Zero Waste Plan Underway for Lexington

LexZeroWaste is pleased to announce that following the adoption by Town Meeting on April 6, 2022 of Article 27, a Zero Waste Resolution for Lexington put forth by LexZeroWaste’s Advocacy Working Group, working group Co-Chairs Hien Nguyen and Janet Kern have accepted an invitation from Director of Public Works David Pinsonneault to serve as members of the Town’s Zero Waste Plan working group.

The Town of Lexington’s Department of Public Works has engaged the services of consultants
from Zero Waste Associates, Ruth Abbe and Amy Perlmutter, to facilitate the development of a
Zero Waste Plan for Lexington with the input of Town staff and residents, as stated in the
Resolution. Abbe and Perlmutter have developed zero waste plans for Boston and Brookline,
and dozens of other municipalities throughout the country.

“Janet and I are honored to serve on the Zero Waste Plan working group and excited to
continue our productive partnership with Town staff to craft a Zero Waste Plan that will provide a road map for our community to move closer to zero waste and minimize our impact on environmental justice communities,” said Hien Nguyen.

Under the leadership of Mr. Pinsonneault, additional members of the Zero Waste Plan working group include Superintendent of Environmental Services Robert Beaudoin; Sustainability & Resilience Officer Margaret Peard; and Waste Reduction Task Force members Cindy Arens and Diane Pursley, who responded to Mr. Pinsonneault’s invitation for two members of the Town Manager-appointed task force to serve on the Zero Waste Plan working group. LexZeroWaste members Arens and Pursley also serve on the Waste Reduction Task Force as representatives of LPS Green Teams.

The scope of work for the Zero Waste Plan includes listening sessions that Zero Waste
Associates will conduct with key stakeholders, which could include school representatives,
community organizations, business representatives, environmental and environmental justice
organizations, and local and regional service providers. Town residents will also have theopportunity to respond to an online survey to provide input on the barriers and opportunities for
reducing waste and increasing recycling and composting in Lexington.

The Zero Waste Plan working group convened on June 16th for the first of four planned
meetings with the objective of producing a practical, action-oriented Zero Waste Plan by Fall
2022.

Community Art as Advocacy: Let’s Rethink Black Plastics

Earth Day Sculpture welcomes your black plastic!

Did you know that black plastic is not recyclable?

LexZeroWaste and the Munroe Center for the Arts are collaborating again for Earth Day 2022.

We’re reprising a sculpture activity from last year that combines art and zero waste to continue to raise awareness about ubiquitous materials in our household trash that are not recyclable. This year, we’re focusing on black plastics: food containers, utensils, seedling pots and trays, shampoo bottles, etc.

Participate in this art activity by saving your black plastic waste items and adding them to the sculpture on the front lawn of the Munroe Center for the Arts  (1403 Massachusetts Ave).

These black plastics may be labeled #1, #2, or #5 plastic––which are technically recyclable––but due to their black pigment, the optical scanners at the recycling facilities are unable to detect and sort them to be recycled. Instead they end up as “residue” and get treated as trash.

Let’s come together as a community to create and celebrate art while raising awareness about non-recyclable materials in our daily lives.

What Else Is Not Recyclable?

Zero Waste Resolution Passes!

Thank you to all those who voiced their support for the Zero Waste Resolution for Lexington. Last night, by a vote of 174-4-8 for Article 27, Lexington Town Meeting adopted the resolution, including agreeing to adopt zero waste principles and encouraging a zero waste plan!

So what does this exactly mean for Lexington? Well, this was a “non-binding resolution”, meaning that the Town is not obligated to take any action. However, it is a strong statement that Town Meeting would very much like to have a plan developed as soon as possible that will offer solutions for town wide waste reduction. We are already working with the Town’s Waste Reduction Task Force and the DPW on these issues. The adoption of this resolution will encourage and hopefully accelerate that work.

If you are not already a LexZeroWaste member, please consider joining to support and contribute to continued efforts to reduce waste in Lexington! We look forward to hearing from and working with you!

2nd Annual Upcycled Art Contest

Reusable Containers soon to be available for bulk foods in Concord

Concord’s Board of Health just approved a variance to the Food Code allowing customers to use containers from home for purchasing bulk foods. This is a significant win for the world of reuse and we look forward to the possibility for this in Lexington…

From Debra’s Natural Gourmet in Concord, who led the effort: “One of the points we tried to make was that nothing in the food system is 100% risk free and that the question to ask, “Is the risk reasonable?” There is a track record of safety and acceptance for returnables in industrialized, well-regulated countries around the world. Here, now, we allow people to squeeze peaches to see if they are ripe, we sell sushi, chicken, unpasteurized apple cider, and allow people to refill their own coffee cups at gas stations – we accept self-serve salad bars. Since we do accept that risk, why should a mason jar from home be banned as dangerous?”

Great work, Debra and all those who supported the effort!

Membership!

Become a Zero Waste Hero!

We’re very excited to launch the LexZeroWaste membership program and hope all who are interested in supporting Zero Waste initiatives in our community will join us as a member.

With a membership of $25 or more, you can:

• Enable new Zero Waste programs and practices in the community

• Meet, collaborate and take action with other members who share your desire for less waste

• Support environmental justice initiatives in communities impacted by Lexington’s waste.

… and more!

New Members through December 31, 2021 will be recognized as “Charter” members for the life of their LexZeroWaste membership.

Please visit our Membership page to learn more and consider joining us as a Zero Waste Hero!