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Needham transfer station manager urges push to boost food-waste diversion
Summary
Matt DeMaris, superintendent of Needham's transfer station, told the Climate Action Committee the town's existing food-waste program diverts tens of tons a month but falls far short of potential; he recommended expanding drop-off points, school programs and public education while tracking costs and tonnage.
Matt DeMaris, superintendent of the transfer station for the Town of Needham, told the Climate Action Committee on July 8 that reducing trash tonnage by expanding food‑waste diversion will produce the town’s biggest near‑term climate and cost benefits. “I think that’s where we’re gonna have our biggest impact,” DeMaris said.
DeMaris described Needham’s current program, run under contract with AgriCycle Clean Energy. The contractor collects food waste at the transfer station and at the town’s schools and hauls material to an anaerobic digester in Maine. DeMaris said Needham has used AgriCycle for about three years and has “another two years on the contract.”
Why it matters: food diverted from the municipal trash stream lowers hauling and disposal costs and reduces greenhouse‑gas emissions tied to landfill or incineration. DeMaris said current diversion is modest compared with the town’s potential: “We’re probably diverting about 35, 36 tons per month.” He estimated the transfer station received about 750 tons last month and that roughly half of…
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