HomeMy Public PortalAboutRecycling Commission -- 2023-06-20 MinutesBrewster Recycling Commission
Meeting Minutes from June 20, 2023
Conference Room A, Town Hall
In Attendance: Meg Morris (Chair), Pat Semple, Peter Johnson, Sue Skidmore, Katie Scott, Griffin
Ryder, Annie Dugan. Griffin Ryder took notes.
Excused: Pat Semple
Liaisons Present Physically or on Zoom: Donna Kalinick (ATA), Dr. Mary Chaffee (SB), Frank
Bridges (FinCom)
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. No Minutes were approved at this meeting.
7. Update from DPW regarding:
a. Scout Bottle Shed: Mr. Ryder advised that the Boy Scouts were fixing/cleaning up
the bin and that there would be a 'soft' opening soon. for safety reasons, the
Scouts will not accept glass deposit bottles; they should go into the Town glass
bin instead. Once operational, the Boy, Girl and Cub Scouts will take turns
monitoring the bin and earning revenue.
b. Textiles: Mr. Ryder suggested that considering we now receive a revenue from
Bay State Textiles ($120/ton) that we consider adding an additional bin from Bay
State and reducing one or two others. Currently we have 3 Salvation Army, 2
Planet Aid, 1 Red Cross and 1 Bay State Textile. A discussion ensued with the
recommendation that we substitute Bay State Textile bins for the Planet Aid bins
and that we keep at least 2 Salvation Army (non-profit) and subject to any
reconfiguration of the site, that we consider how many bins we need on site. The
question was raised about the percentage of textiles we thought were in the
yellow bags. Chair Morris explained that Waste Characterizations are completed
routinely at SEMASS and perhaps we could get a sense by opening some of our
yellow bags.
c. Car Reader Permitting: Mr. Ryder loves the system and feels the metrics gained
will be helpful in the discussions with Sanborn Head relative to any
reconfiguration of the drop off area.
S. Recycling Outreach Programs & Updates
a. Whitecaps opening day - new bins for recycling were donated by the Eddy
Elementary Earth Club. The White Caps interns are responsible for managing the
bins and it appears to be going well. The Chair thanked Ms. Skidmore for her role
in getting the program off the ground.
b. Eddy Elementary Organics Program is continuing and in addition to separating
their organics, the kids were also encouraged not to waste food. The program
has received funding for the next school year to continue the work with Black
Earth Composting. The students have been amazing, they don gloves and
conduct their own waste characterization. The Earth Club team gave an
impromptu speech on their own when they got a little frustrated finding
recyclables in the trash. A great peer to peer approach. Dr. Chaffee suggested
asking the kids to join Brewster Conservation Day. The Chair will look into it.
c. Brewster Conservation Day is July 8 - 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. The Chair advised that
a combination kid's game using volunteers from BRC and Cape Cod Anti -Litter
Coalition would be hosted. Kids will be asked to pick up litter and put it either in
the trash or in the recycling bin, using grabbers. Commission members are
encouraged to attend and help man the booth. The BRC booth may look similar
to last year's booth.
d. Structured recycling outreach is all about how to enhance recycling, which is at
the end of the road when it comes to good practices. The Chair asked Dr. Chaffee
for her thoughts. She reminded the board about the very successful "Let's talk
trash" forum from 4 years ago and recommended we think about doing an
update which would encourage the 8 Rs, including recycling resulting in reduced
MSW loads. She wants to help residents and users to learn as much as possible
to do the best job possible. Ms. Scott asked about our social media opportunities
and suggested that we look at what other towns have done, including Wellfleet,
to educate the demographic that needs to be educated. Dr. Chaffee noted that
the Recycling Commission has the opportunity to post information on the Town's
social media platforms.
i. The discussion of a separate Facebook page for the Recycling Commission
ensued. It was noted that the Recycling Commission isn't the only
committee to ask for a separate page, however, there is concern that
information posted could be inaccurate or in conflict with what is on the
Town website or other social media pages. Both Ms. Kalinick and Dr.
Chaffee assured the Commission that the matter is under discussion at
the Select Board and Town Administration level, but they cannot tell one
committee it's okay and then deny another committee. The Chair
recommended that members take a look at the Wellfleet Recycling
Committee Facebook page before the next meeting. Meanwhile the
Commission will produce content to be on the Town's webpage.
e. Visit to Materials Recovery Facility will be scheduled as soon as practicable. The
Chair suggested that some of the SB or other newly elected officials may be
interested in attending as well.
9. Swap Shop: Ms. Kalinick reported that the swap shop is open Friday— Monday now and
that everything is going well.
10. Town Department Updates: nothing else.
11. FYIs Noted
12. Matters not reasonably anticipated by the Chair.
a. The Chair noted that the Fixit Clinic will be held in the Fall, rather than the
summer due to changes in management at the Library.
13. Next Meeting on July 18 at 2 PM. The Commission is planning on returning to the third
Tuesday of the month.
14. Meeting adjourned.
Meeting Minutes taken by Griffin Ryder & Meg Morris