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MassDEP outlines RecycleSmart MA updates, tools and new RDP incentives
Summary
MassDEP's RecycleSmart team showcased updated multilingual guides, expanded Recyclopedia content and Beyond the Bin listings, reported September web metrics, and previewed a spring 2025 social-post activity tied to the Recycling Dividends Program. Staff also discussed an influencer pilot and embedding tools for municipalities.
BOSTON ' The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's RecycleSmart team on a recent webinar laid out updates to its recycling education tools, new outreach tactics and how municipalities can claim credit in the state's Recycling Dividends Program (RDP).
"RecycleSmart is an education and outreach program focused on what can and cannot be recycled in Massachusetts, and we launched in 2018," said Cathy Doudnath, an environmental analyst with MassDEP's municipal waste reduction branch. Doudnath led a live tour of recyclesmartma.org and described changes intended to improve clarity and reach.
The presentation highlighted several resources: the Smart Recycling Guide (now available in 12 languages), the Recyclopedia searchable database (about 800 items), the Beyond the Bin directory (more than 2,300 listings, 252 municipal CHARM entries), downloadable social and print materials, and two public quizzes. Doudnath said the site recorded 87,000 total page views in September 2024, with 57,000 of those going to Beyond the Bin, and the Recyclopedia saw about 30,000 uses that month.
Why it matters: MassDEP said the tools aim to reduce "wish cycling" and contamination at material recovery facilities (MRFs) by giving residents consistent, easy-to-share guidance. The agency also tied several website activities to municipal credit under RDP: embedding the Recyclopedia widget, linking to the main RecycleSmart site and linking to a specific Beyond the Bin page together can qualify as a waste-prevention outreach activity.
New and tested outreach methods included a small influencer pilot and transit advertising. Doudnath said RecycleSmart worked with two Instagram influencers who each produced a reel and stories; the pilot "led to us gaining over 250 Instagram followers" and was described as cost-effective. When asked about fees, staff said pilot payments ranged roughly from $250 to $700 depending on reach and deliverables. The team also ran posters on three transit authorities (MBTA, PVTA and Brockton Area Transit Authority) in English and Spanish but said transit ads were more expensive and produced fewer immediate web results.
Program changes and guidance: Doudnath said MassDEP added "no hazardous items" to the Smart Recycling Guide top "no" list after MRF operator feedback, and emphasized that some items (for example, black plastic) are listed as nonrecyclable in the Recyclopedia. The Smart Recycling Guide provides a pictured top-yes/top-no one-page summary intended for mailers, transfer station signage and municipal outreach.
How municipalities can use the tools: the Recyclopedia widget can be embedded on municipal websites by emailing recyclesmartma@mass.gov; just over 60 municipalities have done so. Doudnath encouraged municipalities to sync their acceptable-items lists with RecycleSmart's; a webinar poll indicated roughly 60% of participants had already synced lists. She said the agency expects the new spring 2025 RDP social-post activity to require RecycleSmart branding or a clear lead-back to the program in order to qualify.
Transparency and education: the webinar included a "Where Does It Go" interactive roadmap and an added behind-the-scenes MRF ("Murph") video intended to show residents the sorting process, worker roles and why correct sorting matters for safety and marketability.
Questions and next steps: in a live Q&A, participants asked whether Recyclopedia can be embedded in newsletter platforms (Doudnath said no; link only) and whether MassDEP can directly update municipal webpages (staff suggested speaking with municipal assistance coordinators or exploring technical assistance grants). Doudnath also announced an upcoming batteries webinar as part of Recycledpalooza for participants who want more detail on battery recycling and collection.
MassDEP left contact information and encouraged partners to sign up on the RecycleSmart partner page for resources and potential RDP credit. The webinar concluded after audience questions and an invitation to follow up by email.
