Campaign for Zero Waste

In a throwaway society where air and water pollution threaten our health and environment, we need to reduce our use of resources, reuse what we can, and recycle the rest. So MASSPIRG is fighting to get the commonwealth on the path to a strong zero waste future.

Every decade, the commonwealth issues a new Solid Waste Master Plan, which serves as our blueprint for dealing with waste.

The Department of Environmental Protection released the draft of the next Master Plan in July 2010 but has yet to release the final draft. And while the draft plan is titled "The Pathway to Zero Waste," and includes many important ideas and policies, it also includes some problematic loopholes and does not move Massachusetts fast enough towards zero waste. 

Tell the DEP to finalize their Solid Waste Master Plan and make an even stronger commitment to getting Massachusetts away from our culture of burying and burning our trash.

Let’s Implement Commonsense Solutions

According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, recycling levels have leveled off in recent years.

Instead of our government figuring out how to “manage” our waste by looking for more places to bury or burn it, we should launch an ambitious plan to reduce, reuse and recycle our waste — only then can we ever hope to arrive at a zero waste future.

• Reduce: Less than 5% of plastic bags ever get recycled, so many stores and municipalities are phasing them out altogether in favor of reusable bags.

• Reuse: If all we did was update the Bottle Bill to include more containers, in one year we’d recycle enough containers to fill up Fenway Park to the Monster seats.

• Recycle: Recycled content requirements have helped build markets for recycled materials, cutting back significantly on waste.