OBSERVER CORPS REPORT 2021
From the Falmouth Solid Waste Advisory Committee mission statement (2017):
In 1989 Falmouth Town Meeting created a Solid Waste Advisory Committee to help the town move towards an integrated solid waste management system that would integrate trash, recycling, hazardous waste management and other solid waste such as large household items and construction and demolition debris. … Since this is a rapidly changing field, the Solid Waste Advisory Committee strives to provide accurate, up to date information on solid waste issues and to make recommendations when and where appropriate.
Falmouth currently disposes of more than 11,000 tons of trash each year at a fee of $58/ton. To reduce the amount of money the town spends on trash disposal, the Solid Waste Advisory Committee works with the Board of Selectmen and the Department of Public Works to advise them on how to effectively enforce existing Massachusetts laws on the removal of recyclable materials from the waste stream. In 1990, Massachusetts introduced the first waste bans on a variety of materials (for example, hazardous materials, construction materials, and easily recyclable items). Additional waste bans continue to be phased in. To encourage communities to keep up with these changes, the state of Massachusetts has an incentives program for communities to earn points and grant money to fund public education of the changing regulations. Currently, Falmouth removes 3,000 – 4,000 tons of recyclable materials each year. These recyclables are taken to EL Harvey, a sustainable materials recovery facility in Hopkinton, MA. Given the very changeable nature of recycling in the United States, such as China refusing ‘contaminated’ recyclable waste streams, the Solid Waste Advisory Committee strives to work with the Falmouth Selectmen and the Department of Public Works to keep Falmouth up to date with current waste disposal and recycling laws.
The members of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee (2020-2021) are:
- Alan Robinson (Chair)
- Amy Roth (Vice Chair)
- Zach Ellis (Secretary)
- Ruth Brazier
- Linda Davis
- Marc Finneran
- Chris Polloni
This volunteer committee normally meets on the 1st Tuesday of the month in Town Hall at 7:30pm, but has been meeting via Zoom at 7pm since July 2020. I have been observing this committee since May 2017, attending most monthly meetings.
Several members have been on this committee for many years. In general, the members work well together. The meetings are not televised. Members of the public or other organizations attend many monthly meetings. Members of Sustainable Practices Cape Cod, Compost With Me, SEA Grant, Falmouth Select Board, Falmouth DPW, Black Earth Compost, and others have attended meetings to foster cooperation with and get advice from or give advice to the Committee.
Meetings begin on time and follow the agenda posted online beforehand. Minutes of the meetings are distributed to committee members on a very timely basis, but only some minutes are available on the Town of Falmouth website (it is not a requirement of the Open Meeting Law to publish meeting minutes, only meeting agendas). Attendance at the meetings is good and most members are at the monthly meetings, despite some technical difficulties this past year with the Zoom platform.
The most exciting thing that has happened this past year is the hiring of a part-time Solid Waste Manager. The Solid Waste Advisory Committee has been asking for this manager since 1989. Mary Ryther, formerly of Compost With Me, was hired for the position. Ms. Ryther is well-known by the committee and they welcomed the news of her hiring with great enthusiasm! Ms. Ryther is working to accomplish much of SWAC has been working towards. After only a couple months on the job, she has already accomplished a great deal.
As part of SWAC’s public education, members take turns writing monthly “Talking Trash” columns for the Falmouth Enterprise. Some of what the columns have covered includes reminding residents of what they can and cannot recycle, how to reduce plastic use, composting advice, and the town-wide litter clean up. Another public education item was the flyer on curbside recycling that was mailed with last year’s water bill.
In the fall of 2018, a “Residential Food Waste Collection Site” (composting facility) was added to the Falmouth Waste Management Facility (WMF). This is a shed just inside the WMF gate where residents can bring their household compostable materials such as vegetables, fruit, meat, bones, compostable cutlery and plates, and soiled paper napkins. These compostable materials are collected by Black Earth Compost, based in eastern Massachusetts. There is no charge to residents for bringing in their compostable materials and the removal of these items from the waste stream saves the town money on trash disposal fees. Residents may also contract directly with Black Earth Compost (for a fee) to have curbside pick-up of their food scraps.
Several members of the Committee have been working diligently to maintain the utility the Swap Shop at the Town of Falmouth Waste Management Facility on Thomas B. Landers Road by keeping it organized. Unwanted, but useable, items can be dropped off at the Swap Shop, where others may bring things home for free. This helps to keep useable items out of our trash stream. There is a design (and money) for an enlarged and refurbished Swap Shop, to be completed at some time in the future. The Swap Shop has been closed during the pandemic, but they are hoping to reopen soon.
Several members of the Solid Waste Committee have participated in recycling surveys to examine how well residents are following recycling guidelines. Committee members choose a neighborhood and visit on recycling day, going through residents’ recycling bins. On average, 64% of residents recycled properly, while the rest of the bins contained some ‘contaminants’. Plastic bags were the most common contaminant, both plastic bags in the bins and recyclables collected in plastic bags. From these ongoing surveys, the Committee feels that educating the public on recycling correctly is a priority. Our recycling hauler (Republic) may reject any residential recycling bin that contains contaminants. Entire loads that contain contaminated recyclables (even a small amount) may be rejected at the recycling plant. These contaminated loads are then disposed of as trash. Improper recycling may lead to increased waste disposal prices for the Town of Falmouth.
Overall, the Solid Waste Advisory Committee strives to educate the public about recycling and the proper disposal of waste, keep usable items out of the waste stream, and explore ways to keep our waste disposal costs as low as possible. The addition of a Solid Waste Manager will help to make many things on their ‘wish list’ a reality and, in the long run, save the town money when residents dispose of their trash and recycling properly.
Suzanne Thomas, LWVF Observer, June 2021
