HomeMy Public PortalAboutRecycling Commission -- 2023-07-18 MinutesBrewster Recycling Commission
Meeting Minutes from July 18, 2023
Conference Room B, Town Hall
In Attendance: Meg Morris (Chair), Pat Semple, Peter Johnson, Sue Skidmore, Katie Scott, Griffin
Ryder, Annie Dugan.
Zoom: no attendees
1. Chair Morris gave notice about video recording of meeting.
2. A quorum was met.
3. The Meeting Participation Statement was read.
4. The Recording Statement was read.
5. No public announcement or comment.
6. Minutes
1. Minutes for June were unanimously approved with one change on June notes:
Griffin noted change of price for textiles from Bay State (in Paragraph 7.b.) to
$120/ton.
2. Minutes for April were unanimously approved with no additions or
corrections.
7. Update from DPW (Griffin)
• Report from Bay State Textiles: collected total weight: 1375 Ib. in June, rebate of
$82.50.
• The quarterly report from mattress recycler indicates that 145 units were kept
out of landfill. Year-to-date number is 215 units. The company provides a nice
quarterly report. The income generated from mattresses covers the cost of
transport and disposal fees and works well. We transport them to HandUp in
New Bedford. We've only had one contaminated mattress to date (e.g. too wet,
too moldy, etc.). A second storage trailer is on order to provide backup space.
• Mr. Griffin had a recent call with Sanborne & Associates regarding data
collection at the transfer station documenting traffic flow, amount of traffic, etc.
The goal is to improve traffic and user experience at the transfer station.
Engineers talked about proposed significant changes, which were interesting, but
perhaps not within budget. The "low hanging fruit" option might give us some
quick fixes that we can implement now while keeping options open for bigger
and more significant changes in the future. S&A is looking at both the Recycling
Center and the DPW site for the $55K allocated to planning. One thought is to
take down the old trash building, which would open more access to the site.
The Scout Bottle Shed is up and running. DPW helped the scouts rebuild some of
their transport bins and asked them to put doors on the bins and they did. The
gate attendant opens and closes the bin each day. The public was reminded that
the Scouts do not accept glass bottles, only returnable aluminum, or plastic. The
scouts (Boys, Girls, and Cubs) are using the income to support their activities.
• The Planet Aid Textile bins are supposed to be removed before new ones from
Bay State Textiles are ordered. The hope is that removal will happen this week so
that Bay State will come in with new ones.
• Battery Tape: It was clarified that only the terminal ends of the batteries need to
be taped to prevent accidental contact and arcing or combustion.
• Feedback regarding Recycling Center shared at Brewster Recycling Day: The big
issue and concern was traffic at the transfer system. Another topic of high
interested was the mistaken belief that rate of recycling is very low, only 2% or
10%, so everyone thinks "why bother?" We need to disabuse the public of this
notion. In Brewster, and in the state of Massachusetts, the percentage is much
higher. Griffin commented that he had feedback from Sanborne & Associates
that our recycling percentages are inordinately high. We were pleased to be able
to document its accuracy.
• Waste Characterization: We cannot go to SEMASS for a "waste characterization"
analysis due to safety concerns. It was suggested that we put a tarp down in the
big building and empty some bags before we send them along. The law requires
a waste characterization every few years at Energy -from -Waste facilities only;
landfills are exempt. From a report provided by SEMASS, textiles represent 3.7%
of the aggregated waste stream (SEMASS processes 3000 tons per day; Brewster
is a very small portion of that). Discussion ensued about the logistics and cost
versus benefit of undertaking this project. Being a pay -as -you -throw community,
we are exempt from this requirement, thus our yellow bags are not checked.
Other issues mentioned included liability, statistical significance, possibly using
the opportunity to look beyond just textiles, the effectiveness of pay -as -you -
throw at reducing gross tonnage. A related discussion ensued about the
availability of the yellow bags themselves; how can we make them more
available within Brewster at commercial locations and possibly at other
community locations (library, places of worship, public buildings). The Chair will
bring this issue to the attention of the Town Administrators office.
• Materials Recovery Facility: We will wait until Fall when work on the Cape Cod
bridges is done, weather is cooler, and traffic is down.
8. Recycling & Outreach programs
i. Facebook: Dr. Chaffee and/or Ms. Kalinick will advise of any further
discussions held by town management at the next meeting.
ii. Brewster Conservation Day feedback: Lots of opportunities to educate
kids and parents. Discussion about making a one -pager for citizens about
promoting the efforts of this committee when it comes to various
initiatives like the water refilling stations and recycling. Discussion about
pushing information through the town email blasts instead of expecting
people to go looking for it on the website. Lots of positive feedback about
everyone's experience during the event. Ms. Scott proposed considering
"Plastic Free July" as a theme for next year; it would be a way to
challenge our community to reduce plastic waste for one month. We will
devote a portion of the January meeting to prepare for 2024 BCD.
iii. Recycling Forum: The Chair and Dr. Chaffee need to conduct some
research on expanded polystyrene and will report back to the
Commission. Chair Morris stressed that we need to engage the
restauranteurs and seek their input during the study phase.
9. Swap Shop: Mr. Ryder reports it seems to be operating well. Minor requests by
volunteers for supplies were easily fulfilled. The Swap Shop is an important part of our
multi -pronged effort to keep items out of the trash, and its volunteers are very
hardworking.
10. Town Department Liaison Updates: none
11. FYIs
1. Where Do Our Recyclables Go? (waste360.com); Does recycling work? Should you
recycle? Questions answered I Raleigh News & Observer am ro'ect.or Eating
microwave popcorn increases the level of PFAS in body UCLA Health
12. Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair: None.
13. Next Meeting: Discussion about not meeting in August; Mr. Johnson makes motion that
we do not meet in August. Motion carries unanimously. Next meeting is September 19.
14. Adjournment at 3:07 PM.
Patricia Semple
67 Rosemary Lane, Brewster MA 02631