HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-05-13 Solid Waste Advisory Committee MinutesSOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE - May 13, 1998 - Berger Room, Town Hall
REVISED MINUTES
Present Bob. Brown, Jackie Chipman--(late),-Jean_Kr-agh,-Ted_Mclntire. (Staff),-A.nne
Mark, Lynda Zarrow and Jeff Griffin (guest)
The. meeting_was-.called-to-_order_at.7-35_p_ni. Minutes-from-the April.meeting_were
approved as amended 3-0-1.
REAPS: Jeff spoke -to_Richard Davidson, who promisedto call "the-young lady in-charge"
of REAPS from SWAC. Ted will contact Mr. Davidson, since no one has heard from him.
Jeff also noted-that he.has-provided_Tedwith- data on_the-schools' use-of-recycled _products
(toilet tissue, bags, paper towels, copier paper, etc.) to assist in tracking for the Town.
Tedhas, received a-diskette -frorn DEP which- will be-used- to track-this-data.
Ogden Martin Re: Eeo Bags: At Johnson's Hardware, Anne saw a copy of an article
stating that the-new- "environmentally friendly" Eco. Bags did.not.live.-up-to the company's
claims. Ted stated that these bags have not presented a problem at the compost area. Since
the- clairns-of.Eco.Bags are questionable, Ted is treating them-as any other-plastic-bag when
brought to the compost area. Anne, Jean and Lynda will place material from a sample-bag
in-their compost piles tosee how the material- breaks down.
EnviroExpo 198: Bob attended four sessions. At Green Purchasing, nothing new was
discussed, The session on Packaging. RerDesign- concernedthe white plastic. milk. bottle
used by Hood. Presenters (including a Hood representative) claimed that the bottles aren't
as-hard to. recycle- as -originally, thought.-. They can- be. recycled_ in four different-ways.
However, these methods can be labor intensive or decrease the value of the end product.
No action. was. suggested in the discussion. Electronics IZecyclin,: starting. in_January
1999, televisions and old computers will be banned from landfills/incinerators as white
goods- are-today- The_-State will use..grants.to ease..the impact.of.-this_change:.and_wilLadyise
citizens of places and methods of disposal.
Rousehold- Goods Collection.:- Lynda reports. that the-Mass. Coalition for the
Homeless (MCH) collected used household goods at nine Reading homes. She'll submit
an article to The Advocate. about this-second. annual collection.
Focus, Goals and Planning will be discussed at our next meeting. Since our
numerical goals are somewhat hard to focus on and measure, we may want to create short-
term concrete goals-that are easily measured and will ultimately allow us to-meet.-our
overall, long-term goals. Kay printed out our prior spreadsheet of goals, along with her
summary. of things. SWAC has_done_to achieve or work. toward_these_goals. Ted will send
each member Kay's information. We will each add our comments and thoughts,
and give them- to- Bob- by June 3.
Articles: Jean will submit an article to The Advocate about "Reading's Hidden Treasure'
and how it has-increased-recycling. Anne-will-speak to Larry. Walsh-at The Advocateand let
Jean know how our articles should be submitted.
Earth- Day:-This. year, we. organized- the Household Goods- Collection, but Jennifer's
articles were not published by The Chronicle. Earth Day and Mass. Recycles Day events
counttoward MRIP requirements: Anne attended the-Earth-Day event at the-Woburn, _Mall'
and said that "10 -15 eclectic groups" were represented. We plan to discuss Earth Day
1999 next month with Goals and-Planning.
Condo Collection: Ted is meeting with. condominium representatives on. May_ 28 to
answer questions. Bob will call Dick Smith, of the condo group, to see if he can attend
with Ted. Ted isunsure if condos realize that they must participate in recycling in order to
have their trash collected by the Town. Many condominiums have no storage space for
recyclables.
At the prior Town meeting, Dan Ensminger proposed that the Town budget would be
reduced by $36,000 if trash was not collected from condos. This proposal was approved.
However, Bob has asked that the issue be re-considered in the Fall and that a revolving
fund be established so that MRIP funds awarded to Reading will be used for SWAC-
related use only.
Re-Appointments: Bob-and Jean have both applied for re-appointment.
New Business: Bob will contact Martha Moore to invite her and two high school
students to our next meeting. These students- both had exhibits at the World Trade Center
about SWAC-related topics. Jean proposed taking a month off over the summer. We'll
discuss it at the June meeting.
Videos: Bob will obtain "Pay as You Throw in the Northeast" for a future meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 9:10, 5-0-0. Next meeting is June 10, 1998.
- Respectfully submitted by Lynda Zarrow