This month, EPA New England awarded the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the Center for EcoTechnology (CET) Environmental Merit Awards. Since 1970, Environmental Merit Awards have recognized individuals and groups in New England for working to protect and improve New England’s environment. The MassDEP, along with corresponding agencies in Connecticut and Vermont, was…
Renewable Energy from Waste reports on Stop & Shop Supermarket’s Green Energy Facility in Freetown, Massachusetts, which opened April 15. The Green Energy Facility will accept wasted food from the 212 New England Stop & Shop stores and convert this food into energy. The Green Energy Facility estimates that 34,000 tons of inedible food can…
Berkshire Community College (BCC) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts placed 1st in the state and 5th in the nation for recycling rates in the RecycleMania Tournament! The college earned this title with a 75% recycling rate. The recycling rate was measured by the percentage of total waste that was recycled and composted over the course of the…
Rethink Food Waste Through Economics and Data (ReFED) recently published A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent. ReFED, a collaboration between more than 30 businesses, nonprofits, foundations and government leaders, was founded in 2015 to create the first national study and action plan for reducing food waste in the U.S. The roadmap…
The results of the 2015 GameDay Recycling Challenge have been posted. MassLive reports that UMass Amherst received first and second place awards for their recycling efforts. UMass students collected recycling at three tailgating parties at McGuirk Alumni Stadium this fall. UMass recycled 18.693 pounds of materials. They placed first in the Mid-American Conference for…
The Mass DEP just announced a new grant program, the Recycling Business Development Grant (RBDG), intended to help Massachusetts recycling processors and manufacturers create sustainable markets for eligible materials, and to add value to municipal and business recycling efforts. Selected applicants can receive grant awards up to $400,000. The application deadlines are: Round 1 –…
Bumper 2 Bumper Magazine is a free biweekly listing of used cars and other motorized vehicles distributed to over 500 locations throughout Western New England. This summer, Bumper 2 Bumper called the RecyclingWorks hotline when the company that had been recycling their surplus magazines into cellulose insulation moved. RecyclingWorks staff connected Bumper 2 Bumper Magazine…
MassRecycle has partnered with MBTA, the Massachusetts Beverage Association, and Cassella Recycling to pilot a recycling collection program at Alewife Station. This pilot program is part of an effort to increase recycling in public spaces. This pilot program will be evaluated to help inform how to successfully expand recycling collection to other stations in the…
The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) recently posted a guest blog about green electronics. This post was written by an E-waste processor, Electronics Recyclers International (ERI), that has a recycling facility in Holliston, MA. The dramatic worldwide increase in electronics has brought a lot of attention to discarded smart phones, laptops, and computers as an environmental issue. Unwanted…
Supermarkets that bale rigid plastics – such as deli containers, floral buckets, and pharmacy bottles – can generate significant revenue. The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers (APR) recently created a training video to help grocery stores start baling rigid plastic containers. The APR case study of several methods of disposing of rigid plastics found that…
