MassRecycle Podcast

Photo credit: Eater Boston

This week Audrey Ng and Mike Orr join Waneta and Gretchen to explore sidewalk exchange, and the growing movement of community “Freedges”, around Boston.

Audrey is the Water and Sustainability Project Manager for the Boston Public Schools District and organizer with the South End Community Fridge. Mike is the Recycling Director for the City of Cambridge.  They discuss neighborhood sidewalk exchange as a viable method to divert durable goods from the waste stream, and direct them into the hands of people that can use them.  Community “Freedges” are a form of mutual aid increasing in popularity around the country.  Sidewalk-based refrigerators allow food sharing within a community, and remove barriers between those giving and those receiving.  Listen to this great episode and learn more! 

Community fridges, and the volunteers that run them, can be found at Boston Eater’s Community Fridges page.

The post Episode 31: Urban Exchange first appeared on MassRecycle.

In light of the upcoming 2022 mattress waste ban, Waneta and Gretchen interview MassRecycle member organizations UTEC, HandUp and Green Mattress about their mattress recycling programs.  Waneta also discusses the role of Extended Producer Responsibility in this issue, and the potential for new legislation. 

The post Episode 30: Mattress Recycling first appeared on MassRecycle.

In this Valentine’s Day special episode, Gretchen and Waneta, with the help of Board member Rob Gogan, interview three couples who found each other while following their passion for waste diversion.

The post Episode 29: Recycling Romance first appeared on MassRecycle.

Gretchen and Waneta talk with Kelley Dennings of the Center for Biological Diversity about simplifying the holidays and reducing waste. They discuss top holiday waste generators, alternative gift ideas, hosting and decorating, the role of public policy, and the perceived barriers to celebrating with fewer material items.  Should you buy a fake or real Christmas tree? Is wrapping paper recyclable? All this and more, in this lively conversation.

Find Kelley Dennings at [email protected]

Great ideas, tools, and information can be found at https://simplifytheholidays.org

Gretchen and Waneta talk with Dona Neely of The Great Exchange in Devens, Mass about their amazing reuse program there. Business clean outs and manufacturing extras turn into resources for non-profits, schools, teachers, and daycares. 

Gretchen and Waneta talk with Paul Franceschi of the Boston Area Gleaners about gleaning: the harvesting of surplus farm crops to preventing waste and expand local food access. Paul talks about their work and how they were able to help when the world needed it most in 2020. 

Learn about existing programs and new ways to help make colleges and universities become more sustainable.  Gretchen and Waneta talk with Alex Freid, founder of the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN),  In 2013 Alex and his fellow college students witnessed a systemic waste problem on their campus and developed the first student-led, financially self-sustaining Zero Waste move-out program of its kind. Other campuses wanted to replicate the program and from there, PLAN was born. Years later, out of PLAN, the ATLAS Zero Waste plan was created. Hear from Williams College student fellows Rika Nakato and Lauren Lynch as they discuss the ongoing ATLAS pilot. 

Gretchen and Waneta learn all about the stormwater system and its many intersections of waste management from MassDEP pro Laura Schifman.  More info here:  https://www.mass.gov/info-details/stormwater 

Gretchen and Waneta interview Graeme Durovich, Recycling and Solid Waste Coordinator on the Island of Nantucket about the specific challenges of creating waste on an island. They cover special rules, litter issues, seasonal changes, and other topics that make Nantucket a unique waste environment.  Nantucket-ma.gov/242/solid-waste-recycling 

In MA, bags do not belong in the bin, but there is a system for recycling them.  Gretchen and Waneta learn all about how plastic bags can find a second life as composite lumber during this interview with Stephanie Hicks from Trex.com Wondering if your local grocery store is really collecting for recycling? Tune in- there is a list available to the public!

The post Episode 22: How to recycle plastic bags: The Trex Story first appeared on MassRecycle.