Johnny’s Luncheonette, an iconic Newton diner with robust recycling and food waste diversion programs, continues to push the envelope in sustainability. The diner now offers a reusable takeout container program! Customers who choose to join the program can order menu items for takeout in containers that won’t end up in any waste, recycling, or composting…
A green demolition project at Simmons University in Boston recovered over a dozen tons (24,000 pounds) of material including furniture, fixtures, and glassware items. This massive reuse undertaking emerged from the remodeling of the University’s Park Science Center. The project entailed one year’s worth of planning and coordination among Simmons University staff, Elkus Manfredi Architects…
Replacing single-use foodservice container options with reusables can reduce both disposal costs and long-term purchasing needs for restaurants and other food service businesses. According to Clean Water Action, packaging waste makes up approximately 30% of waste disposed of in the US, and these products “consume a tremendous amount of resources — including oil, trees, energy,…
Breweries across Massachusetts are demonstrating their commitment to sustainability through waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and organics diversion opportunities. Here are just a few recent examples. Untold Brewing is a Scituate-based microbrewery with sustainability efforts focused on waste reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, and water conservation. As recently reported by The Hingham Anchor, the micro-brewery diverts spent…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced 2020 and 2021 WasteWise and Food Recovery Challenge award winners, which included three Massachusetts organizations: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) Lovin’ Spoonfuls Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School – Island Grown Schools Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) was recognized as a 2020 and 2021 National WasteWise…
Good Filling, a Boston-based company that sells refillable home-care and personal-care products, was recently awarded a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Reduce, Reuse, Repair Micro-Grant. These grants can be up to $5,000 and are awarded to for-profit and non-profit organizations, as well as eligible municipalities, for short-term waste reduction projects. Good Filling will be…
Learn how Brandeis University, a research institution in Waltham, implemented a dorm and public space recycling program with support from RecyclingWorks, and established a performance plan for their food service provider focused on eight sustainability goals.
Learn how Home City Development, Inc. (HCDI), a non-profit real estate developer based in Springfield, worked with RecyclingWorks to salvage materials for reuse during their renovation of the historic Elias Brookings School.
Although not accepted in typical residential or commercial single stream recycling programs in Massachusetts, plastic beer can toppers are often labeled with a recycling symbol that can be misleading for beer drinkers in the state. While some companies collect and reuse these can toppers, the reuse and recycling infrastructure for this material is still nascent.…
During the pandemic takeout meals have become the norm, enabling restaurants across Massachusetts to continue serving customers when in-person dining is limited. For consumers, this convenience comes with a trade-off: an abundance of packaging and single-use items that often cannot be recycled. For the food service industry, this means spending money to purchase items that…
