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Frequently Asked Questions
General Recycling QuestionsFor any questions relating to your communitiy's Recycling Program, click here. What does “contamination” mean?
What happens when there is contamination?1 Every manufacturer's goal is to make a quality item, and recycled materials must compete with virgin feedstocks for purity. Contaminants can damage processing machinery and cause imperfections in the new product. A single ceramic cup can ruin all of the glass collected from your entire neighborhood.
Commingled means that recyclables are placed together in
a
collection
container. Most often in Massachusetts, one hears of commingled
containers,
which means glass, plastic and metal containers are placed together
for recycling. Commingled paper is when newspapers, phone books,
office paper, magazines and other paper are collected together. Plastic manufacturers developed a labeling system representing the seven types of plastic. The system consists of code numbers 1 through 7, each number describes a resin. While plastics are all related, each resin has attributes that make it best suited to a particular application. Check the bottom of each container for a recycling symbol. Your recycling coordinator can tell you which types of plastics are acceptable in your community. Most often #1 and #2 plastics are accepted in Massachusetts. The code numbers, along with their respective types of plastics and most common uses are as follows:
I already recycle everything. How else can I reduce my garbage? 10, 3 REDUCE Start with buying in bulk and reducing your junk mail
you recieve. For more tips on reducing waste, check out MassRecycle's Environmental Tips.
COMPOST
Compost your yard and food waste. To learn more about composting, visit MassDEP’s Composting website. REUSE Start with buying reusable products, reuse containers and grocery bags, and donate reusable household, furniture and clothing items. .in bulk and reducing your junk mail you recieve. For more tips on reusing, check out MassRecycle's Environmental Tips. Recycling has really been around for perhaps thousands
of years! For
example, ancient cultures that began making metal products could melt
down old broken items like pots or swords and make new ones. More
recently, during World War I and II, people would have paper drives and
metal drives to collect materials for the war effort. Nothing was
wasted!
When landfilling became a cheap way to dispose of trash in the 1940's
and
1950's, recycling was less popular. But modern recycling of glass,
paper,
cans, etc. became more popular again in the 1970's with drop-off
recycling
centers, and in the late 1980's and 1990's with curbside collection.
Mother
Nature is, of course, the ultimate recycler... without the natural
decay
or composting process, we'd all be covered in leaves and other dead
organic
matter! If not you, who? We know there are benefits of recycling
for the environment
and the combined recycling efforts of Massachusetts’s residents really
pay
off. Check out these links to find Massachusetts specific
benefits: Environmental Benefits
of Recycling  What
would happen if
everyone stopped recycling? 8
Many of our natural resources would disappear even faster. The supply of any material on our Earth is limited. While it may seem like we could never run out, if we keep filling our landfills with aluminum, plastic, and steel there will eventually be no more left to make new products. There would be an economic impact because the mining and forestry industry would need to fill the recycling void with virgin materials. There would be a potential cost to pass on to consumers. Finally, the recycling industry supports more than 19,000 jobs in Massachusetts, and recyclable materials are the largest export from the Port of Boston. Is it the law in Massachusetts to recycle?7 There is no statewide mandatory recycling law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; however there are many other types of recycling laws and legislation in Massachusetts: Waste Bans
prohibit the disposal of certain recyclable items at solid waste
landfills
and incinerators in Massachusetts. Banned items include: lead
acid
batteries, leaves, yard waste, whole tires (landfill only), white goods
(large appliances), metal and glass containers, single resin
narrow-necked plastics, recyclable paper, cathode ray tubes
(monitors and televisions), asphalt pavement, bricks, concrete, metal
and wood. The Bottle Bill requires glass, plastic, metal, aluminum and bi-metal containers holding beer and other malt beverages, carbonated soft drinks and mineral waters to carry a deposit label before they are sold. Consumers can return the bottles to receive their deposit. The bottle bill has been an excellent tool in reducing litter and increasing the recycling rate of bottle bill containers. In addition to the laws, there are many statewide goals and policies related to recycling and source reduction. The Beyond 2000 Solid Waste Master Plan establishes the Commonwealth's long-term goals for solid waste management and basic policies for waste reduction, recycling, and disposal for the next decade. Although there is not a statewide recycling law, many communities have passed their own recycling laws. Of the 351 Massachusetts communities, 168 of them have voluntarily adopted mandatory recycling ordinances, bylaws, or regulations. Most of these local requirements regulate single-family residences or those served by the municipal collection programs. A growing number of municipalities are also regulating multi-family properties and businesses. Ninety-two municipalities have elected to regulate solid waste haulers. Massachusetts General Law c.111 sections 31A and 31B authorize local boards of health to issue permits to solid waste haulers that transport trash through the municipality. Through this authority, boards of health can promulgate rules and regulations regarding the removal and transportation of solid waste. Many that permit or license haulers add a recycling requirement to the permit conditions. Proposed
New Recycling Rules, Laws or Regulations: A mandatory
commercial
and multi-family recycling bill has been introduced in the
Massachusetts
Legislature. If passed, it will require owners or managers of
businesses,
institutions, government and multi-family buildings to set up recycling
programs within three years. To provide an incentive to building
owners/managers
to voluntarily establish recycling sooner, the MassDEP will provide
some
monetary compensation.Household Hazardous Waste QuestionsWhat is Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)? 9 The term Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) covers many
products, but is
generally defined as a material that is a potential threat to the
environment
or human health. Typically these materials have one or more of
the
following properties: flammable, toxic, reactive, or corrosive. Proper disposal of HHW is very important. Improper disposal of HHW can cause problems for the entire community. Wastes can be explosive or highly flammable. Hazardous wastes can also be corrosive. One of the worst ways to dispose of hazardous materials is to “just dump them down the drain.” Wastewater treatment plants are not designed to handle hazardous wastes nor are home septic systems. Disposing of hazardous wastes in a landfill causes groundwater and surface water pollution. Homeowners are advised to wait until their community has an HHW Collection. Many communities host a one-day collection event or collect HHW ongoing during certain times of the year. For information on HHW collections in your area, please contact your community’s Recycling Coordinator (PDF) or visit Earth 911. Some items can be properly disposed of without waiting for a community collection. For disposal options for many HHW or Hard-to-Manage wastes, visit MassDEP’s Answers to Commonly Asked Questions About Household Hazardous Waste. How do I store my HHW
until the next
collection? 9 Here are some helpful hints for safely storing your household hazardous waste until you bring it to a community HHW collection:
Buy Recycled QuestionsWhat does “Close the Loop" mean? 3 Recycling depends on a three-part "recycling loop" that includes collection, manufacturing, and purchase of recycled products. Municipal and business collection programs ensure a steady supply of materials (cans, bottles, paper) for the recycling process. Private recycling companies use these materials to manufacture new products. Finally, consumers and businesses must purchase the finished recycled products in order to support a sustainable recycling loop. What is the difference between Post-Consumer and Pre-Consumer? 3 Post-consumer refers to material that has been
purchased, used, and
then recycled. Pre-consumer refers to material that is generated during
a manufacturing process, such as scraps from the cutting of
envelopes.
Instead of being disposed, the materials such as trimmings, damaged or
obsolete products, or overruns are collected and incorporated into
recycled
products. Read the label to see if the product is made with recycled content. Look for the highest percentage of "post consumer recycled content" you can find. There are everyday products that have recycled content that may not be labeled as such. These products include: steel products such as food cans, cars, appliances, bicycles, furniture; aluminum products such as beverage cans; glass bottles and jars. While you shop, read the labels on the following products to see if they are made using recycled content: Paper products: cereal, cake mix and cracker boxes, facial tissues, toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, corrugated cardboard boxes, writing paper, greeting cards, copier and printer paper, and office paper. Plastic bottles: bottles and jugs containing liquid laundry detergent, dishwashing liquids, shampoos, and household cleaners. There are many more recycled products found in your
grocery store, hardware
store, office supply store, and home shopping catalogs. Manufacturers take your recyclables and make them into new products such as shoes, copy paper, post-it notes, index cards, file folders, pencils, newspapers, cereal boxes, paper towels, egg cartons, envelopes, napkins, aluminum cans, glass containers, compost bins, recycling collection containers, plastic lumber, traffic cones, carpeting, fiberfill for sleeping bags, car bumpers, trash bags, and laundry detergent bottles. This is just a short list of recycled products. When you buy a product, look for words that indicate it is made from recycled materials. Sources:
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Contamination
is when unacceptable material is placed in a recycling collection
container.
For instance, trash mixed with recyclables contaminates the
recyclables. Another example is when a #3 plastic container is
placed with the recyclables when the recycling
program only accepts #1 and #2 plastics. 
Higher
labor costs may be incurred for some materials due to more rigorous
sorting
requirements. This may increase a communitiy's recycling program costs.
When
did recycling start? 8 
Disposing
of your garbage could become much more expensive. Recycling
saves us millions of dollars by extending the lives of our remaining
landfills
and offering a cost competitive alternative for disposal of large
portions
of the solid waste stream. Since everybody would be throwing away
everything,
landfills would fill up faster. We would have to build more and more to
accept all of the new garbage, however, people who have to live near
landfills
are generally opposed to building new ones.