MassDEP reviews midpoint progress on reduce-and-reuse plan, flags grants and fall workshop to boost deconstruction

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection on May 13 held the final of three midpoint-review webinars for its Reduce and Reuse Action Plan, reporting grant growth, new technical assistance and plans for a fall in-person workshop to advance deconstruction and building-material reuse across the state.

The review matters because deconstruction — taking buildings apart to preserve reusable materials — is a core strategy in the state's Solid Waste Master Plan to reduce disposal and lower greenhouse-gas emissions. MassDEP staff said progress includes more grant applications and awards that support reuse, a developing repository of technical resources and ongoing coordination with state procurement and municipal programs.

MassDEP staff reviewed how the action plan (published December 2020) maps to barriers such as culture, infrastructure, markets and policy. The agency described several ongoing and planned efforts: expand tools and guidelines for project planning and materials management; run an in-person fall workshop to refine model ordinances and resources; continue grant rounds including microgrants and larger reuse business development awards; and work with the Operational Services Division on procurement and surplus-property reuse.

“Everything on the next few slides comes directly from the action plan,” MassDEP staff said during the webinar, summarizing actions and status. The agency highlighted recent grant activity (an increase in applications and awards supporting reuse, including deconstruction) and said it will continue tracking reuse outcomes alongside statewide waste-characterization data to estimate avoided disposal. MassDEP noted existing partners such as RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts, which already provides planning templates, sample specifications and lists of reuse outlets.

MassDEP listed current programs and funding streams relevant to deconstruction: - Reduce & Reuse microgrants (typical awards $3,000–$10,000); the presenter cited a recent microgrant award of $3,500 to a residential deconstruction pilot in Nantucket. - Recycling and Reuse Business Development Grants (larger grants, described in the webinar as roughly $50,000–$400,000), aimed at processing, manufacturing and reuse capacity. - Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP) municipal grants and the Recycling Dividends Program, which can be used by municipalities to fund deconstruction-related activities.

MassDEP also said it is assessing tools the agency could develop, including: - An online calculator to quantify environmental, economic and social benefits of reuse (not yet created). - A statewide education campaign and targeted outreach (examples include social media posts and an upcoming deconstruction newsletter). - A fall workshop that will aim to produce actionable items, including draft model ordinances and clarified incentives, and will solicit survey and interview input from stakeholders inside and outside Massachusetts.

On workforce development, MassDEP said it has not yet launched initiatives but is seeking partners — vocational schools, training providers and trade organizations were suggested during the webinar — and will explore grant support and amplification rather than deliver direct training.

MassDEP reiterated administrative follow-ups: webinar recordings and slide decks will be posted to the agency’s archive pages and registrants will receive links. Staff also reminded attendees of upcoming grant deadlines and application windows for several programs.

MassDEP framed the next steps as iterative: finalize the fall workshop scope, gather stakeholder input through surveys and interviews, publish a deconstruction-focused newsletter, and continue grantmaking and technical assistance to catalyze municipal pilots and nonprofit efforts.

MassDEP emphasized that many practical gaps remain — notably storage and short-term aggregation of salvaged materials, and matching supply to consistent demand — and positioned the fall workshop as the venue to define which actions MassDEP can lead, which require private-sector and municipal partnership, and what legislative or regulatory changes might be needed.

Looking ahead, staff asked attendees for targeted feedback on workforce partners, model ordinance needs and gaps in the toolset. MassDEP said it would use stakeholder inputs from the webinar series and the fall workshop to refine the action plan implementation for the remainder of the plan’s timeline.

MassDEP said recordings and materials would be distributed to registrants and posted online; staff also listed specific near-term grant deadlines for participants (microgrants due May 15; SMRP applications due June 2; business/innovation grant windows later in the year).