Dartmouth MA Awarded $147,000 Recycling Grant from State
Contact:
Joe Landolfi
o: 617.299.8021
c: 617.413.6270
jlandolfi@wastezero.com
Raleigh, NC - November 29, 2012 - Earlier this month, the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP)
awarded the Town of Dartmouth $147,000 to finance the purchase of
the Town's wheeled recycling carts for its new SMART (Save Money
and Reduce Trash) waste reduction program. More than $2
million were awarded across 118 cities, towns, regional groups, and
non-profits through the state's Sustainable Materials Recovery
Program (SMRP). Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced the
awards on November 15 to coincide with America Recycles Day.
According to MassDEP, the SMRP provides funding to promote
recycling, composting, reuse, and source reduction activities to
reduce the amount of waste that is deposited in landfills or burned
in incinerators.
"This is great news for the Town of Dartmouth and we are
extremely grateful to the state for the award," said Lara Stone,
chairperson, Dartmouth Select Board. "The tremendous success of our
program is a testament to our residents' commitment to the SMART
program, which has allowed us to significantly reduce waste and
further increase recycling."
The foundation for Dartmouth's SMART program dates back to
October 2007, when the town made efforts to more seriously address
waste and embrace recycling. That's when it converted its
subsidized, residential solid waste program to its enormously
successful WasteZero PAYT plastic bag waste reduction and recycling
program. In the program's first five months, recycling increased by
55% (18.5 tons per week), and municipal solid waste tonnage fell by
51% (more than 99 tons per week). Since its inception through June
2012, Dartmouth has diverted more than 6,000 tons annually from the
waste stream (a nearly 60% decrease), significantly extending the
lifespan of the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management
District's Crapo Hill Landfill. Simultaneously, recycling
increased 50%.
Then, in August 2012, with an eye on further enhancing its
already successful residential pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) program,
Dartmouth introduced its SMART ("Save Money and Reduce Trash")
program, which now included automated recycling collection. The
approximately 9,800 households participating in the SMART program
could now replace their 14-gallon bins with two new 65-gallon,
wheeled recycling carts-one for bottles, cans, and plastics, and
the other for paper and cardboard.
"In addition to the important environmental benefits of the
SMART program, there have been significant economic gains and
operational efficiencies that have benefitted Dartmouth," said
David Hickox, Director of Public Works. "Since the inception of our
PAYT (now SMART) program, we have reduced our solid waste budget by
more than $400,000, reduced the number of waste collection trucks
from four a day to two, as well as the number of personnel assigned
to each truck."
The Town's recycling efforts and, in particular, its SMART
program was also recently recognized by MassRecycling, the
statewide recycling coalition, at its 2012 MassRecycle
17th Annual Recycling Awards ceremony. Dartmouth, a
finalist for Municipal Recycler of the Year, received the silver
award.
About WasteZero
WasteZero, the leading provider of the most effective waste
reduction programs in the US, partners with approximately 800
municipalities to reduce waste landfilled and burned, increase
recycling, and generate savings. Our WasteZero Trash Metering™
programs and Pay-As-You-Throw conversion programs reduce solid
waste 44% annually on average. WasteZero uses leading edge
technology to manufacture all of our programs' supplies, including
customized plastic trash bags. Our Retail Store Distribution
Program™ offers trash bag warehousing, inventory management,
accounting, and more. WasteZero has offices in Cambridge, MA,
Raleigh, NC, Murrells Inlet, SC, and Chicago, IL.
For more information about WasteZero, please visit www.wastezero.com.