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.