Every week, trash and recycling bins stamped with the town crest perch on the curb of Belmont curbs and driveways, ready for pickup. On a regular schedule—provided it isn’t a holiday nor the morning after a blizzard—residents’ household contents are whisked away, out of sight and out of mind until the empty bin is rolled up the driveway to begin the weekly cycle again.
For a small state, Massachusetts produces its fair share of waste. In fact, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection found there was a total waste disposal of over 6 million tons in 2023.
What’s more, 752,000 tons of recyclable material are lost to the trash each year in Massachusetts, according to the 2024 Recycling Partnership report. In other words, items that could be recycled are thrown in the trash, headed for a landfill.
Single-use plastic, including straws, plastic bags, and water bottles, all contribute to this exponentially growing rate of waste.
Steady Recycling Rates
Belmont uses single-stream recycling, meaning all different types of recyclable materials, from glass to cardboard, are mixed together. While this system often leads to higher contamination rates, including food contamination, Belmont bucks the trend.
According to Joseph Sten, the recycling coordinator for the town’s Department of Public Works, last year, Belmont’s contamination rate was around 4%. By comparison, the Recycling Partnership estimated a nationwide average contamination rate of about 17%, with more recent reports showing even higher rates.
“Belmont has a good recycling rate,” he said, noting the audit for this year’s contamination rate was underway. “People here know generally what goes where.”
In Belmont, you can recycle items with a number one, two or five on the bottom. However, Sten said the state is trying to stop people from “concern[ing] themselves with the numbers” and focus on “what it actually is that they’re recycling.”
For example, plastic film is technically recyclable, but it requires a different collection process than just placing it in your recycling bin. Additionally, plastic caps on bottles and cartons should remain attached when recycled. If the cap is recycled on its own, wind gusts at the sorting facility will blow it away.
Sten understands recycling requirements are ever changing and complex. The town is hosting a few events to help accommodate residents amidst these regulations. In particular, Sten highlighted a recent cardboard collection event the town held where people could drop off as much as they wanted.
These kinds of events act as a resource to “slowly educate people on what goes where,” said Sten.
Controlling Food Waste
Recycling doesn’t just concern plastic and paper; food waste is also considered in the process. According to Jon Laurie, municipal outreach coordinator for Black Earth Compost, 13% of Belmont residents compost, which helps to keep contamination rates of recycling low.
Black Earth Compost collects food scraps from Belmont and other New England towns. The scraps are taken to a compost facility and processed into nutrient-dense soil. This process diverts large amounts of food waste that would have ended up in a landfill. Black Earth currently has 1,228 clients in Belmont.
Steps Towards Sustainability
Ceilidh Yurenka, co-owner of YES! Your Eco Source, a sustainable and low-waste home and personal care store in Belmont, said shifting away from single-use plastic means “being willing to change your habits and doing things that are slightly less convenient…ultimately convenience doesn’t matter if we don’t have a planet.”
Piled high with garbage, recycles, and food waste, the state’s landfills are set to close in 2030, according to the Black Earth website. After that, the Bay States trash will have to be diverted elsewhere.
Laurie, the town’s outreach coordinator for Black Earth, ties this capacity problem to overconsumption. For example, consider how every extra clothing item purchased or free plastic water bottle taken, adds up.
“We need to take a collective deep breath and slow down a little bit,” he said.
According to Laurie, one of the greatest challenges a town like Belmont faces in living more sustainably is building awareness, especially around composting. He wants people to truly consider their impact on the environment.
“Think about your carbon footprint…where are you participating in sustainable practices…where does your food come from and where does it go when you’re done with it?” he asks.
To do this, he encourages people to shop locally, implement proper disposal practices, and really consider where all of your waste ends up.
“Awareness also has to be paired with solutions,” added Kate Bositis, co-owner of YES! Your Eco Source. “Awareness is great but my whole goal…is behavior change, and you can’t get behavior change if you don’t give people the resources that help them.”
YES! accepts hard-to-recycle items, such as razors, toothbrushes, and writing utensils. They also offer bulk refills of popular items, including hand soap and laundry detergent, where customers can come in with a container and fill up as needed instead of repurchasing plastic containers.
Bositis and Yurenka understand changing your lifestyle can be difficult and sometimes there will be slipups on the road to sustainability. They just want to be part of the movement forward.
“We believe that perfect should not be the enemy of good,” Bositis said. “…Every little step counts.”
