Since 2014, when the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) enacted the Commercial Organics Disposal Ban, businesses and institutions across the state have increasingly diverted food waste. While food waste diversion leads to significant environmental benefits, it also has the potential to provide cost savings for businesses and creates opportunities to address customer and employee…
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…
“Our customers hold us to a high standard, so we want to hold ourselves to an even higher standard” – Jaclyn Graham, Chief Communications Officer for Nashoba Brook Bakery. On November 10, RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts (RecyclingWorks) hosted the Fall 2021 WasteWise Forum Webinar in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the…
As reported by Cape Cod Times, the Massachusetts Oyster Project successfully collected 25,000 pounds of shells from Wellfleet restaurants. These shells will be scattered along the Wellfleet harbor to restore oyster habitat instead of going for disposal. Eight local Wellfleet restaurants signed up for the pilot program and successfully sorted the shells into designated containers…
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…
RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts holds regular forums for businesses and institutions. These forums bring together business leaders, sustainability professionals, facilities managers, food service providers, and others to learn about waste-related topics, network, and share ideas. See below for more information about upcoming and past Forums! The RecyclingWorks forums were formerly part of the WasteWise program, sponsored…
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.
Widespread changes in consumer dining and purchasing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic shifted food waste generation from business sectors like catering, restaurants, and institutional cafeterias to homes, impacting composting operations across the state. As described by The Vineyard Gazette, the Martha’s Vineyard Food Waste Recovery Initiative is one of many programs that experienced a reduction…
Restaurateurs and business owners are faced with numerous demands on a regular basis – from pleasing customers, to operational logistics, to balancing books, to adapting to changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. MetroWest Daily News recently highlighted another factor businesses must consider: establishing and maintaining successful recycling and composting programs. Cardboard, bottles and cans,…
