This article and accompanying video highlight major grocery store chains that are diverting unsold food that cannot be donated, as well as food scraps that are not sent to composting, to anaerobic digestion. In April, Stop & Shop announced the groundbreaking for its 1.25 MW anaerobic digester at its Freetown Distribution Center, which will…
RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts developed the following best management practices for office and institutional furniture and equipment reuse. In the spring of 2018, RecyclingWorks convened a series of meetings with commercial, institutional, and municipal stakeholders and office furniture and equipment service providers. These meetings, held at the Devens Eco-Efficiency Center in Devens on May 3, 2018, EcoBuilding…
The Daily Item recently reported on actions being taken by Massachusetts businesses, institutions, and charitable organizations to reduce food waste in their communities. In many cases, these entities are working together to find synergies in reducing the amount of waste they produce, donating excess food, or diverting food scraps to other uses such as composting.…
According to the US EPA, nearly 30% of all solid waste is comprised of containers and product packaging. Despite significant progress in Massachusetts, over 600,000 tons of plastic was disposed of in 2018, including single use items, rigid plastics, and film plastics. In an effort to achieve statewide waste reduction goals, MassDEP aims to reduce…
Release No. 0112.13 Contact: Office of Communications (202) 720-4623  Printable version USDA and EPA Launch U.S. Food Waste Challenge Calls on both Public Sector and Private Industry to reduce food waste WASHINGTON, June 4, 2013 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the U.S.…
It is important for your business’ operations to have the right size and type of indoor and outdoor equipment for collecting and transporting waste materials. The correct equipment can increase the efficiency of your waste diversion program, ensure worker safety, and reduce contamination. Some of this equipment is provided by your hauler, and some may…
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has posted the following updated information relative to organics and food waste programs on the MassDEP web site: Updated Organics Action Plan – this replaces the May 2012 version and provides updated program status as of June 2013: http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dep/public/committee-4/orgplan12.pdf Updated List of Food Materials Processing Facilities: http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dep/recycle/reduce/06-thru-l/fcdcmpst.pdf
Stop & Shop is one of the largest supermarket chains in New England, operating over 400 stores across five states. Like other supermarkets, their stores generate a variety of recyclable and compostable materials, including cardboard, plastics, and food waste. As the company works towards a 50% reduction in wasted food by 2030, efforts have become…
The Massachusetts College and University Recycling Council (CURC) will meet Tuesday, January 14th  at 9 AM to discuss the issue of textile recycling.  The robust and innovative market for re-purposed textiles will be discussed and success stories shared from the industry. Speakers will include: Bill LaBelle – Goodwill Industries – “Goodwill Not Landfill” – http://www.bu.edu/sustainability/what-were-doing/waste-reduction/goodwill-not-landfill/ Larry…
