collectors which would include municipalities, and establishing a system through which they would be reimbursed. According to its sponsor, Rep. Mark Carron, the bill would enable municipalities to get out of the electronics collection “business” altogether. However, since public collection programs have become institutional in many communities, many residents now expect their municipality to accept these items. It is feared that eliminating these convenient programs would result in illegal dumping, which is more difficult to manage than maintaining a collection program.

At the Southeast meeting, after two hours of animated discussion, those in attendance concluded that:

1. A mechanism for the flow of money needs to be specified

a. Who are "manufacturers"?

b. How would they be assessed?

c. Who are "collectors"?

d. How are collectors reimbursed?

2. Whether the money comes from a front end fee or is included in the price of goods is not of primary concern

3. These details should be in the legislation.

On July 6, House Ways and Means reported favorably and referred the bill to Committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling. It is rumored that Kopcych’s amendment was included, but that is unconfirmed.

Bargains!

Does your department need office furniture or equipment? Go to www.mass.gov/agency/documents/osd/surplus/ surplus_pe.pdf to see what’s available on the State Surplus Property list, or to www.surplusnetwork.net, the site maintained by Institution Recycling Network. Items are typically available for $10-50.