HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-02-10 Solid Waste Advisory Committee Minutes;A(I. U *lea:)iO 6
Solid Waste Advisory Committee
10 February 1999, Arnold Berger Room, Town Hall
Present at meeting: (Members) Bob Brown, Jackie Chipman, Jean Krogh, i ~ ' Jy`
Zarrow; (Staff) Ted McIntire; (Liaison from FinCom) Neil Cohen
Jackie called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. The minutes of the January meeting were approved
as corrected (4-0-1).
Recycling in the schools Lynda and Jackie met with Jeff Griffin, facilities manager for the
Reading public schools, about recycling in the school system. The meeting resulted in three
projects: (1) To test recycled-content copy paper (Hammermill-20% total recovered fiber; 20%
postconsumer fiber) in school photocopying machines to establish reliability. Lynda made 750
copies of a document (4 stapled, double-sided pages) on the machine in the Superintendent's
office, and it worked fine. The paper will also be tested on machines at Eaton and Barrows. The
price of recycled-content paper versus virgin paper could be an issue. Jackie will ask Paula
Schena (the Town Manager's secretary) how much the Town is paying for recycled-content copy
paper, who to order it from, and whether the schools could piggyback on the Town's order. (2)
To begin saving spent fluorescent bulbs at the schools, which will eventually be stored in the new
shed at the DPW garage. Jeff Griffin sent a memo to school and Town employees asking them to
put the bulbs back in their original cartons and save them. (3) To develop a process for recycling
tin cans from the school cafeterias. A meeting has been scheduled for February 24 to discuss
recycling of recyclable food containers at all schools (which are mostly tin cans). SWAC
members at the meeting will also ask about getting red bins for classrooms to facilitate paper
recycling (Parker already has such bins). Ted reported that according to John Tognazzi of Waste
Management, the high school is now recycling paper.
Reading's Hidden Treasure, junior edition Jackie suggested selecting 24 topics from RHT, one
per grade per elementary school. Each grade would have a contest to illustrate one topic, which
would become a page in the RHT junior edition. The illustrations that aren't chosen could be
displayed at the schools. Jean, Jackie, and Lynda formed a subcommittee to work on this project.
Community Day activities Lynda, Jennifer Culbert, and Jackie met with Camille Anthony, the
Downtown Steering Committee, and the Garden Club to plan activities for Community Day
(April N,10-3; rain date 4/25). (This is essentially a joint Community Day/Earth Day
celebration; Jackie noted the importance of keeping the Earth Day focus in planning the event.)
Lynda has written to community groups telling them what is already planned and asking whether
they would like to get involved. The events already planned include nature walks, bird-watching
walks, a concert by Roger Tinknell, tours of the Ipswich River, and tours of the Reading water
treatment plant.... Some funding will be needed::(e.g., $400 to pay Roger Tinknell and possibly for
a custodian so participants can use the Field House bathrooms, money for printing flyers). Ted
will ask Waste Management whether they might contribute. The committee discussed advertising
the next household hazardous waste collection (including fluorescent bulb collection) at the
event. The committee also discussed the pros and cons of having a hydroseeding demonstration
at the event. Hydroseeding reuses postconsumer paper, but it also encourages water consumption,
and the mixture contains fertilizer. The committee decided not to suggest such a demonstration
for Community Day. (Reading's paper is no longer going to the hydroseed manufacturer in
Woburn. Ted thinks it's probably going to North Shore Recycled Fibers.)
Y , Reading's Hidden Treasure update Kay Clark will input corrections over school vacation; Anne
will proofread. Ted suggested printing enough copies to give to the condominium owners, to send
to people who move into town, and to display at the library. (New homeowners are identified
when they set up a water account; they receive a copy of RHT at that time.) There are 699 condo
units, so Ted suggests printing 800-900 booklets. Ted will include the Town's trash and recycling
regulations in the next SWAC packet, for review.
Condo trash and recycling education campaign Lynda has designed a flyer to be sent to condo
owners, which can double as a poster in collection areas. Anne will draft a letter to condo owners
to be included for comments in the next SWAC packet. Ted is starting to call condo association
trustees to set up meetings to discuss trash and recycling pickup. The education packet needs to
be completed by March 15. It will include (a) the letter, (b) the flyer, (c) a copy of the current
recycling flyer produced with DEP grant money, (d) Reading's trash and recycling regulations,
and (e) when complete, Reading's Hidden Treasure. Ted would like to measure the condos'
recycling rate; the procedure may simply consist of looking at the containers just before a pickup.
Fluorescent bulb storage shed Engineering is preparing a site plan for the shed, to submit to
DEP. Ted reported that DEP has sent color chips of recycled paint. He will show these to Lynda
and Jackie; they are choosing paint to be used in painting planters for Reading Square at the
Community Day event.
Batteries Bob reported that Sears is now collecting NiCad batteries. Lynda has written an article
about batteries for the Chronicle and the Advocate.
Textile collection Anne reported that the Social Action Committee at the Unitarian Universalist
Church will hold the next textile collection on March 27, 8 2, at the DPW garage. Ecosmith will
once again supply a trailer and pick up the textiles. The used-textile market is still very depressed
and the payment will be 3 cents per pound (down from 7 cents).
Computer recycling Anne reported that Linda King (former SWAC member) spoke with Chris
Rich at the Computer Depot about computer recycling. Anne followed up on this and learned that
Chris is willing to accept and store used computer equipment, make it available to students (e.g.,
at the Voke) who need parts for projects, and arrange to send the rest to a computer-recycling
facility (e.g., Global Technologies). Anne will give Chris information from WasteCap regarding
computer-recycling vendors, tell him that the committee will be glad to help publicize his efforts,
and invite him to a future meeting.
Pay-As-You-Throw Gail Phillips-Spence, a Reading resident, called Jackie and Lynda,
advocating the adoption of Pay-As-You-Throw as a way of easing the upcoming budget crunch.
The committee will look into reviving this issue; Jackie will call Sharon Kishida about it. (Ted
noted that the cost of collecting and marketing recyclables now equals the cost of trash collection
and disposal.)
Reports Reports on the 1/29/99 legislators' meeting in Newburyport and the 1/28/99 meeting at
Ogden-Martin were included in the February SWAC packet. Bob noted two points: the start of
the ban on disposing of CRTs at landfills and incinerators has been delayed until. September; and
Reading displayed a 41% increase in recycling tonnage as reported for MRIP (Municipal
Recycling Incentive Program) in phase 1 year 2 over phase 1 year 1.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
. Submitted by Anne Mark