Communities in Action

When it comes to reducing trash and improving recycling in the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has a mixed record. The DEP receives a thumbs down for being more than two years late releasing the final statewide Solid Waste Master Plan for 2012-2020, "Pathway to Zero Waste." We give the DEP a big thumbs-up, however when it comes to reducing organic waste. Starting in 2014, the DEP will ban large businesses and institutions from sending organic waste, including food scraps and yard waste, to landfills and incinerators. This is a big step forward: Organic waste makes up one-third of our waste stream in the country to enact a policy of this kind. Toxics Action Center pushed for a this new rule, and it is a big victory for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.