This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
It’s not just food waste from homes and businesses overwhelming landfills in New Hampshire.
Pet waste, compostable paper and textiles also make up a large share of what’s being thrown away, a recent study found.
The deep-dive into the state’s waste stream, commissioned by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and carried out by MidAtlantic Solid Waste Consultants LLC, reveals that tons of material that could have been recycled or composted are instead ending up buried or burned.
John Culbertson, vice president of MSW Consultants, said the study didn’t uncover any surprises, but a large amount of recyclables is slipping through the cracks.
“Anything is recyclable if you can get a large enough volume to a central location,” Culbertson said at a solid waste working group meeting on Friday. He said that, while some states have had success keeping “potentially recyclable” items out of landfills, New Hampshire hasn’t had the same luck.
The study reveals that at least 226,000 tons of waste classified as “non-recyclable” end up in New Hampshire’s waste stream each year. This is due to the state lacking the facilities to recycle certain materials that other states can process.
This investigation is part of a broader state initiative to gain an understanding of what’s being discarded in New Hampshire’s landfills. The study focuses exclusively on waste generated within New Hampshire, including material from transfer stations, waste-to-energy facilities and landfills. It does not account for any waste brought in from out-of-state sources.
Although the findings are still preliminary, the data showed that, after food waste, compostable paper like cardboard and newspapers make up the second-largest share of New Hampshire’s municipal solid waste.
Food waste accounts for about 19% of the material tossed in New Hampshire’s landfills or waste-to-energy facilities.
Not far behind are discarded textiles, leather goods and pet waste.
Reagan Bissonnette, executive director of the Northeast Resource Recovery Association and a member of the state’s solid waste working group, said that tackling textile waste is one of the best places to start when it comes to reducing what ends up in landfills.
She pointed to fast fashion as a major contributor to the problem.
Textiles and leather dumped in the state account for almost 40,000 tons, according to the study.
“Anything people can do to use their clothes more frequently and to use their clothes for a long time before needing to dispose of them in some way is great,” said Bissonnette.
When it comes to construction and demolition debris, nearly 18% of the waste consists of asphalt shingles, a common roofing material. However, recycling asphalt shingles can be expensive and requires significant effort.
Michael Nork, of the state’s environmental agency’s solid waste management department, said that while it was no surprise food waste would make up a large share of landfill material, the study also highlights key areas where New Hampshire can do better.
“One of the ways to look at the report is what are the low-hanging fruit, and then, what are the longer-term goals to target,” said Nork. “I think a lot of that has the biggest impact is especially food waste, and then all the commonly recyclable items that are disposed of, like cardboard and certain types of plastics and aluminum cans, steel cans.”
Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com. Subscribe to her Trash Talk newsletter for more reporting on the environment and solid waste.
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