Rob Tocchio's blog

Incinerator Moratorium Update

Posted by Rob Tocchio on May 1st, 2013

The Massachusetts DEP has released their “Master Plan” for solid waste management in Massachusetts. The major components in the plan include increase in recycling, reduction in overall waste, monitoring and enforcement of waste bans, and modification to the incinerator moratorium. The proposed modification of the incinerator moratorium would encourage the use of alternative technologies, such as gasification, for converting waste to energy or fuel under certain conditions (nma.org).

The incinerator moratorium was introduced in 1988. At that time there were fourteen applications at DEP for new incinerators to be built. Fourteen were way too much for the DEP to handle. Having that many incinerators would mean our state would be burning all trash/MSW. Possibly hurting municipal recycling programs. ... read more

Thank You MBTA

Posted by Rob Tocchio on March 9th, 2013

Dear MBTA (Mass Bay Transportation Authority for the non-Boston area readers),

Thank you for ruining another commute to work. The other day I spent nearly two hours on the red and green line attempting to go from Dorchester to Somerville, roughly ten miles.... read more

Plastic bags contaminating recycling

Posted by Rob Tocchio on February 3rd, 2013

Plastic bags still seem to be one of the hardest materials to recycle. Although they are made of very easily recyclable materials they can many times be a contaminant in regular recycling. Problems with trying to properly recycle plastic bags is nothing new. Plastic bags have always been one of those commodities that have posed a challenge to collect and recycle. It’s no wonder why so many people would like to see them banned from being used.

Plastic bags are typically made from one of three basic types: high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), or linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). The thicker glossier shopping bags from the mall or retail stores are LLDPE, while grocery bags are usually HDPE.

Today most recycling haulers are seeing plastic bags mixed in with recycling. This is occurring in both single stream and multi stream recycling programs. Plastic bags are being found mixed in both municipal and commercial recycling.... read more

Recycling finds

Posted by Rob Tocchio on August 7th, 2012

I’ve been working for a small recycling hauler for about two years now. We collect all around Boston and the surrounding area. I have come across a lot of items that are not recyclable stashed away in our recycling containers; in the business we call these contaminants. Some are funny and some are gross. Many are interesting.

Here is short list of interesting things I’ve found in the recycling:

Women’s shoes. So far I’ve found one and a half pairs of women’s shoes. Apparently women’s shoes appear discarded in recycling bins more than you think. My co-workers have also come across a few pairs in their day. In the past twenty five years of my company being in business collecting recycling, we have found about five pairs of women’s shoes, but no men’s shoes.

Dirty Diapers. This really sucks, almost as bad as dog waste. The smell is just horrendous. I’ve seen one or two of these in my short and illustrious recycling career. Why are you dumping your kid’s stinky diaper in a recycling bin? Please, moms of the world, stop this.... read more

Is Styrofoam recyclable?

Posted by Rob Tocchio on April 9th, 2012

Question: Is Styrofoam recyclable?
Answer: No. Yes. Well kind of, sort of.

I get this question almost weekly working for a recycling company. Many times people assume Styrofoam is recyclable, especially if it has a recycling symbol and number on the piece. Packaging pieces and Dunkin Donut cups keep appearing more and more mixed in with single stream and glass/plastics recycling.

... read more

Exporting Computers

Posted by Rob Tocchio on October 10th, 2011

Most people are against exporting old computers to other countries, especially developing countries. There are plenty of organizations and people out there that are whole-heartedly against the idea of sending our old computers out of the country.

Exporting computers to developing countries isn’t always a bad thing. Sending our trash to them so they can just dump it in a landfill is obviously bad. Sending them useable machines to re-use doesn’t seem like a horrible idea.... read more

Anti-incinerator

Posted by Rob Tocchio on April 2nd, 2011

A while back Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick reinstated the Incinerator Moratorium. The Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has had in place a moratorium on new municipal solid waste combustion facilities since 1990 (greenfutures.org). Incinerators that produce energy are also known as waste to energy facilities (WTE). These facilities burn solid waste (garbage, trash, etc.) and produce energy from the incineration of trash. Many hope this moratorium will increase and expand recycling efforts.

In a perfect world we wouldn’t need incinerators or landfills. The Governor is pushing towards a zero waste society. No society like this currently exists.

Trash still exists even without new incinerators being built. The trash is instead many times being trucked out of state to landfills. This is far from environmentally friendly. Large trucks hauling trash far distances create a large amount of emissions from the diesel trucks exhaust.

Incinerators automatically get a bad rap from people. They're not as evil as most people think. Modern incinerators create energy and power themselves. Most modern incinerators create enough energy to put back into the grid. In Pittsfield, MA a waste to energy facility powers itself and helps power a paper making facility down the street from it.... read more

Political Waste

Posted by Rob Tocchio on November 16th, 2010

During the most recent election I was reminded of the colossal waste that occurs from politicians running for office. Everything from flyers to lawn signs end up as trash. Think of how many times you were handed a flyer or found one stuck to your car during not only the most recent election, but past elections as well.

Both sides are at fault for this, even independents and third party candidates contribute to this problem. Even the “Pro Environment” Democrats are to blame just as much as the Republicans.... read more

Eco-Terrorism?

Posted by Rob Tocchio on September 8th, 2010

Eco-Terrorism, Green Terrorism and Environmental Terrorist are terms that are starting to be thrown around more. But does Eco-Terrorism really exist? If it does exist is it a real concern? Many people feel threatened by environmentalism and activism. Many think environmental activism is the same as terrorism. While there are some extremists, activism is not terrorism. Eco-Terrorism may just be a new media catch phrase to liven up the news.

I’ve met people before who seem to not understand or have some sort of grudge against environmentalism and activism. I had a man tell me once that he thought environmentalism is “a new terrorist religion.” I had no idea I was part of a new religion or a terrorist group. That idea still doesn’t really make much sense to me.... read more

Activist

Bottled Water can give you cancer?

Posted by Rob Tocchio on July 26th, 2010

Is bottled water any better than the water flowing from your tap at home? Most people assume if you’re paying money for something in a plastic bottle then it’s of superior quality compared to something that’s piped into your home for a lot less money. This isn’t always true. Many times the bottle being labeled as “spring” water is really just filtered or unfiltered tap water. According to the NRDC there isn’t much of a difference in quality either. Our conclusion is that there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap.... read more

Food

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