MassRecycle Podcast

Extended Producer Responsibility, or EPR, is a valuable legal tool to shift the costs of a product's waste management away from taxpayers and onto the manufacturers. In this episode, Gretchen interviews Waneta, MassRecycle's resident EPR expert, on her experiences with EPR and product stewardship throughout her career. They discuss the evolution of EPR policies in Europe and in the U.S., and the challenges in holding producers fiscally and operationally responsible for their products. Waneta explains how the current process of passing EPR policies works (and doesn't work) in Massachusetts, and how the MassPSC (Massachusetts Product Stewardship Council) plays a major role. [...]

When a key state grant vanished, one Cape Cod town’s marine debris recycling program nearly sank. Mike Cicale, foreman of the Wellfleet transfer station and former MassRecycle Board member,  joins Gretchen and Waneta to share how the town responded, navigating messy reimbursement rules, vendor mix‑ups, transportation snags, and the steep learning curve of grant management to keep the project afloat. With help from neighboring towns, Wellfleet turned informal regional partnerships into real power. They repurposed existing equipment, found revenue in scrap metal, and kept old oyster nets, lobster traps, and other debris out of the water. It’s a story of creativity, [...]

The Boston University  “Goodwill, Not Landfill” team faced a recurring challenge after student move‑out: thousands of pounds of good-quality bedding left behind that Goodwill couldn’t accept due to sanitary concerns. In response, Maria Gorret Nampiima, a graduate student in the BU School of Theology’s Faith and Ecological Justice program, with support from BU Zero Waste Manager Sarah Healey and a cross-campus team of invested faculty and staff, launched a volunteer-powered effort to launder, sterilize, and redistribute the bedding directly to local people who needed it most. In this episode, Maria and Sarah join Gretchen and Waneta to share how the project began, how [...]

Do you suffer from “Extreme Litter Awareness”? Neil Rhein does, and he has turned that constant noticing into a statewide mission. As the founder and executive director of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful (KMB), Neil joins Gretchen and Waneta to talk about the litter he cannot help but see in public spaces across the Commonwealth and how KMB is working to address it. Through town‑wide cleanups and youth education programs, KMB is inspiring the kind of behavior change that builds lifelong environmental stewardship. Community action is powerful, but it cannot stand alone. Neil explains why legislative support and partnership between volunteers and local governments [...]

Want a bird’s‑eye view of how far recycling has come in the last 30 years, and where it’s headed next? In this episode, Gretchen and Waneta chat with Brian Taylor, senior editor at Recycling Today Media Group. Brian shares how recycling trends have changed since he entered the industry in 1997 and how Recycling Today has grown and diversified its offerings in response. There’s plenty of good news: more types of materials are being pulled from the waste stream and put back to work, from metals to organics and beyond. But the challenges are real, too. Misinformation still clouds public understanding, and policy [...]

Source: Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District In this episode, Gretchen and Waneta talk with Anthony Novelli, executive director of the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District, about what it takes to operate a modern landfill. From the initial design, to the construction of the liner, to the choices of materials used for daily and intermediate cover, each decision has to ensure that waste is contained, contamination of groundwater is eliminated, and methane gas is controlled – all while efficiently handling the tons of waste delivered each day. Learn how the Crapo Hill landfill meets those challenges and adapts [...]

What if spaces were intentionally designed to optimize waste diversion and zero waste practices? In this episode, Gretchen and Waneta talk with Cory Page, landscape designer and alum of the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). As a student at GSD, Cory noticed that the setup of the waste and recycling system in the main school building was inadequate. Materials such as foam board and aerosol cans, common in the design studios, were not disposed of properly. The placement of trash and recycling bins throughout the building was inefficient. Cory launched a student-led initiative, the GSD Zero Waste Project, to address [...]

Few recyclable materials generate as much skepticism as plastics. In this episode, Gretchen and Waneta welcome Steve Alexander, president and CEO of the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR), to paint a clear picture of the current state of plastics recycling. The US recycles 5-7 million pounds of plastic annually, but where does that plastic come from, and what happens to it after it's recycled? Steve addresses issues such as confusion about what plastics can be recycled, why virgin plastic and imported recycled materials undermine domestic recycled plastic, how designing plastic products for recyclability helps support the circular economy, and much, much [...]

Shoes are not just an item of clothing; they are our main form of transportation. In this episode, Gretchen and Waneta welcome Dr. Yuly Fuentes, Project Manager for Fiber Technologies at MIT and Program Director of the MIT Climate Project, to talk about shoes and sustainability. Did you know that over 23 billion pairs of shoes are produced annually across the globe? Or that Massachusetts has long been a nexus for the global shoe industry?  Dr. Fuentes takes us through her work addressing the sustainability issues caused by shoe manufacture and disposal. Her initiatives include The Footwear Collective, a group of leading [...]

In this episode, we spotlight Cell Phones for Soldiers, a nonprofit that’s been bridging the digital divide for over 20 years. With 10,000 devices collected monthly from unique sources like MBTA lost and founds, funeral homes, and municipalities, they give forgotten phones a second life - connecting veterans and active-duty military members with vital communication tools. Learn how their R2-certified facility safely refurbishes devices, deletes sensitive data, and supports 1,300 veterans with subsidized phones - aiming to reach 30,000 in the coming years. Discover how you can get involved at cellphonesforsoldiers.com or by emailing Rob@cellphonesforsoldiers.com. Reuse, reconnect, and make a difference! [...]