MassRecycle

July 17, 2023

We are pleased to welcome MassRecycle as a new Sustaining Advisory Member to Northeast Recycling Council

Practically any visitor to NERC’s website will already be aware of the swirling controversies around the success of recycling, in particular plastics recycling. A 2022 report from Greenpeace, further elevated by mainstream media such as NPR, argued that “no plastic — not even soda bottles, one of the most prolific items thrown into recycling bins — meets the threshold to be called ‘recyclable’ according to standards set by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation New Plastics Economy Initiative.”


Among those pushing back against Greenpeace’s conclusions was new NERC Supporting Advisory Member MassRecycle, which describes itself as “a pragmatic, statewide non-profit coalition of individuals, municipalities, the waste industry, and other organizations dedicated to improving recycling, organics diversion, and sustainable materials management in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”


In a rebuttal to NPR’s article, authored by MassRecycle’s President Gretchen Carey, she states, “In Massachusetts, approximately 75-85% of the material in the bin is recycled and given a second life as new products.” “Recycling is real,” Carey continued. “MassRecycle offers facility tours to the public, including tours of Material Recovery Facilities where recycling is processed, so you can see this for yourself… we ask that all media talk to the recycling industry, or any organization like MassRecycle that intimately understands recycling, and ask how to make the system better.”


Since 2021, MassRecycle has hosted tours of local materials recovery facilities (MRF). This vital resource brings the public into the faculties that process their waste and recycling. There is no greater proof that recycling is real than seeing It with your own eyes. They also produce the MassRecycle Podcast, to share the inside stories of solid waste management with a wider audience.


MassRecycle works through connection, education, and advocacy to improve recycling in Massachusetts:

  • assembling a coalition of stakeholders- private, public, non-profit and non-government organizations –to provide pragmatic solutions to a wide range of issues on waste reduction and recycling.
  • producing tours, podcasts, social media content, speaking at schools and events, and releasing statements that combat misinformation.
  • via its Product Stewardship Council, advocating for legislation and policies that improve the sustainable materials management industry.

MassPSC focuses on supporting well-written EPR legislation and policies at the state level, and promoting EPR through education and collaboration. This year MassPSC will be hosting a session on EPR at WASTECON 2023 in collaboration with SWANA NE. 


NERC welcomes MassRecycle to its growing team of Advisory Members. We look forward to working with the organization to improve recycling practices and legislation at the state and local levels.


For more information about MassRecycle click here

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September 17, 2025
The City of Medford won the 2025 Environmental Leadership Award for Outstanding Community presented by the Northeast Recycling Council, for its innovative work to reduce waste and create a more sustainable waste collection system through the City’s free curbside composting program. “I'm thankful to our team at City Hall, the Solid Waste Taskforce, our consultants Strategy Zero Waste and our volunteers for working so hard to launch our curbside composting program and making it such a meaningful success for our community,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said. “This award shows that the work we’re doing in both composting and recycling is having real, transformative effects on how our community thinks about waste and the steps we’re taking to create a more sustainable environment for the future. We are honored to be recognized by the Northeast Recycling Council for these efforts.” Each year, NERC honors a community, an organization, and an individual for their outstanding contributions to recycling education and innovation. This year will mark the 9th annual Environmental Leadership Awards Ceremony, recognizing individuals and organizations who help further NERC’s waste and recycling goals. “Our committee is wholeheartedly impressed by the work of the City of Medford, and how important and impactful that work is for the community,” said Sophie Leone, Development and Program Manager at NERC. “It is a perfect representation of NERC’s mission to minimize waste, conserve natural resources, and advance a sustainable economy through facilitated collaboration and action and we are very excited to bestow the City of Medford with this award.” You can read more about the Environmental Leadership Awards here . And if you haven’t signed up for Medford’s free curbside composting program, you can do that at medfordcomposts.com . Read on MedfordMA.org.
By Resource Recycling September 10, 2025
In the Northeast, recycled commodity prices continued to decline in April-June, with MRFs experiencing an average decrease of nearly 6% compared to the first quarter of 2025, according to the Northeast Recycling Council’s (NERC) second-quarter MRF Values Survey Report. NERC’s 25th quarterly report analyzed data from 19 MRFs across 12 states, excluding two facilities from the average blended value “because they did not market enough commodities within Q2 to provide a representative comparison with other MRFs.” Compared to the previous quarter, the responding MRFs reported average values per ton for blended recyclables with residuals at $82.68, a decrease of 7.74%, or $96.21 per ton, a 5.99% decline without residuals. Thirteen of the 17 MRFs contributing to the weighted average were single-stream, while four operated on a dual-stream/source-separated basis. In the Northeast, dual-stream facilities reported a blended value of $99.74 without residuals and $86.52 including residuals, experiencing decreases of 7% and 7.16% from the previous quarter, respectively. Single-stream MRFs recorded blended values of $95.08 without residuals, down 5.7%, and $81.28,down 8.3%, with residuals. Factors such as tariffs and weak demand have led major waste haulers to adjust their forecasts, anticipating challenges due to economic uncertainty for the remainder of 2025. This dip in commodity prices was reflected in second-quarter earnings reports, with four companies reporting an average year-over-year decrease of 15% in commodity values. Houston-based WM projected a $15 million decline in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization due to softening demand. However, the emergence of new and upgraded polymer facilities is enhancing processing capabilities, driven by the expectation of high demand for recycled PET. A version of this story appeared in Resource Recycling on Sept 9. Read on Resource Recycling.
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Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) Publishes 25 th Report Marking Six Years of Quarterly Data