How Much Waste Does Massachusetts Produce Each Year?

Recently, with an uptick in weather anomalies and growing awareness around Climate Change, more people are looking for ways to protect the environment. One of the largest contributors is overconsumption, which produces huge amounts of waste and pollution. In 2016, Massachusetts produced 5.6 million tons of solid waste which was sent to landfills or incinerators. Almost 80% of what Massachusetts burned at one of its largest incinerators in 2016 could have been reused, recycled, or composted. 

But this may be our saving grace, how much we can reduce, reuse, and recycle to protect our local environment and reduce our emissions. By recycling and donating as much as possible we can all positively affect the environment. Improved approaches to sustainable waste management must be taken.

In Massachusetts, with our long history of the industry, we know how important preventing pollution is. In Worcester, the Blackstone River used to be considered one of the most polluted in the country. But with the Worcester trash removal and river clean program, we have seen a great improvement to our Massachusetts ecosystem. By playing our part, we can protect our ecosystem and help the fight against pollution and climate change. 

Many know the importance of recycling but struggle to find ways to incorporate it into our lives. We aren’t certain about what can or can’t be recycled, or how we can find fast free appliance removal while making sure it is sustainably disposed of. We understand the learning curve can be overwhelming! This is why we are here to properly and kindly educate our community members. 

Different materials require different types of care to ensure environmentally sound disposal. The first thing is to separate your waste and see what can be recycled or donated. Make sure you don’t mix in regular trash with recycling as it cannot be separated once collected. Recover all your paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and containers, glass bottles and jars, aluminum cans and foil, and steel tins for your recycling bins. Massachusetts State law requires every landfill to have recycling and composting sites so it is easy to take part. Just make sure you don’t put your recycles in plastic bags because they aren’t recyclable. 

You can collect your green waste (food waste, grass cutting, and other waste from your garden) for composting. One of the easy ways to reduce your waste is to start a compost bin at home. To compost, you just collect your green waste and put it in the bin where over time, it decomposes into rich fertilizer for your garden. You can receive a compost bin through the low-cost Massachusetts Compost Bin Distribution Program, or you can make building one a fun DIY project for your family. 

For white goods (refrigerators, washing machines, ovens, etc.), e-waste, clothes, furniture, or scrap materials like wood or metal, it gets a little more complicated. The most eco-friendly thing is to find a way to donate your waste. Donating used items can also help people in need and reduce unnecessary consumption. 

When choosing a waste removal service, you need to consider where your junk is going. There are a few options for junk removal in Worcester but the most eco-friendly is Green Team Junk Removals. They have relationships with charities and the local recycling plants. They recycle, reuse and donate 80% of all they haul and service the Worcester community as well as the rest of Massachusetts. 

By recycling, reusing, and donating our junk, we can reduce our waste and help protect the Massachusetts environment.