Meeting Minutes – August 7, 2012
SalemRecycles Committee
6:30 pm, 8/7/12, 120 Washington Street, 3rd Floor, Salem, MA
Attending: Lynn Murray, Julie Rose, Janis Breeze, Nancy Gilberg, Erin Huggard, Jennifer Percy, Liz Vago, Susan Yochelson.
Absent: Robin Faulling, Tony Keck, Marcia Lambert, Penelope Neal
Julie Rose and Lynn Murray announced that SalemRecycles has a new Chairperson, effective today. They had reached out to the group previously with no takers, so they approached Erin Huggard privately, who accepted the position. We all thanked Lynn and congratulated Erin, who then led the meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
September 15 Book Swap
Schedule – We passed around a signup sheet to work shifts. We discussed early entry to the swap. At the March swap, participants who dropped off books Friday night received a ticket allowing them entry ½ hour early on Saturday. Should we repeat this, and should we announce it? It helped the flow of traffic, but if we repeat it, first shift workers must arrive on time. If we announce it in all PR avenues, we might be too swamped 9:30-10:00. If we announce it only on facebook, non-facebook users will miss out. We agreed to repeat the early admittance program, and we agreed to not advertise it.
PR – We passed out flyers to post around town. Nancy will post on Facebook and Patch; Julie will handle calendar listings.
Other – Lynn reminded us to recruit volunteers for the event. In the past we only used volunteers on Saturday. We agreed that seasoned volunteers will be helpful for Friday setup also.
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November 17 Textiles Drive
We discussed whether to have another MBTA Community Recycling Event the same day as Textiles. If yes, should we combine them in one location, or keep them separate? We all like using Riley Plaza for the textile event. Erin shared that Terry Fitzpatrick, Goodwill’s Director of Retail Operations, is considering buying advertising for our textile event. If he does, the event may grow. Erin will touch base with Terry about this. Nancy will contact Tim Lasker of MBTA to see if they decided to go ahead with a Fall MBTA event, or to just stick to once a year in Spring as originally planned. If the MBTA is available 11/17, we decide to hold the two events in separate locations, provided Bill LeBelle of Goodwill agrees.
Julie wondered if Goodwill still plans to open three centers for year-‘round textile recycling dropoff, e.g. in Salem and Swampscott. Erin says Goodwill is still working on this. Susan suggests inserting a paper flyer in local newspapers advertising our events. Liz suggests naming it “Fall Recycling Events” and adding in Hazardous Waste Day as well.
Harborwalk Big Bellies – We wonder if the Harborwalk has too many Big Bellies in a small area. If they’re underutilized, can some be moved to other problem trash areas in Salem? Julie has contacted the Planning Board, but they are hesitant to move them. We wonder if the reason is because Harborwalk grant money paid for them, and perhaps there is a perception they must stay there. We discussed what next steps should be; whom to contact. We agreed Julie will email Jason Silva.
Next Projects
Compost Trial / Other– At our June 7 meeting, Mayor Driscoll suggested a compost trial as a potential avenue of growth. We discussed Hamilton’s well-known program – two retirees worked full time for 1.5 years to get it going, and they barely break even. How about bringing in a private company like Black Earth Hauler? How about at our Farmers Market, like Beverly does? The Market has rejected this idea in the past.
Another suggestion from Mayor Driscoll in June was getting more involved with Salem Schools. Julie told us about a group, “Change is Simple,” that she met at a recent party. They offer environmental and sustainability enrichment programs to kids, and tailor programs to each school, touching on recycling, composting, etc. They are a possible partner for both getting started with composting and also for getting more involved with schools.
Salem teacher Kristin Rodgers has a grant to use Change is Simple at Carlton School – maybe she can share feedback with us afterward.
Liz told us about a magician named Steve Trash who teaches recycling to kids. Liz will forward his link to us.
Susan says why not combine the two initiatives by encouraging schools to compost lunch waste? We’ve heard Carlton’s attempts weren’t so successful; you need teachers & kids to monitor it closely. Manchester schools also tried it, and had sanitation issues & other problems. Also, the composting at Saltonstall School's raised garden was not as successful as they'd hoped. Liz suggests starting by composting at school gardens; Jennifer suggests assigning a student to manage the project. Susan reminds us we need to think of think about the full life cycle of each project.
Is anyone at Endicott or Salem State doing research on institutional composting models that work? Nancy knows environmental science professors at Endicott and North Shore, and will contact them as well as Katie Giddings for leads.
Julie recently learned about a 4-year “Mass in Motion” grant that she believes encompasses exercise and sustainability. She will learn more about it to see if it is something we can use.
OLD BUSINESS
Strategic Plan – We just received Penny’s notes on this just yesterday, so let’s read and discuss at next meeting. Also a reminder to read all meeting minutes to make sure we capture everything. Julie suggests we finalize the strategic plan after the Sept. book swap. Even though the plan we started in 2010 wasn’t finalized; we did complete all those goals/objectives.
How do we measure our success? Julie has a chart that measures what we’ve diverted, by material, by year. Trash tonnage is decreasing. We agree the city’s new event policy is also key (where event organizers must attempt to provide recycling).
Do we want to be influencing policy, such as whether to switch to single stream? Do we add that to our strategy? We’ll set aside time in October to continue talking strategic plan. Liz and Lynn offered to research and draft a white paper on the pros and cons of dual vs. single stream recycling.
Doorhanger Project – Julie has a printed list of all streets. She walked Rainbow Terrace and was pleased to receive a follow up call from a resident with questions. We confirmed the sub-committee meeting is Thursday 8/9.
OTHER BUSINESS
Haunted Happenings Parade – we didn’t participate last year. This year, we agree to try to combine with other green groups to have critical mass and ensure attendance. Julie will contact them (e.g. S.A.F.E.) to see if there is interest.
Dog waste - do we want to start an initiative on this (or join with other groups) since dog waste contaminates our canables? We wonder if the use of compostable/biodegradable dog bags causes confusion over how to properly dispose. Would it help to have receptacles solely for dog waste at certain parks?
The Point Initiative – Mayor Driscoll had talked to us about targeting certain neighborhoods that need improvement with recycling. Do we have a role to play in the new Point initiative to address this? Julie will ask Jason.
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