SENATE DOCKET, NO. 229        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 454

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Marc R. Pacheco

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to recycling.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 229        FILED ON: 1/14/2015

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 454

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 389 OF 2013-2014.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

_______________

An Act relative to recycling.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. The commissioner of environmental protection shall establish performance standards for the reduction of municipal solid waste, as described in section 2, to achieve the purposes of the commonwealth's solid waste master plan and greenhouse gas reduction plan and to protect the natural environment, preserve resources, achieve progress toward the commonwealth's goals to reduce greenhouse gases and create green jobs in the commonwealth. The performance standards shall be promulgated by July 1, 2015.

SECTION 2. The department of environmental protection shall establish performance standards for municipal solid waste reduction on the basis of pounds per capita of solid waste disposed. The standards shall reduce solid waste to not more than 600 pounds per capita by July 1, 2016 and not more than 450 pounds per capita by July 1, 2021.

SECTION 3. Not later than October 1, 2015, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, in consultation with the department of environmental protection and the department of energy resources, shall develop a municipal solid waste standards action plan to assist municipalities in achieving the standards set forth in this act. The secretary shall review the effectiveness of existing recycling programs and other incentives available to achieve said standards and shall provide any recommendation including, but not limited to, potential regulatory and statutory changes to the commonwealths solid waste master plan, the 2020 Clean Energy and Climate Plan and the Commonwealth's Green Communities Plan. The secretary shall consult with the solid waste advisory committee in developing said plan.

SECTION 4. Cities and towns shall report to the department of environmental protection not later than September 1 of each year the total weight of solid waste disposed of through said city or town's solid waste program during the prior fiscal year, as well as the number of households and residents who participated in said program. If the department makes a determination that a city or town has not met the municipal solid waste reduction performance standards as prescribed by the department by July 1, 2016, said city or town shall submit a report to the department setting forth the reasons the town did not meet the standards and detailing a plan to achieve said performance standards by July 1, 2021. The department shall issue a report for all municipal solid waste programs not later than December 1 of that year providing per capita solid waste disposal statistics for all municipal solid waste programs and shall file the same with the clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives and the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture. The report may disaggregate solid waste tonnage information to highlight categories of waste including waste that is beyond the control of a city or town such as waste created as a result of a natural disaster.