As communities throughout the nation start to undertake zero waste insurance policies, some have had success by coordinating with state packages that present technical help, grant funding and coaching.
Audio system on the Nationwide Zero Waste Convention on Oct. 3 shared their experiences constructing relationships between municipalities and state businesses. They highlighted packages in Massachusetts and Colorado which might be particularly meant to assist smaller and mid-sized communities.
Smaller communities don’t typically have the workers or assets wanted to undertake overarching zero waste plans or make main adjustments to their supplies administration packages on their very own, stated Jeremy Drake, principal of Technique Zero Waste Options. That’s the place technical help and grant packages could make a distinction, he stated.
“Greater than 60% of the U.S. inhabitants reside in communities of fewer than 100,000 residents, so the U.S. can solely get to zero waste if these communities are on board,” he stated.
Managing municipal packages in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Division of Environmental Safety has created a number of packages and dealing teams meant to supply steerage and assets designed to be simply accessible for small and mid-sized municipalities, stated Kathi Mirza, the company’s department chief of municipal waste discount packages.
One program is a yearly cohort of municipal officers who’re invited to participate in a finest practices program for hauling contracts. MassDEP invitations communities whose contracts are expiring throughout the subsequent 24 months to month-to-month conferences that stroll members by means of the procurement course of and retains them on monitor with timelines and deadlines. The present cohort has greater than 20 municipalities concerned, together with small cities and bigger cities like Boston.
“It is about constructing these peer networks and sharing throughout communities and sharing assets and experiences,” Mirza stated. “We as DEP really need municipalities to be educated customers after they exit to bid. We wish them to know the procurement course of and all of the sophisticated guidelines and strategies and to develop confidence after they exit.”
MassDEP additionally presents ready-to-use templates for municipalities to switch for their very own wants. This contains templates for organizing strong waste and recycling service procurement, curbside assortment packages and recycling audit steerage.
Although such packages and providers concentrate on providing technical help, the state additionally presents grant funding by means of its Sustainable Supplies Restoration Program, which helps municipal recycling, composting, organics, supply discount and program improvement efforts. During the last 10 years, this system has provided $24 million for such initiatives, Mirza stated.
Drake highlighted current program adjustments in Medford, Mass., for instance of how states and municipalities can work collectively. In 2022, Medford, a metropolis of about 58,000 residents, confronted the top of a 10-year municipal assortment contract and regarded making some adjustments “to orient towards zero waste,” Drake stated.
Medford thought-about providing recycling pickups weekly as a substitute of each different week, however the price would have been excessive. So officers used state recycling and waste information, together with information from MassDEP to assist decide town would profit from persevering with twice-monthly recycling service whereas additionally investing in residential compost assortment, he stated. Medford additionally utilized for a MassDEP grant to assist fund 5,000 new compost assortment carts. “In the end, the MassDEP information actually helped open the door to citywide residential composting,” he stated.
Consulting with Colorado communities
Colorado’s state authorities additionally presents funding and technical help for communities who want extra assets to launch or enhance zero waste initiatives. The Colorado Division of Public Well being and Surroundings runs the Colorado Round Communities Enterprise, often called the C3 program. This system is funded by means of a landfill providers price that permits the enterprise fund to repeatedly replenish, stated Erin Girard, a waste diversion outreach and technical specialist at CDPHE.
A serious side of this work is the Technical Help Service Supplier program, which assists native governments, Okay-12 public faculty districts and tribes with waste diversion and nil waste packages. CDPHE works with Useful resource Recycling Techniques and EcoCycle as consulting contractors.
Up to now, this system has helped Colorado communities with coverage improvement help, academic initiatives, stakeholder engagement work and information assortment for efforts comparable to waste composition research, Girard stated. Particularly, the TASP program has helped a number of communities develop single-hauler ordinances, which have gotten a pattern throughout the state, she stated.
C3 additionally presents funding alternatives, which the company expects may begin up once more in 2025 as this system transitions from a earlier funding configuration.
The Metropolis and County of Broomfield, Colorado, is an instance of a smaller locality that leveraged state assets to develop its zero waste plan. In 2021, Broomfield acquired a Entrance Vary Waste Diversion program grant, a predecessor to the C3 program, which it used to rent a consulting staff. That staff helped develop a “strong, stakeholder-driven” plan that included enter from quite a few haulers. The ultimate zero waste plan additionally helped officers set the groundwork for a brand new single-hauler ordinance, which went into impact in September.
These Colorado and Massachusetts packages are simply two examples of how states throughout the nation could make significant connections with municipalities, Drake stated. Such packages assist bridge information gaps, provide extra workers time for implementing concepts, and leverage regional assets like information assortment efforts.
“These statewide packages have an actual alternative right here to be the clearinghouse for all issues zero waste within the state or the area, and to trace that and supply information, as a result of information can drive innovation,” he stated.