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HomeMy Public PortalAboutRecycling Commission -- 2022-04-14 MinutesTown of Brewster Recycling Commission April 14, 2022 at 3:00 PM TCIIIX .. Members present: Meg Morris, Susan Skidmore, Peter Johnson, Annie Dugan, Griffin Ryder, Jim Jones. Liaisons present: Dr. Mary Chaffee, Select Board; Annette Graczewski, BOH. 1. Open Meeting. Chair Morris opened the Zoom only meeting at 3:03. 2. Declaration of Quorum. Chair Morris declared that there was a quorum. 3. Meeting Participation Statement. 4. Recording Statement. 5. Public Announcements and Comment. None. 6. Although there was a quorum Chair Morris had sent out the minutes late and she asked that the board approve both the March and April minutes at the next meeting. 7. Update on solid waste/recycling operations at BRC. - Director Ryder reported that the license plate reader test is going well. There is some fine tuning to be done, but overall, the issues are minor. He said that they will put in speed bumps and speed limit signs. - Director Ryder attended the recent MassRecycle Conference and Trade Show where he concentrated on learning more about the upcoming textile and mattress ban. He spoke with three new textile vendors: Baystate Textiles, CMRK, and HELPSY. These may be options in addition to the current textile bins. They all use the same model of collection where they pay for pounds donated. Griffin thinks CMRK may accept household items too, and they do home pick-ups, but he will get details and get back with us. Dr. Chaffee brought up three issues that should be considered: revenue possibilities, innovations with solid waste management, and where do the textiles end up? Chair Morris told the Director he should use Kari Parcel and the MassDEP for information and references. - The board was advised that eight DPW employees have recently gone through 35 -hour OSHA training along with Water Department and Golf employees. The plan is to have the other half of the DPW employees take the training next year. Once this training is complete, employees only need to do an 8 -hour refresher to get updated on safety. -Peter Johnson requested a primer on where all of the recycling goes, to include what it costs us to get rid of recyclables, or what we make. The Chair and Director will come up with an info sheet and post it. 8. There will be a joint Fixit Clinic with the Brewster Ladies' Library in August. It will be a repair cafe for small items like lamps, clothes, jewelry, etc., but no electronics or computers. If the weather cooperates, perhaps bikes could be worked on outdoors. If this goes well, the library in conjunction with the Recycling Commission may do these quarterly or even monthly as they represent REPAIR very well in the hierarchy of solid waste management. 9. Nip discussion was tabled until the May meeting. 10. Director Ryder gave the report on the Swap Shop. The steering group met recently and the volunteers will meet next week. More people will be let in the building now since the impact of COVID is lessened. It will reopen on April 22 and will be open Friday through Monday from 10-2. He reminded people that there is limited space available in the building, so donations may be stopped at times. That will be a DPW call. There will be increased signage and new lighting probably in June. 11. Recycling and Waste Management at the Dog Park. The Friends of the Dog Park have a recycling bin on site, and the vendor will empty it weekly. The park is still on track for a May 21 opening. 12. Recycling and Waste Management upgrades for Whitecaps/Stonybrook School facilities. Ms. Graczewski and Ms. Skidmore worked with Susan Murray of Nauset Schools and Paige Ferragamo from the Brewster Whitecaps. They were both very supportive of the efforts to improve recycling at the Whitecaps games. The committee proposed that we start with cans and bottles only with an educational effort to let attendees know that they should recycle. The committee looked for school age volunteers to assist in the education effort but couldn't tap into any group. Perhaps BRC members could volunteer at the games? This is still a work in progress with very willing partners. Dr. Chaffee reminded the commissioners that there is a water bottle filling station there, so we can encourage people to bring their bottle to the game to fill up with Brewster tap water. The Chair met with the Head Custodian, Principal and Vice Principal of the elementary schools, and it appears that contrary to earlier reports, the schools are recycling. It seems that the contract for the hauler is up for renewal, and it's not clear if the contract will include recycling going forward. Chairman Morris reminded us that we could add locations for recycling, if necessary, but there is a cost. Dr. Chaffee said that she will notify Peter Lombardi that we are addressing both of these issues, so that he is aware of any possible changes. 13. No Town Department updates. 14. Beautify Brewster is scheduled for April 23rd, with a rain date of April 24th. The Chair said she knows board members are volunteering with different groups and committees, but she urged everyone to participate. The Chair participated in a MassDEP session on PAYT, the purpose being to encourage other municipalities to use this solid waste management technique that has proven so successful for Brewster. 15. The next meeting will be on May 12 at 3 p.m. Chairman Morris polled attendees to see whether people preferred virtual, actual, or hybrid. We decided to do a hybrid meeting in May and re -assess whether we want to go back to virtual or stay with hybrid. 16. Meeting was adjourned at 4 p.m.