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MassDEP expands grant, inspection and market‑development efforts to cut banned materials in trash
Summary
MassDEP told the Solid Waste Advisory Committee in June it is expanding grant and loan support, technical assistance and inspections to reduce banned materials in commercial loads and spur recycling markets, and reported 465 notices of noncompliance and 12 administrative consent orders tied to waste‑ban enforcement since 2021.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s commercial waste reduction branch outlined an array of market‑development grants, technical assistance and enforcement activity at the Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting in June, saying the state is combining funding and inspections to reduce banned and targeted materials in commercial trash.
“Every four or so loads of trash that MassDEP observes at solid waste facilities contains significant amounts of materials that are banned from disposal,” Claudine Nalian, commercial waste reduction branch chief at MassDEP, said in her presentation, noting the agency’s goal to reduce banned‑material content in waste‑fill loads to 10% by 2030.
MassDEP described several funding tools for businesses and processors: the Recycling and Reuse Business Development Grant (RBDG), which has awarded 74 grants totaling more than $8.5 million since 2016 and 56 grants worth $5.5 million in the past five years; a recycling loan fund (historically 91 loans totaling about $20.8 million) administered by BDC Capital; and a newly posted Waste Reduction Innovation Grant open through July 15 to support startup pilots and innovative capital investments focused on materials with limited outlets (glass, wood, asphalt shingles, textiles, lithium‑ion battery end‑of‑life and bulk items).
MassDEP also described program support administered by contract, including Recycling Works in Massachusetts, which provides free technical assistance to businesses and institutions (phone, email and on‑site help), and the state‑funded Green Team program for K–12 schools. Recycling Works reported hundreds of technical assistance engagements and more than 100,000 website visits through fiscal 2024.
Agency enforcement and compliance activity tied to waste bans was summarized: since 2021 MassDEP and inspectors conducted multiple inspections and observed loads resulting in 465 notices of noncompliance and 12 administrative consent orders with penalties. John Fisher and other staff said some failed loads do not always yield a formal notice when facilities remove specific items from loads, when routes include multiple generators, or when the origin of a banned item cannot be conclusively identified on inspection.
MassDEP staff and committee members discussed targeted market opportunities (recycling of solar panels, asphalt shingles and glass) and the need for coordination with state procurement and infrastructure investment. The agency also highlighted coordination with incubators, economic development offices and other states to expand market development and said it plans another round of the RBDG program in the fall and continues to promote the recycling loan fund and the new innovation grant.
MassDEP encouraged stakeholders to use its guidance materials (recycling business assistance guides, reusable foodservice guidance) and contact commercial branch staff for grant, loan and technical assistance opportunities.
