Brooke Nash Branch Chief, Municipal Waste Reduction Big Picture - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Brooke Nash Branch Chief, Municipal Waste Reduction

Big Picture ‐ Massachusetts

 8 MRFS (one state‐owned, 7 private)  Container deposit law: soft drinks, beer, malt

beverages, sparkling water

 Glass food/beverage containers banned from disposal

(since 1994)

 Recovered glass: ~50/50 split of deposit/non‐deposit

 Deposit container glass: ~ 90,000 tons/year  All other container glass: ~100,000 tons/year

Glass Market Meltdown

 January 2018: Ardagh announces MA plant closure

 Manufactured beer bottles; mid‐1980s  High consumer of cullet  Supplied by Strategic Materials facility, Franklin, MA

 February 2018: Strategic Materials restricts

incoming material to deposit glass at Franklin facility

 Displaced glass from municipal transfer stations

and MRFs in central and eastern MA.

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Foster Alternative Markets

Explore multiple alternatives – no one solution Focus on processed glass aggregate

 Potential for municipal transfer stations  Private sector sites for larger volumes

Promising private sector interests

 foam glass aggregate

other construction and drainage materials

Processed Glass Aggregate

 Good model in New Hampshire (NRRA PGA program)  Relatively low cost of entry and quick start‐up possible  Permitting is straightforward  MassDEP Universal Beneficial Use Determination (BUD) –

screened to 3/8” minus

 Mass DOT specification – up to 10% PGA substitution  Historical barriers to increased use:

 volume and consistent supply  “fear factor”; resistance to change

Build Acceptance of PGA

 Need buy‐in from local DPWs, Highway Departments  MassDEP Webinar on PGA – February 2018  Local use: small scale projects/proof of concept  Side walks, parking lots, public works facilities  Announced new municipal grant for PGA start‐up  PGA Fact sheet – uses, demo projects, testing, research,

approvals (Army Corp, Federal Highway, state labs)

 Met with MassDOT: agreed to demonstration project

 Sourcing glass

Where’s Glass Going in Meantime?

 Some stockpiling at transfer stations  Municipal PGA sites in New Hampshire  Disposal: in‐state requires waste ban waiver from

MassDEP

 Roughly 4,500 tons of glass disposed to date  Daily cover at landfills (mostly out of state)  Private aggregate site – PGA (MA)  Tipping/processing cost: $40 ‐ $80+ per ton (excl trans)

Market Development Grants

 Public Sector

 Municipal Recycling Grants:

 Up to $150,000  Capital/start‐up costs for glass to PGA operation  Regional sites encouraged

 Private Sector

 Recycling Business Development Grants – up to $400k

 MRF retrofits (one completed)  PGA operations  Other glass processing and end‐uses

Improving Quality & Reducing Contamination

 Collaborative effort with recycling industry (haulers &

MRFs), municipalities & The Recycling Partnership

 Recycling IQ Kit – on MassDEP website  Developing standard list of MRF materials accepted  Marketing firm to develop statewide recycling education

campaign

 Education to commercial and institutional sector through

Recycling Works

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Questions?

Brooke Nash 617‐292‐5984 Brooke.nash@state.ma.us