Proposal Dumps Recycling Onus on Haulers

By LAURA CRIMALDI

Waste haulers who pick up trash from Boston businesses and eateries will have to do more to keep recyclables out of garbage heaps or risk losing their permits under a City Council proposal.

City Councilor Michael P. Ross (D-Back Bay) is expected to file an ordinance today requiring that the commercial trash haulers prove they offer recycling services to Boston businesses. The haulers would also be obliged to pressure the businesses – including the notoriously wasteful restaurants – to sort out materials on site.

The haulers themselves could also be punished by the city if they or their customers ignore state recycling requirements governing paper, cans and bottles, plastic containers, and other reusable materials. Fines would be $150-$300.

The move comes five months after a Sunday Herald probe exposed how heaping quantities of recyclable materials are routinely being tossed out by Hub restaurants alongside ordinary waste.

“As a city, we are behind,” said Ross, who last year proposed mandatory recycling at Boston eateries, only to be defeated by restaurant lobbyists. “In reality, Boston businesses are responsible for extreme amounts of otherwise recyclable materials going into the landfill.”

Under Ross’s proposal, commercial trash haulers would also be required to report their commercial recycling fees to the city and provide customers with educational materials on recycling. If the haulers do not have recycling capabilities, they would be required to partner with a hauler that does.

The Department of Public Works, which issues permits to commercial trash haulers, would be charged with enforcing the regulation. Repeat scofflaws could lose their hauling permits altogether.

Steve Changaris, regional manager for the National Solid Wastes Management Association, said that trash haulers can’t force their customers to recycle. “The public has to step up to the plate and buy the service,” he said. “We’re not in a position to bully our customers into buying a recycling service.”

Originally published by By LAURA CRIMALDI.

(c) 2008 Boston Herald. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.