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MassDEP reviews recycling market development action plan, flags land, outreach and organics infrastructure as priorities
Summary
At the work group’s first 2025 meeting, MassDEP staff reviewed progress on the 2020–2030 Solid Waste Master Plan and the Recycling Market Development Action Plan, and discussed next steps including grant launches, outreach, incubator concepts and organics infrastructure mapping.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) used its first Recycling Market Development Work Group meeting of 2025 to report progress on state recycling market development efforts and to gather stakeholder feedback on siting, outreach and organics infrastructure.
"This is our first meeting of 2025. We convened this work group back in 2022, and this is our ninth meeting so far of the recycling market development work group," said Sean Silver, a MassDEP steward for the work group, opening the session and outlining the agenda.
MassDEP staff said the Recycling Market Development Action Plan — published in February 2024 as part of the agency’s broader 2020–2030 Solid Waste Master Plan finalized in 2021 — remains central to the agency’s strategy. Claudine Allian, MassDEP’s commercial waste reduction branch chief, summarized the master plan goal to reduce disposal by 30 percent (about 1.7 million tons) from roughly 5.7 million to 4 million tons by 2030, and noted disposal has increased by about 9 percent (roughly 500,000 tons) in recent years, a change staff attributed in part to economic growth.
Staff described a three‑pronged approach in the action plan: business support and economic development, building demand for recycled products, and research and development. MassDEP said it has expanded the Recycling Business Development Grant eligibility to include reuse projects, continues to operate a Recycling Loan Fund, has published guidance for recycling businesses, and plans to launch its Waste Reduction Innovation Grant in mid‑April. The agency also named outreach to minority‑owned businesses and environmental‑justice communities, connections to MassHire career centers for workforce needs, and coordination with the Operational Services Division (OSD) and the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAM) on recycled‑content purchasing as ongoing action items.
Stakeholders raised site‑identification and land availability as pressing barriers for processors. Attendees suggested MassDevelopment may be the state agency best positioned to help businesses identify available industrial or state‑owned properties suitable for recycling firms. Multiple participants said loss of light industrial land to housing pressures in the Boston region and other zoning changes make it harder to site processors or transfer stations.
Participants discussed incubator and accelerator models used in other states and encouraged MassDEP to partner with existing clean‑tech incubators, accelerators and business support organizations to reach startups and scale projects. Attendees recommended cross‑listing grant opportunities on the state business front door portal and working with the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, Mass Clean Energy Center, regional planning agencies and industry associations for targeted outreach.
Organics and composting drew extended discussion. MassDEP staff confirmed an upcoming Organic Subcommittee meeting on April 10 to dig into organics management and infrastructure. Stakeholders from composting and anaerobic digestion operations said capacity and geographic distribution remain uneven: some rural operators reported long hauls and limited local receiving capacity, while others suggested more municipal compost sites could capture residential organics without the higher reject rates associated with some AD de‑packaging systems.
MassDEP staff said multiple existing programs — the Recycling Business Development Grant, the Recycling Loan Fund and the Sustainable Materials Recovery Program — continue to fund food‑waste infrastructure and municipal reuse efforts, but staff and stakeholders agreed more mapping of capacity gaps and targeted investments will be needed to support future policy choices, including lower thresholds or expanded food‑waste bans.
Why this matters: MassDEP’s action plan and the upcoming innovation grant together steer where state dollars and technical assistance will flow. Site availability, workforce needs, outreach channels and the distribution of organics infrastructure will shape whether those investments lead to in‑state processing capacity and measurable diversion increases.
MassDEP said it will continue outreach, build connections with state and regional partners, and hold a fall working group meeting with updates on master plan implementation and the grant program.
