Recently, we've been witnessing something truly encouraging. Citizens, leaders, and industry in CT are finally getting serious about waste diversion and recycling. In September, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) formed the Connecticut Conference for Sustainable Materials Management (CCSMM). This organization is bringing together government leaders to evaluate waste production, collection, and processing in our state with the goal of devising best practices and recommended actions for moving towards a more sustainable future. The group, formed mostly of municipal heads, is scheduled to deliver their report in early 2021. They've focused on these core issues:
Organics (aka food scraps)
Unit-based Pricing (aka "Pay-As-You-Throw" - PAYT or "Save Money And Reduce Trash" - SMART),
Extended Producer Responsibility, and;
Increasing Recycling.
The report that they create will be the marching orders for municipal leaders as they plan and implement their waste budgets in the coming years. To this point, we've engaged with the CCSMM by presenting at the Organics Working Gro
up meeting and by providing public comments.
What we expect to see out of this process is the formalization of curbside organics collection by towns. In the coming years ambitious
towns will take steps, likely through pilot programs, to offer these services. As the most experienced and largest food scrap hauler in the state, we're positioning ourselves to be their provider. These developments present the opportunity to do what we were founded to do on a much
larger scale.
Each of the four categories that the CCSMM addresses are important. In our opinion, the inclusion of organics as a main focus is thanks to companies like ours, but especially to each and every customer that supports us. We'll be certain to keep you all informed at important junctures and hope that we can involve you in the process. If you have questions or thoughts please reach out. We'd love to hear from you.
Thanks!
Alex, Sam, Sherrod, Alexis, Tyler, and Steven