A new report by the Governor's Solid Waste Tax Force recommends that the state increase its recycling efforts. The report also suggests that communities band together and create regional waste collection facilities. Despite these findings, some critics say the recommendations did not go far enough.
NHPR's David Darman has more.
Governor Jeanne Shaheen praised the efforts of the 27 members who served on the task force. The Governor said the report assures her that the state has enough landfill space for the next 10 years, but she said there are more meaningful lessons to draw from the 70 page document.
02 53 this report makes clear that to minimize the need for landfills in the future, that recycling, reduction of waste, and composting have to be priorities for us. 03 12
The report says each individual in the state produces 5 pounds of solid waste each day. Members of the task force say that amount has actually decreased in the last decade, because products such as soda bottles have become lighter and less dense. Still, Dana Bisbee, Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Services, says there's more that people can do, and greater benefits that can be reaped from alternatives to disposal.
04 you reduce the volume of waste by reusing, reducing, and recycling material. It saves money, it increases capacity, which is available for further and future waste disposal needs in the state, and by reducing both the volume of the waste, and the toxicity that we're disposing of, we both reduce cost, and reduce the environmental that could result from our environmental practices. 04 27
Historically, many New Hampshire communities have operated their own dumps. But, since 1995, a state program has allowed many communities to close their local, unlined sites. The closing of local landfills has left fewer, bigger, more advanced facilities to handle the waste. For future needs, Governor Jeanne Shaheen says the report suggests that communities band together to build needed facilities, in much the same way that some industries have.
02 31 in the electric industry, and in the health care industry, we're talking about aggregation. I don't think aggregation of trash is quite the way we want to say it, but, clearly, towns coming together are going to be able to be more cost effective in the disposing of their trash than one town individually. 02 49
Seventy-six percent of the waste facilities in the state are privately owned. That percentage includes the biggest waste landfill in New Hampshire, the Waste Management Turnkey facility in Rochester. Turnkey and other privately owned facilities accept out of state trash. The Solid Waste Task Force found that efforts to reduce imported trash have been effective in the last few years. But critics say the landfills still found a way to increase tonnage in 1999 and 2000. Tom Irwin, Staff attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, says the facilities have an incentive to act that way.
07 42 it's Private landfills that basically make their profit off of disposing of waste. So, its in the interest of those private facilities to dispose of as much waste as possible. That, of course conflicts with the goal of reducing waste. 07 102
Irwin and other critics say the state should regulate private facilities, in much the same way that electricity or natural gas is regulated. Proponents of this view say that's a good way to assure that recycling and waste reduction will be accomplished. But it could be a while before any changes are made in the state's approach to waste. The Solid Waste Tax Force Report next heads to the legislature, where lawmakers will study and debate the issue.
