The Boston Globe recently examined how several Massachusetts higher education institutions are responsibly managing the substantial accumulations of reusable materials on campus. When college and university students leave campus at the end of the school year, they collectively leave behind large quantities of furniture, appliances, clothing, and more. Additionally, many schools are left with surplus…
The Worcester Business Journal recently reported on the expansion of the Devens Eco-Efficiency Center’s recycling program, known as the Great Exchange. The Devens Eco-Efficiency Center created the Great Exchange in 2008 to acquire donated materials such as office supplies, packing materials, furniture, and arts and crafts supplies from area businesses and provide them at little…
Experts estimate that approximately 8.5 million tons of furniture waste is sent to landfills each year, even though much of the “waste” is still usable either as parts or as a whole. Over the past decade, though, increased interest in furniture waste has forged important and fruitful relationships, according to a Waste360 article highlighting the…
UMass Boston’s College of Management is hosting a panel on business opportunities in the circular economy. The concept of a circular economy takes a cradle-to-cradle approach in which products are designed intentionally in order to maximize product life as well as recycling and reuse opportunities. This paradigm shift will have sizable implications for our waste…
A recent Waste 360 article examines the challenges and opportunities associated with offices establishing recycling programs. Waste 360 interviewed Lorenzo Macaluso, an employee for the Center for EcoTechnology who administers the RecyclingWorks in MA program, regarding the management of office waste and steps to improve it. One challenge for offices, Macaluso notes, is finding the…
For participants in the EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge (FRC) and WasteWise programs, annual 2016 data and 2017 goals are due March 31, 2017. Participants in either program must submit their 2016 data and 2017 goals in order to stay active and maintain eligibility to receive awards. Enter data and goals by accessing your account on…
Last spring, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (Mass DHCD) asked RecyclingWorks for help diverting materials from disposal when renovating its properties. RecyclingWorks assisted Mass DHCD with a project involving window, roofing, and siding replacement at seven residential properties in Bourne. The project included replacement of 147 vinyl windows. All of the windows,…
A recent Zero Waste Zone post describes a new partnership between the U.S. Green Business Council (USGBC) and the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council (USZWBC). The U.S. Green Business Council administers the LEED certification program which recognizes buildings for their sustainable building design, construction, operations, and maintenance. The U.S. Zero Waste Business Council offers a…
RecyclingWorks has been working with United Tool & Machine & Gaynor Industries to improve their recycling program and identify outlets for materials used in their manufacturing process. These manufacturing materials include scraps of neoprene and aramid fiber. RecyclingWorks connected United Tool & Machine with Extras for Creative Reuse, a store in Peabody that provides low and…
BusinessWest highlighted the 40 anniversary of the Center for EcoTechnology (CET). CET is the nonprofit organization that administers the RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts, a program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. RecyclingWorks has helped hundreds of businesses and institutions, such as restaurants, food manufacturers, state facilities, and colleges and universities, to reduce waste. CET…
