Cambridge Committee Reviews Nine Draft Strategies for Zero Waste Plan 2.0

CAMBRIDGE — October 22, 2024 — Cambridge reviews Zero Waste Master Plan 2.0 draft, with mandatory composting and new plastics ordinances on the horizon. The Health and Environment Committee, chaired by Councilor Patricia Nolan, held a public hearing Tuesday on nine draft strategies for the city's updated plan, which DPW Commissioner Kathy Watkins and Recycling Director Michael Orr said must close the gap between a current 35 percent trash reduction and a 50 percent target required by 2030. A 2024 waste characterization study found more than 55 percent of what residents still put in trash carts could be diverted through existing programs, with food waste alone making up 30 percent of the stream. Trash disposal costs Cambridge $139 a ton — the highest in the nation — up roughly 80 percent since 2014. Policy intern Alex Bradley, working with Run on Climate, called for opt-in-only takeout accessories, a plastic nips ban modeled on Brookline's, and tighter bag ordinance language to close thickness loopholes, while Recycling Advisory Committee co-chairs Diane Roseman and Debbie Galiff identified mandatory food waste diversion as the single highest-impact action available to the city. DPW said a suite of ordinance changes would come before the full council following completion of the final plan, targeted for early 2025.