The town's Recycling Committee is drumming up new ideas to spur recycling, especially of paper.
The local effort is being conducted in tandem with a statewide push called Mass Recycles Paper, launched recently by the Massachusetts Recycling Coalition. It is aimed at reducing what it claims is 1.5 million tons of paper that is thrown in the trash rather than recycled every year.
Mass Recycles Paper campaign is a public/private partnership of MassRecycle, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state and local officials, business leaders and concerned citizens.
Selectmen last month signed the Mass Recycles Paper resolution pledging to help the effort.
Now, recycling coordinator Doris Burtman wants to put words into action. Burtman believes the best way to increase recycling is through education and outreach.
"It's really about getting the message out that recycling paper is not just about newspaper," said Burtman. "With the technology today, we can recycle almost everything."
Burtman said people might not realize that things like envelopes with the plastic see-through windows and even notebook binders today are all recyclable. "That wasn't the case five and 10 years ago," said Burtman.
According to MassRecycle, 90 percent of Massachusetts residents have easy access to recycling programs, but Burtman said that doesn't mean people are using them.
Aside from being a moral and an environmental issue, Burtman said it's vital that people understand it's also an economic issue. According to MassRecycle, the estimated 1.5 million tons of paper that is thrown out every year costs more than $100 million.
"That's alarming to me," said Burtman. "We tend to think of ourselves as progressive and we think we're doing a good job, but we're not."
In addition to education and outreach, Burtman said the town's committee is looking at things to make recycling easier for people.
"The bins is one thing I'm looking at because they are so small, I know mine gets filled up quickly, and I think when the bin is full, things get thrown in the trash," said Burtman. "And it's a lot of work to lug them out and down the driveway."
Daily News staff writer Brian Falla can be reached at 781-433-8339 or bfalla@cnc.com
