SSRC Updates June 2020
May Board meeting notes and updates
On May 6, we held our first “at
home” meeting on Zoom. It was refreshing to see those with
video.
 Robin
Ingenthron, founder and CEO of Good Point
Recycling,
updated us on the progress the e-waste recycler had made at its
Brockton site. Based in Middlebury, VT, the 20 year old
company is R2 Certified, and takes pride in being a “Fair Trade Recycler”.
He reported that April collections were down 75% from the previous
year. Flammable lithium batteries in electronics have now
become problematic, especially for companies that shred equipment
rather than disassembling. GPR re-sells working units (about
20% of equipment), and deconstructs and sells the components of the
rest to the extent possible.
They expect to be listed on State Contract FAC82 soon, and will
offer rates lower than the FAC82 pricing to SSRC members.
GPS is ramping up for solar panel recovery. 80% of retired PV
panels are reusable, especially in equatorial areas. Old
panels can provide clean power in developing countries for decades
beyond their retirement in the US. The demand is great.
Contact Robin at 802-377-9166, robin@good-point.net.
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SMRP Grant prep
DEP Municipal Assistance
Coordinator
Todd Koep noted that DEP grant
application were due by June 10. Both he and Director Claire
offered to assist Member towns with submissions.
Claire shared a spreadsheet with estimates of Recycling Dividend
Program (RDP) points earned by Member towns, to make sure nobody
missed any. She thanked Bay
State Textiles, which paid for ads on WATD FM, and
help our Member Towns qualify for 3 separate points.
Update: All our towns that
intended to apply for grants got them in on time. Statewide,
262 municipalities applied for $6 million in grants, of which $3.35
million was for RDP. RDP Awards will be announced and deposited by
September, the rest by November.
Recycling cost
concerns
At the request of two Member
towns, Director Galkowski reviewed the costs for single-stream
recycling and found undocumented price increases. In January,
WM switched from index pricing to “actual value” for paper, the
single biggest component of single stream.
She convened a widely attended meeting in April to discuss that and
other concerns. At the direction of the group, she drafted a
letter to DEP
Commissioner Suuberg asking that MRFs be monitored
more closely. (see related
article)
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June Board meeting notes and updates
Sixteen people attended our June
17 Board meeting. We are getting in the Zoom groove.
Bay State
Textiles piloting “Toy Box”
Paul Curry founded Bay State
Textiles in 2005. The textile recycler
was the first to offer rebates, and has been paying $100/ton to most
of our towns for many years.
BST recently upsized to a 25,000 square foot building in Kingston.
They also have a warehouse in Waterbury, CT and an operation in
Puerto Rico. That capacity has enabled BST to continue to
collect and store 1.3 million pounds of textiles during the
pandemic, while international markets are closed. BST will be ready
to move it as soon as markets reopen.
BST serves 270 municipalities. 700 schools in MA and CT have
been paid $350,000 in rebates through the School Box Program
to date. Its 48 employees now process 23 million pounds of textiles
per year. They receive a lot of material in the pink Simple
Recycling bags. Materials are sorted and sold in Texas,
Central America, Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Toys comprise about 5% of the material BST receives. Rather
than dispose of them, Curry has found buyers in Mexico, South
America and the Middle East for hard plastic toys, sports
equipment, dolls, trucks and the like. He would like to do pilot
some “Toy Box” trailers on the South Shore, the same size as the
textile containers. They will offer rebates, to be
determined. Toys need to fit in the container opening.
They cannot sell games and puzzles.
Contact Bay State Textiles at 617-877-2432, or kerrie.baystatetextiles@gmail.com
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EBoard election
Three of our current officers ran
for re-election. Founding member and longtime Chairman/Vice
Chair Merle
Brown of Cohasset stepped down from the helm.
Scituate DPW Director Kevin
Cafferty, who served as Chairman from 2013-2016,
ran for the post.
The one-woman Nominating Committee, Angela Dahlstrom of Abington,
introduced the slate of officers for FY21, which was elected
unanimously. Our FY21 EBoard members are:
Chairman
Kevin
Cafferty (Scituate)
Vice Chairman
Paul Basler
(Kingston)
Treasurer
Arlene Dias
(Hanson)
Secretary
Jean Landis Naumann
(Kingston)
Chairman Cafferty would like to get all Member towns to
participate. He proposed that we continue to use Zoom for
alternate meetings after we can meet in person again.
Longtime leader
Merle Brown recognized
Chairman Merle Brown’s twenty-two
years of service to the SSRC were recognized by Plymouth County
Treasurer Tom
O’Brien and MassDEP’s Janine Bishop.
O’Brien noted Brown’s decades of service to the Town of Cohasset
and to the SSRC, and provided a glimpse into the legislative
formation of the Cooperative. When he was a freshman State
Representative, John
McNabb, another founder from Cohasset, asked him to
sponsor legislation to establish the SSRC as a separate government
body. Tom filed the bill and saw it through. (His
telling of the story is much more entertaining)
Janine Bishop served as our MassDEP Municipal Assistance
Coordinator for several years of Merle’s tenure. She said
“the SSRC was her best friend as a MAC. Merle is the
SSRC”. She recalled his years of volunteer recruitment and
help with the massive recycling efforts at the Marshfield Fair,
which the SSRC facilitated with a grant from MassDEP.
Attendees were treated to a slide show of past events during
Merle’s service. Merle intends to continue to be involved
with the organization.
Thanks to the pandemic, Merle’s leader plaque went out in the mail
the next day.
Pandemic program progress
Chairman Cafferty led a discussion
on the impact of the pandemic on our trash and recycling: Transfer
stations remain open with services approaching normal. Recycling
centers have reopened or are about to reopen.
- Kingston is
considering closing the transfer station 2 additional days per
week due to budget cuts. This will present logistical
issues including lack of storage and more crowding.
- Towns are seeing a
10-30% increase in residential trash. Business trash is down.
- Some towns are
still not taking C&D to avoid handling payments.
- Swap shops and
bottle and can redemption collections are still closed.
Our curbside towns were ahead of
the curve in switching to fully automated cart collection.
This enabled trash and recycling collection continue uninterrupted
throughout the pandemic.
Other news: Donation
centers such as Salvation Army and Savers have reopened with
restrictions
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HHW Mega- event keeps south shore waters safe
South Shore Recycling
Cooperative Member Towns had planned seven household hazardous
waste collections this spring. Like most everything else, the
pandemic changed those plans.
Residents were nearly left holding their old gasoline, pool
chemicals and pesticides, but for the valiant efforts of the SSRC,
the Town of
Cohasset, the South Shore Music Circus, and
DPWs in Scituate,
Duxbury, Pembroke and Weymouth.
Our one and only HHW “Mega” collection this spring featured perfect
weather, great teamwork, and residents who followed the (many)
rules. With no idea what to expect after 6 event
cancellations this spring, we were prepared for a big crowd.
This seventh one was also originally cancelled, then revived
and relocated to the South Shore Music Circus, leaving only a week
to publicize. The SSMC showed outstanding community
spirit and generosity in allowing the use of its perfect
parking lot.
 This
was the first event the SSRC conducted with MXI Environmental,
which ran an impressive operation. Staff from Scituate,
Duxbury, Pembroke and Weymouth, together with SSRC’s
Executive Director, and Hazardous Waste Specialist Lorraine Mavrogeorge (pictured),
hummed like a well-oiled machine, arriving early, masked and well
prepared. Two police officers from the Plymouth County Sheriff’s
office kept order.
Nearly 400 residents came from all 16 SSRC Member towns with trunks
full of hazardous waste. The event enabled the proper
disposal of about 2000
gallons of dangerous liquids and 3500 pounds of toxic
solids, protecting transfer station
staff, sanitation workers, fire fighters and our groundwater.
View pictures here, with thanks to Molly Lynch
St. John of Hull.
HHW collections will start up again in September. For more
information, go to ssrcoop.info.
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Reusable bag “ban”, plastic ban suspensions continue
MassDEP and MassDPH have not yet
responded to a request to lift the prohibition on
reusable bags, and reinstate local bag bans and fees. The Conservation Law Foundation letter
points out the lack of evidence that either policy reduces the risk
of spread of coronavirus, yet both cause harm to the environment.
It was signed by over forty organizations including the SSRC,
environmental organizations, grassroots groups, and businesses.
The letter, sent on May 28, also asked for reinstatement of Bottle
Bill enforcement, which was announced the following day. To
weigh in, contact Commissioner Suuberg at MassDEP.
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Bottle and can redemption, bag recycling resumes
MassDEP began requiring retailers to redeem
customers’ 5¢ bottle and can deposits on June 5. MassDEP and the
AG’s Office had suspended enforcement of the rule in late
March.
Normally, stores that sell that sell drinks with deposits must
redeem returns, as required by law. The suspension
was put in place to free up employees to focus on tasks such as
keeping stores clean and food and other essential items in
stock.
To report retailers that are not complying with the redemption law,
contact Sean Sylver at MassDEP.
Many retailers had also suspended plastic bag recycling to focus on
safety. Several have reinstated these voluntary programs,
including Shaw’s/Star
Market, Stop
and Shop, Hannaford,
and Big Y.
If you know of others, contact Claire, and she’ll update the web page.
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Spring cleaning for Universal Waste Sheds
Adapted from the Covanta Spring
2020 Newsletter
A properly managed universal waste shed is key to the
collection of mercury-containing devices, as well as complying with
disposal regulations. The Center for EcoTechnology created a Best Management Practices Video and Document for
operating a UW Shed. Takeaways include:
- Clearly label your
shed as a universal waste collection area, and each with the
type of material and accumulation start date.
- Provide clear instruction
to your residents on what materials should go in the shed.
Loose mercury should be picked up at home or brought to a HHW
event.
- Stock your shed has
plastic pails
and a mercury spill
kit, and train staff on how to use these
materials for spill cleanup and secondary containment.
Contact Complete
Recycling Solutions to schedule a mercury
pickup at 1-866-277-9797 x705. For towns that have a disposal
contract with SEMASS, this is funded through the Material
Separation Plan. CRS will bill your town directly if
you are not covered by the SEMASS MSP. Veolia
in Stoughton also provides this service, 781-341-6080.
Munis seek regulatory relief from recycling costs
Last winter, two
Member towns asked SSRC Director Claire Galkowski to review their
single stream recycling bills. Another non-Member town had also
contacted her about it. Galkowski discovered that, despite
relatively stable markets, recycling costs to municipalities had
increased by about 25% since the fall.
Twenty five municipal and regional officials met by Zoom in April
to discuss these sharply cost increases. Galkowski presented
a primer on how single stream Blended Values (BVs) are
calculated. She showed how two components of BV can skew costs if
they aren’t accurate.
One component is the Commodity
Composition (CC). When compared with our 7
towns that source separate, and with the compositions reported to the
Northeast Recycling Council by 18 facilities, commodities with
lower values appear to be assigned higher weights in our single
stream munis’ BVs, and vice versa. WM weights cardboard at 13.5%,
while NERC reported 25.1% in Q1, and our dropoff towns averaged
25.3% in 2019. When Galkowski asked WM for documentation on
how CC is determined, the contract manager did not provide it.
The other component is the Commodity
Value (CV). Contracts specify an independent
index for paper pricing (PPW54), which reported paper value between
-$5 and zero since Feb. 2019. In January, WM changed its CV
for paper, weighted at 44.5% of the single stream mix, to “Actual
Value” (AV), which it pegged at -$23/ton, without notice. By
March, WM put the AV at -$51/ton, even as PPW54 was at -$10 to
-$5. Galkowski’s attempt to obtain documentation was again
rebuffed.
The group agreed to send a letter to MassDEP requesting that
recycling facilities be required to report material tonnages by
commodity, so CC’s used in contracts could be verified. It
also asked that index pricing be used in billing municipalities for
recyclables. (This can be included in the contract terms as
well.)
Twelve municipalities signed on to a letter requesting more MassDEP
oversight of these practices: Abington, Belmont, Brockton, Franklin,
Halifax, Hamilton, Hanson, Milton, Norwell, Pembroke, Rockland and
Westford,
as well as the SSRC.
The MMA is drafting a letter as well.
Coincidentally, MassDEP just opened its solid waste regulations for review
and update last month. Director Galkowski identified 310CMR
16.04 and 16.05, which address reporting requirements by recycling
facilities.
Member towns are advised to have Galkowski review new recycling
contracts prior to signing.
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STB Sides with Recyclers Over Unfair Rail Practice
Waste Advantage, May 4, 2020
(excerpts)
Following a hard-fought battle over excessive demurrage charges and
inconsistent rail service, scrap recyclers won a major victory. The
Surface Transportation Board (STB) rebuked the railroads for
unreasonable practices, non-transparent, inaccurate billing, and an
unfair dispute resolution process.
“Unreasonable practices by railroads have cost the scrap recycling
industry tens of millions of dollars annually, and caused
interruptions in the manufacturing supply chain,” said Billy
Johnson, chief lobbyist for the Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries (ISRI). “ISRI and its members fought for a level playing
field and to have their voices heard, and won.”
Following the implementation of precision schedule railroading at
the start of 2019 by the railroads, shippers began facing demurrage
charges hundreds of times larger than in previous years.
Additionally, shippers had no way to challenge these charges
because the railroads maintained inaccurate and confusing billing
information. Based on the STB decisions, railroads must develop
more accurate billing, reliable and reasonable practices to avoid
demurrage charges, and make it easier for shippers to challenge
those charges.
“The STB’s rulings will allow for a better and more fair
partnership between recyclers and railroads,” concluded Johnson. More
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State Officials Announce School 'Green Team' Awards
Three
South Shore classes among the winners
6/16/2020, Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection (excerpts)
State environmental officials recognized students from 44 schools
for outstanding environmental actions as members of the “Green Team,” a statewide
environmental education program sponsored by MassDEP.
391 classes at 341 schools joined the Green Team this school year,
a record for the 19 year old program.
Students took part in a range of activities, including expanding
school recycling programs, collecting textiles for donation and
recycling, composting organic waste from the cafeteria and using it
to grow vegetables, and otherwise reducing their carbon footprint.
These activities incorporated science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM), reading, writing, art, and other non-classroom
projects.
Participating teachers received classroom posters, lesson plans,
recycling tips and other resources. 33 schools received recycling
equipment to initiate or expand school recycling programs. Eighteen
received “Idle-Free Zone” signs to remind drivers to turn off their
engines.
44 classes received prizes for their efforts, including three from
SSRC Member Towns.
Congratulations to the following classes, which won a remote
performance by environmental “edu-tainer” Jack Golden:
- Abington Middle
School
Lauren
Peruzzi
Grade 7
- Cohasset High
School
Peter
Afanasiw
Grades 9-12
- Hingham High
School
Shayna
Miller
Grades 6-8
To participate in the 2020-2021
school year, teachers may sign up here.
More
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DEP Reduce & Reuse Work Group tackles culture shift
As MassDEP crafts the 2020-2030 Solid Waste Master Plan, a new
Work Group it creates has already hit the ground running.
Nicknamed the “R&R Working Group”, this
active forum, led by rising star Erin Victor, is neither
resting nor relaxing. Launched in early March, the group has
met 5 times to survey the reuse landscape and set priorities.
Participants include stakeholders such as textile reclaimers,
donation-based charities and waste reduction advocates.
R&R is tasked with developing regulations, policies and
programs to expand source reduction, reuse, and repair to
inform the MassDEP Reduce and Reuse Strategic Plan.
The group identified the following priority materials: single use
packaging, building materials, textiles, furniture, and household
durable goods.
Participants will develop strategies to overcome barriers to
creating a culture of source reduction and reuse, and extended
producer responsibility.
Join the discussion and learn about upcoming meetings by sending an
email here.
Paper markets rebounding; containers sliding
After climbing from $25/ton in
January to $120 in May, the high price of cardboard (PS11) In the
Northeast US fell to $85/ton this month, according to Secondary Material Markets index.
The grade was trading at about $30-35/ton one year ago.
Supply and demand changes driven by the
coronavirus pandemic were responsible for the increases.
The average value of mixed paper (PS54) is has risen to $20-25/ton
over the past 2 months, after languishing for over a year between
-$10 and zero.
The value of sorted, baled aluminum cans in the Northeast is
unchanged this month, at 37 to 40¢/lb. It’s dropped about 33% since
December.
Plastic grade prices have seen slight declines since May, and
larger drops in value since December, but continue to be valuable
commodities. Clear
HDPE (#2) is by far the most desirable, selling for
an average of $780/ton in June, down from over $1200 in December. PET (#1)
follows at about $160/ton, and colored HDPE at about
$90/ton. Mixed plastics (#3-7) are in the basement, at about
-$60/ton.
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Landfill battery storage supplements solar income
By Matthew Bandyk, Waste Dive, May
26, 2020 (excerpts)
Massachusetts-based Kearsarge Energy has completed dozens of solar
projects. Early this year, its first solar-plus-storage
project came online at a closed landfill in Amesbury. The developer
made this foray due to incentives
launched by the state, under which storage installations are
treated as an “adder” that increases the rate at
which the solar panels are compensated for the electricity they
supply to the grid.
The storage component adds another revenue stream to a solar
project, while taking up relatively little additional space.
Battery storage provides services for the grid that wholesale
electricity markets will pay
for beyond the value of the electricity itself.
These include tapping the batteries to regulate the frequency of
the grid so power lines are not overloaded, and “peak shaving” –
discharging the batteries at times of high electricity demand. More
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consumer brands falling behind on recycling goals, failing to avert
plastic pollution
None of the 50 companies evaluated
by shareholder advocacy group As You Sow earned higher than a B- on
recycling, reusability or compostability goals. Multiple companies
pushed back on the report. Article
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Words of wisdom from SWANA and MassRecycle chiefs
 David Biderman, CEO of
the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA):
"Local governments are going to be under fiscal
pressure. Expenses are up, revenue is down. We have to really
be smart about what programmatic changes we make in response to
this very serious fiscal environment that we’re all going to be
facing." (Waste Dive/SWANA Palooza)
Gretchen
Care y,
President of MassRecycle:
“Our response to the pandemic has proven that we can adapt when
necessary. Many of us are not willing to go back to the
previous status quo. Supply chains need to be more resilient; local
is better if we want to ensure our independence and continued
survival.
Covid has given us an opportunity to try living more lightly, with
less commuting and more creativity, We should incorporate the
lessons we have learned into our future.” (EBC NE COVID /SW innpacts webinar)
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