Mashpee, MA to Update Recycling Regulations

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Mashpee is updating town recycling regulations to ensure that residents are separating waste from recycling. The updated regulations will include what it considered “mandatory recycling,” a measure intended to reinforce compliance with statewide waste bans at the local level. Mashpee Health Agent Zackary Seabury reported the development to the Mashpee Board of Health at its meeting on March 5. “The state is pushing for mandatory recycling. I have been working with Director Catherine Laurent at the DPW and our liaison from the state that works with towns to make mandatory recycling successful,” Mr. Seabury said. “Our old regulations were small. It pretty much said, ‘You have to recycle.’”

Waste bans are intended to eliminate certain hazardous and recyclable materials from landfills or incinerators. According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), mandatory recycling guidelines focus on the recyclable materials that the state has already banned from waste disposal, including plastic, cardboard, paper, metal and glass containers. Additional bans on materials include textiles, bulky items, mattresses and large appliances, none of which are disposable via curbside services.

The introduction of mandatory recycling gives Mashpee officials, such as the health department and the department of public works, the authority to enforce these waste bans at the local level.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com