Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
John Fischer
Branch Chief, Waste Planning and Commercial Waste Reduction
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
1 Winter St., Boston
RE: Solid Waste Master Plan
Dear Mr. Fisher,
On behalf of the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association would like to offer its support for the Department of Environmental Protection’s proposal to modify the municipal solid waste incinerator moratorium on gasification and pyrolysis to convert non-recyclable materials into fuel.
At the time the moratorium was put into place, the gasification and pyrolysis technology was not available, and municipalities only had access to mass-burn incinerators for municipal waste. Today, these new technologies, in addition to expanded recycling, anaerobic digestion and other initiatives proposed in the Solid Waste Master Plan, make economic and environmental sense and have the potential to preserve limited open space, protect the environment and save municipalities money.
Cities and towns in Massachusetts have a demonstrated record as true stewards of the environment. This past summer, the research and policy organization Environment Massachusetts published “Massachusetts’s Solar Leaders: Cities and Towns at the Forefront of the Clean Energy Revolution,” a report that chronicles the enormous success that communities across the Commonwealth have had in facilitating the rapid development of solar energy facilities, making our state a national leader. Massachusetts now ranks No. 1 in energy efficiency, and second in solar generation. Almost all of our 351 cities and town host at least one renewable energy facility.
Our communities are also turning once dormant landfills into renewable energy generating facilities. More than 20 municipalities have solar installations on capped landfills, and more than 40 permit applications for solar developments on capped landfills are pending.
Massachusetts now has the opportunity to lead the nation in new environmentally safe waste disposal technology, which would meet stringent recycling, emissions and energy efficiency standards while providing municipalities with critical tools to adopt sustainable and cost-effective approaches to meeting energy needs and environmental challenges. In addition, the Solid Waste Master Plan would protect local municipal authority by subjecting these new facilities to the same site assignment rules as other solid waste facilities.
The Massachusetts Municipal Association will continue to review the Solid Waste Master Plan, and we look forward to offering comments in the future to address concerns that cities and towns have regarding certain aspects. In the meantime, though, we wanted to convey to you our strong endorsement of the proposal to modify the municipal solid waste incinerator moratorium. This aspect of your work will give cities and towns the opportunity to take advantage of promising new technologies to protect the environment and complement municipal recycling programs. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey C. Beckwith
Executive Director, MMA