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Learning from Nantucket

by Lillian Dunlap, Legislative Action Committee

Nantucket, Massachusetts recorded a recycling rate of nearly 90 percent in 2007, the most recent year for which complete data is available. [i]  This means that 90 percent of the island’s household waste was recycled, an impressive statistic in any case, but even more astounding when compared with many of the other, much lower recycling rates in cities and towns around the state, many of which don’t even reach the 20 percent mark. Nantucket’s incredible success with recycling is due largely to the fact that there is no curbside pickup service on the island.

Courtesy Google Maps

Residents pay for the island’s landfill with their tax base and must deposit all of their waste at the dump on their own.  It is mandatory that residents separate recyclable items from household trash, and when the waste reaches the dump it is further sorted and divided.  Biodegradable household trash goes through a digester and becomes compost.[ii]

Nantucket has not always been so environmentally friendly in its waste management, however.  It took a growing land fill, the threat of increasing trash bills, and some innovative thinking to get the island of approximately 10,000[iii] year round residents to achieve the impressive recycling rates it boasts today and secure its spot as the leader in Massachusetts recycling.

During the early-nineties, Nantucket, along with many other Cape Cod towns, experienced a significant population increase that put a strain on local resources.  By 1994, the island was confronted with serious issues regarding its management of solid waste material, and the state of Massachusetts mandated that Nantucket start shipping its waste off the island for disposal elsewhere, a move which would have significantly increased residents’ trash bills.[iv]

As an alternative to this costly option, the island decided instead to rethink its approach to waste management.  In 1996, in conjunction with Rhode Island-based Waste Options, Inc., Nantucket commenced implementation of a complex solid waste disposal program that incorporated landfill clean-up, recycling and composting to develop the most complete waste management system in the Commonwealth.  The Nantucket Solid Waste Recycling and Composting Facility incorporates the traditional recycling of paper products, plastic, metal and glass, with the more challenging and nontraditional recycling of items such as tires, clothing, mattresses, furniture and even large home appliances like refrigerators and stoves.  The facility also recycles construction and demolition waste and processes yard waste. [v]

In 1999, Nantucket and Waste Options Inc. introduced another piece of the puzzle with the unveiling of an innovative composting facility that eventually helped the island achieve a 90 percent recycling rate, by far the highest in the state.[vi]

It’s no secret that composting and recycling help shrink landfills and preserve natural resources, but they are also believed to be integral in the reduction of carbon emissions.  Landfills are America’s biggest man-made source of methane gas, the second most prevalent greenhouse gas found in the atmosphere.  As America’s waste production increases, so too does the amount of methane gas released into the atmosphere by the country’s ever-growing landfills.  It’s estimated that by reducing Americans’ waste production back down to1990 levels, the nation would be able to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 11.6 million metric tons.  Increasing the national recycling rate to 35 percent (it is currently estimated at 28 percent) would decrease national emissions by an additional 9.8 million metric tons.  These two efforts combined would result in greenhouse gas reductions equal to the current yearly emissions produced by 11 million American households.[vii]

While the overall Massachusetts recycling rate, including household, industrial, and construction waste is 47 percent[viii], the Massachusetts DEP reports the median household rate as only 26.1%. As evidenced by Nantucket’s impressive rates, there is still significant room for improvement.  The high rates in places like Nantucket also help balance areas of the state with far lower rates, such as Boston, which recorded an 11 percent household recycling rate in 2007[ix]. 

The need for improved recycling rates becomes more urgent as the state’s waste production rises.  In 2006, the most recent year for which complete data is available, businesses, institutions and private homes in Massachusetts were responsible for producing close to 13.9 million tons of waste material.  This figure equates to approximately 12 pounds of waste produced every day by each of the 6.35 million Massachusetts residents, and it represents a 14.5 percent increase in waste production since 2000[x].

While not every community in the state may posses the resources to institute a recycling and composting system as advanced as Nantucket’s, they can certainly take a cue from the island and treat its high recycling rates as something to strive toward.  The state of Massachusetts has thus far maintained a strong record in the area of recycling, but there remains plenty of room for improvement.  Officials across Massachusetts should not only applaud Nantucket’s achievements, but reexamine waste management programs elsewhere in the state in search of ways to further improve recycling rates and remain active on this important issue.

Editor's Note: Recycling rate percentage reports can vary based on the data set. The 90% recycling rate reported by Nantucket uses the same reporting methodology as Boston, which reports 11%, and a statewide median of 26.1%.