These are simply high tech variations on the 19th century approach to unwanted items-burn them. Instead we're moving in a direction that can boost economic development in our cities and towns.
We particularly applaud the Governor for throwing his support behind legislation for Producer Responsibility for electronic waste. In the past waste reduction was considered solely the consumer's responsibility, and a local government burden. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a new approach to reduce, reuse, and recycle that shifts the financial cost of managing discarded products and packaging from the cities and towns to the brand owners who design and market the products.
EPR will provide needed relief to municipal budgets-taking the burden of garbage disposal off of taxpayer funds. In addition, by providing industry with a financial incentive to redesign their products for reuse and recycling, EPR encourages business innovation to make less toxic and wasteful products.
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Lee Ketelsen, Clean Water Action New England Co-Director, has been active in solid waste policy issues since 1985, working with citizens around the state to give input, including participating in the legislative process to pass the Solid Waste Act of 1987 that mandated the Solid Waste Master Plan process, participating in the first Master Plan and moratorium on increased incineration capacity. She is a founding member of ONE Massachusetts.
Clean Water Action is the nation's leading grassroots environmental campaign organization, with more than 1 million members nationwide. For over thirty years, Clean Water Action has been a leader in protecting America's waters, the public health and empowering people to take charge of their environmental future. http://www.cleanwateraction.org/
(Cross-posted on ONE Massachusetts)
and this is not to be critical of what Governor Patrick has done; rather it’s a plea to the Gov and Leg to do more.
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p>1. Expand the bottle bill, both width and depth. Deposits ought to be 10 cents where they’re currently 5 cents, and have been at 5 cents for almost three decades. Bottle deposits ought to also cover tea and water beverages, as well as wine and liquor bottles (at 25 cents each). In addition to increased recycling and less going to the landfills, it will also be a slight financial boost for many cities and towns, since most don’t have PAYT and therefore reducing the amount of trash at the curb will reduce a cost for each city and town.
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p>2. Is residential recycling mandatory state wide? If not, require it.
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p>3. Commercial recycling is not mandatory state wide. It ought to be. Require it, and phase it in over time, beginning with cardboard (which has positive value, unlike commingled with is simply less costly than trash, but still carries a cost).
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p>4. Provide more funds to get towns to roll out PAYT which is not only the proven best way to reduce waste destined for incinerators or landfills, but also the most fair way to bill for a public utility.