HomeMy WebLinkAboutSolid Waste Action Team (SWAT) �7f02/98 11:16' DUFOFdT MERCK OFERATIONS y 178186394E8 tJ0.982 F�02
The SW.t�T Team Charge, 5/28/98
Lex�gtoa boasts the first--u�-the-state curbside recycling program. Lexington set the pace
with house�o3d hazardous product coIlection and is now hosting the s�ate`s fu-s�
permanent household waste collection station. Out ix►tegrated pest management progr�m
in the public schools is a model for the state and nation. Uur town is syuonymous with
' goot�e�vironmental planning and policy.
A new challenge�waits us. In ZOt}5,our contract with v4�eelabrator for the incineratioz�
of our municipal solid waste expires. What are we gving to da with our trash after that`?
�caneration as we've known it is not the answer. It produces dangeroas taxins i�its
emissious and ash Landfills througl�out the state�ave been closed because of
groundwater contamination. We-and every commuuity in the staie,indee�the
�ation-ne�ci a new appro�c�to waste disposal.
Given ttie expertise in t�s tavvn and o�c�t'record vf se�.ti�g the pace in sowu�and cost-
effective waste managemeut policies,we herewith appoint a standing Lexington Solid
Waste Action Team(SWAT)to sbape a waste mauagemezii policy far Lexington, The
t;ommittee,to be chaired by 3ill Stein, sball make recamEmendations to the Baard of
Selectmen by March 3Q, 1999,Gevrge Woodbury will be the principal sta�"advisor to the
�a�
We ask t2�at the Committee take a�c�li�ic apfproach in coasidering,among other things:
� I) Ways to increase participation in our cwbside re�ycling program and our hazardous
waste collection.
2) Complementary pollutiou and waste manim�ization st�ategies for�ouseholds and
businesses in Lexingtom;
3) The heahh effects of waste management choices;
4) Tbe cost and cost-effectivegess af all waste managemern options Qpen to us,
iucludin�the hidden costs of heahh and environmen�impacts;
� 5) Ways to increase public awareness of•and responsibility for-waste;
6) Opportuniiies for regional coaperation{including,but not limited to,the vther
NESWC cou�rnunities),
We alsa invite the com�nittee to suggest ideas for possible inclusion in the state's solid
waste master plan and(or iegislative actioa at the state or federallevel.
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