MassDEP publishes report on Massachusetts C&D market

The Brattleboro, Vermont-based Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) and DSM Environmental Services (DSM), Windsor, Vermont, have contracted with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to evaluate the current and future status of construction and demolition (C&D) debris management in Massachusetts, as well as to identify and recommend potential opportunities for the diversion of a greater proportion of recyclable materials to recycling markets.

The final report, Massachusetts Construction & Demolition Debris Market Study, has been published and can be accessed here. The project commenced in July 2016 with the field work undertaken between September and December 2016.

NERC provided administrative functions for the project and DSM carried out the field work, analysis and report writing tasks.

MassDEP has established a goal of diverting 50 percent of C&D materials from disposal, but in recent years the actual diversion rate has plateaued at around 30 percent. The primary objective of the analysis undertaken by DSM was to first assess incoming and outgoing materials at Massachusetts C&D processors and handling facilities, and to determine what the opportunities and constraints are to increase materials diversion beyond 30 percent.

In its conclusion of the report, DSM Environmental says, "Processors in Massachusetts are doing a relatively good job of recovering materials from mixed C&D waste – currently recovering roughly 50 percent of marketable materials, resulting in a 32 percent recycling rate for C&D waste managed in Massachusetts."

NERC is a multistate nonprofit organization that says it is committed to environmental and economic sustainability through responsible solid waste management. Its programs emphasize source reduction, reuse, recycling, composting, environmentally preferable purchasing and decreasing the toxicity of the solid waste stream in the 11-state region comprising Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

DSM Environmental is a small, specialized environmental consulting firm working globally to advance recycling, materials management and solid waste management strategies.