If you are a Municipal Recycling Coordinator or handle your town’s recycling as one of many hats, there are resources for you provided by the state. These knowledgeable, professional people in the solid waste field are called MACs, which stands for Municipal Assistance Coordinators, and they work with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to help Municipal Recycling Coordinators with a variety of things:
- solid waste and recycling contracts
- developing waste reduction and recycling programs for your municipality
- support as you roll out new programs
- education about best practices in recycling and waste reduction
- grant opportunities to help with recycling and waste prevention
- programs that will help lower your recycling contamination.
MACs cover large territories with many municipalities and have regular meetings in which they invite recycling coordinators and volunteers to learn and share their experiences and best practices. Many of them have decades of experience in the solid waste field, and all of them have a passion for reducing waste and recycling correctly.
Here is a link to the MAC page on the MassDEP website where you can find your municipality and determine what division you are in: MAC Info
If you are a municipal official and haven’t met yours yet, we suggest you reach out today!