Waste Reduction Committee Minutes 09-05-2024 CITY OF BEVERLY
WASTE REDUCTION COMMITTEE
Meeting Minutes
Thursday September 5, 2024 at 6:30 PM
Mission Boathouse Community Room, 1 Water Street
Call to order: 6:38 p.m.
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Committee members present: Amy Henderson (Chair), Bonnie Dean, Julia Work, Hugh Howard,
Benjamin Hacker, Barbie Papalios
Committee members absent: Lisa Willwerth(Vice Chair) and John Swain
Invited participants and guests: City of Beverly Director of Sustainability Erina Keefe, Christine Frei,
Trash/Recycling Technical Compliance Officer Jason Foster, City Councilor Danielle Spang
Review minutes.lulu 11, 2024-VOTE to approve
• Tnstagram update - delete"then refocus"repeated phrase.
Howard moved to approve the July 11, 2024 minutes with above revision; Papalios seconded.
The motion carried(6-0).
Guest Speaker: Jason Foster: City of Beverly Trash/Recycling Technical Compliance Officer
Update
• Foster attended the meeting to provide an update on trash and recycling compliance in the City.
• He reported that a large part of his position has included educating residents on compliance and
what is non-compliant, specifically addressing excess trash left on the street and mattresses left
on the side of the road. When a residence is repeatedly out of compliance despite his attempts to
educate, he will send a letter to the home, and if that does not work, they will fine. the
homeowner, and the Health Department may get involved.
• He has also been educating the Republic crew on compliance and working with them and their
manager on picking up only compliant trash and recycling. He is trying to get the Republic crew
to tag items and send him pictures of non-compliant waste. Director Keefe stated that Republic
has been supposed to be tagging items for many years, but they have not because it has slowed
them down. Foster stated that the Republic crews are now unionized, so the timing of things
should not matter.
• Foster expressed that switching to automated trash and recycling pick up is the way to go and
that Danvers recently made the switch, which has benefitted them. In Beverly, he has seen trash
piles on the ground, and residents have expressed concerns about the loose trash attracting
vermin. He also stated that with automation, compliance will become more straightforward
because it will take the guesswork out of compliance (i.e. how many families live in certain
residences). Bulk items would be picked up by a separate non-automated truck,and a call ahead
for these items would likely have to be made with the switch to automation. Also, Mayor Cahill
has discussed getting electric trucks and the only way to get them is through automation, as they
do not make non-automated electric trucks.
• Chair Henderson and Director Keefe asked Foster to confirm where the City's trash was
delivered, and he said he would confirm.
• Chair Henderson asked what messaging has worked for Foster with residents, and Foster stated
that people have been open to being generally educated about compliance. Nine times out of ten,
the issue is fixed when they are informed of the rules. Chair Henderson asked if residents would
be receptive to WRC educating them on diverting waste and sorting their trash if they are having
issues with producing too much trash each week. WRC members discussed sending a letter
before offering assistance and creating a laminated waste reduction guide for multi-family
residences. Foster stated that he carries recycling dos and don'ts, which he leaves in the
mailboxes of non-compliant homes. Chair Henderson noted that if there is anything the WRC
can create that would be helpful, Foster should let them know.
• Foster stated that the WRC could email him with any questions.
Administrative Updates and Status Reports
• Tnstaaram Intern.UPDATE,VOTE to pay invoice in full
o Grace sent the WRC an invoice for her work over the summer. WRC authorized her to
produce 30 posts and/or stories, and she produced 31 posts and/or stories. Chair
Henderson would like to pay Grace$15 for her additional post to pay her in full.
Papalios moved to approve the invoice for$465; Work seconded.
The motion carried(6-0).
o WRC will work to see if a high school volunteer is interested in helping with WRC's
social media. Specifically, they will inquire with the Beverly Youth Council to see if any
of their peers are interested in this opportunity.
• Finances (tabled until October)
• Waste Reduction Numbers (tabled until next quarter janua 2025)
o Dean expressed that it would be easier for her to present quarterly when there is more
data to work with. She will next present in January 2025.
Meeting Event Reports
• Craft Swa Day at Beverly Public Libra
o Willwerth, Keefe, and Work attended the successful event, with 106 attendees and quality
craft supplies for patrons. The leftover materials were given to the Council on Aging and
the Library for events. WRC would love to support a future event.
• Dolben/Beverly Crossing_Renter Event
o Howard and Papalios attended the event in July, where they manned a table. They
received most questions from older folks, and younger people were less interested.
WRC's table was next to the Unpacked Living table, which was helpful because she had
traffic to her table throughout the event. WRC passed out the move-in/move-out fliers to
attendees.
Lobsterfest
o The event was successful, though there were fewer patrons than last year. It was a good
idea to have Black Earth Composting totes dropped off the day before the event. The first
Black Earth pick up was at 1 p.m., which was early as not many people had meals yet -
however, they were able to pick up corn husks from the food prep team. There were
enough volunteers for all the shifts. The biggest issue to the zero waste event was Salty's
Lobster Shack failing to utilize compostable materials, WRC will try to have them utilize
compostable materials next year.
o The following waste was diverted by the WRC team:
* 1 clear stream full of plastic film, which was brought to Whole Foods for
recycling;
■ 2 clear streams full of returnables, which Sandy Burgess took and made a
donation to Haven of Hunger (donation was for $10, there were more returnables
but one of the clear streams was taken from her driveway);
■ 1.5 clear streams of recycling,picked up by Republic;
■ 1 Iarge tote of cardboard,picked up by Republic;
■ I contractor bag of trash (mainly ice cream cups from Salty's, as well as butter
wrappers and dirty bibs); and
■ 10 totes of compost, taken by Black Earth Composting.
11pComing Events
• Vegan Market(,September 7. 2024 11 a.m. - 4
o The event will take place at Odell Park run by Katie from Soy Much brighter. Katie
reached out to Green Beverly, and they reached out to WRC to discuss making the event
zero waste. Chair Henderson informed Katie that planning for zero waste at the last
minute is difficult but that they should discuss implementing zero waste at future events.
• Beverly Main Streets Rantoul St. Block Party(September 21, 2024 5:30 - 9:30
o Beverly Main Streets had meetings in July to discuss how to make the events zero waste.
WRC and Beverly Main Streets have agreed to use this year as a marker to see what is
coming in, and to think about future events and what to do for waste diversion and
reduction.
o Green Beverly is taking on running a recycling and composting station themselves, but
would appreciate WRC volunteers.
o The event has dropped the "nearly zero waste" language as they have realized how much
goes into running a zero waste event.
• Fixlt Clinic at Beverly Farms Library(October_2_6, 2024 12 - 3
o Itena Sinclair is hosting this event and is interested in WRC volunteers, contact Chair
Henderson if you are interested.
• Pumpkin Smash Mvember 3.2024
o The event will take place on the first Sunday after Halloween,November 1, it is currently
on the City calendar. WRC anticipates that, like last year, the event will start earlier to
account for the lack of daylight.
• Mass Eco Fest(September 28, 2024 10 a.m. - 412,m.)
o The event will take place at Todd Farm in Rowley, MA hosted by Sabrina Auclair of
Unpacked Living.
• Common Ground Fair(September 20 - 22, 202D
o Maine event with educational aspects for composting and recycling. 90% of what is
generated from the fair is compostable or recyclable.
City Updates
• City food scrap dropoff is free for residents of the City. To access the public food composting
bins residents need to take an online quiz.
• Styrofoam Day (7anuary 11. 2025 10 a,m., -.1_.pm,
o The City is waiting on confirmation of truck availability. Advance drop off at the Beverly
Public Library will be available. The event will be hosted at Beverly High School.
o WRC thinks that providing education on other waste reduction issues while folks wait in
line is a good idea and worked well at the last styrofoam collection.
• Request for Quotes
a The City is reaching out to organizations, specifically Change is Simple, to provide
sustainability and waste reduction education to all 4th and 5th graders in Beverly,
• Multi-Family Education
o Director Keefe is adding to her to-do list creating large laminated posters about waste
reduction and recycling for multi-family residences in the City.
• Senior Day at Lynch Park during Homecoming)
o This event went smoothly, though there was not a lot of awareness about what the zero
waste table was for because they were performing the tasks "behind the scenes." A few
people came up to ask what they were doing and they got the chance to explain the zero
waste station.
• The Salem Waste Reduction Coordinator position has been filled and Director Keefe is in contact
with them.
• Zero Waste_Dav
o The event is being held off until next year because they ran into an issue retaining a bulky
rigid plastic collector. WRC suggested hosting the event next spring around spring
cleaning time.
Other Business
• Trash and Reacling in the news status on relevant bills in MA/Federal government
o Chair Henderson was emailing with Waneta Trabert concerning the Product Stewardship
Council's efforts to pass legislation. The MA Legislature failed to move forward on the
paint EPR despite an enormous amount of support. There were three attempts to get it
passed but it seemed to face pushback from industry/retailers who spread misinformation
concerning the bill. The PSC has their sights set on Battery EPR for next year and feel
this effort may be more successful because there is industry support.
o In July, the Biden-Harris administration passed a $14 million increase to the fiends for
domestic battery recycling; $7 million may be going to Batteries Plus and Staples - which
may be a good thing because it provides easy access to consumers. There is an ear mark
for 40% of the funds to go towards underserved communities. Link to article:
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $14__Million to Increase _Domestic Battery
may •
o In July, the Biden-Harris administration released a new strategy to tackle plastic pollution
and reduce single-use plastics. Link to article: FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration
Releases New Strateciv to Tackle Plastic Pollution Takes Action to Reduce Single-Use
Plastics in Federal Operations
o There is an organization in New Orleans, called Glass Half pull, which started a recycling
glass operation in their backyard and is now moving to open a$5 million operation. They
produce sand from glass recycling and have completed baseline safety tasting for marsh
restoration, Chair Henderson expressed that she would love to see Massachusetts move
toward utilizing their glass for something other than capping landfills. Link to article:
Louisiana glass processor expands_footprint, ervices
o A bottle bill, tacked on to a climate bill, did not pass. It would have increased deposit to
purchase all beverages, excluding dairy.
• 2024 Big Picture (see Schedule A) Status Report and 4th quarter goals
o Chair Henderson stated that looking at the chart the WRC has accomplished a lot this
year, and a lot more than last year. There is still a quarter left of 2024 and she would love
to plan more activities, including a field trip to Black Earth Composting. The WRC can
also plan for a social media campaign concerning waste reduction around the holidays
(pre-planning holiday gifts, giving second-hand gifts, and experiences, and using reusable
wrapping paper). Chair Henderson stated she would like to present before the City
Council in November or early next year about the 2030 waste reduction goals and what
actions the City is going to take to reach those goals.
• 2025 Goals
o Chair Henderson asked the WRC to begin to think about goals for next year and to reach
out to her if there is anything that excites the members that the committee should focus
on in 2025.
o Chair Henderson stated she would like to create social media posts about following your
waste, specifically "follow your glass bottle," "follow your aluminum can," and "follow
your plastic bottle."
o WRC members expressed wanting to host a zero waste day next year.
o There is an idea to have the zero waste clear streams included in the Library of Things
along with instructions for how to host a zero waste event. Perhaps the WRC could host a
training or require a training before allowing the clear streams to be checked out.
Other Updates and Discussion Items by Committee Members
• Howard informed the WRC that Green Beverly and Beverly Bike Committee will be hosting a
sustainability ride on September 22, 2024 at 1 p.m. The ride will be seven miles and go from
Lynch Park to the solar field at Beverly High School. The ride will discuss bike infrastructure,
solar, and resiliency at Lynch Park.
• Director Keefe told the group that there will be a documentary showing at Sully's on September
13th, the documentary will be about getting more involved in civic life.
• There is an article in the Washington Post discussing repair services and programs, link to article:
Here's what really happens when you trade in your used 'acket.
Adjourn: Papalios moved to adjourn; Work seconded. The motion carried(6-0) at 8:06 p.m.
NEXT MEETING
October 3, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.
Location: Sohier Room, Beverly Public Library