A pair of bills in Massachusetts could have some impact on recovery. One mandates reductions in statewide per-capita waste generation and another requires state government offices to divert a host of materials.
Both bills are currently in the state Senate.
S.2308 sets a statewide limit of no more than 600 pounds of waste by person by July 1, 2018 and no more than 450 pounds by July 1, 2022. It requires the state secretary of energy and environmental affairs to release a plan helping municipalities achieve the waste reductions.
S.2308 was drafted by the Senate Ways and Means Committee after it reviewed similar legislation. It has yet to be approved by the full Senate. WWLP.com reported on the bill and the amendments filed for it.
A different bill, S.2310, requires state government offices, including the courts system, to begin recycling the following materials by 2018: C&D debris, carpet, cathode ray tubes or CRT-containing devices, fluorescent lamps, glass containers, lead batteries, metal containers, recyclable paper, single-polymer plastics, tires, white goods and yard debris.
S.2310 was also created by the Senate Ways and Means Committee as a substitute for similar legislation it previously reviewed. The full Senate voted 38-0 to approve the bill on June 9. The House of Representatives has yet to consider the new bill.
