Representative Mark Falzone complimented the Patrick-Murray Administration today for making a commitment to maintain the incinerator moratorium throughout Massachusetts. Since 1990, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has had a moratorium against the construction of new incinerator capacity in place in its Solid Waste Master Plan. This document, scheduled to be revised in the coming year, outlines the state’s waste management goals for the coming decade. There was concern that, in the revision, the moratorium would be lifted to allow new variations in the burning of municipal waste to be built in Massachusetts. Instead, the administration announced that the moratorium would be strengthened through the promotion of recycling, high performance standards, and producer responsibility.

“The moratorium’s continuation is especially good news since Massachusetts already incinerates 34% of its municipal solid waste, a huge amount when compared to other states,” said Representative Falzone, who filed legislation this year to codify the moratorium into state law. “It is essential that we keep this moratorium on new capacity. Not only is incineration dangerous to our environment and our health, but its alternatives, such as recycling and reuse, will create so many more jobs and opportunities for our local economy.”

This decision has been greeted with great support from environmental groups, both local and national, who have been advocating for this issue throughout the Solid Waste Master Plan revision process.

“The incinerator moratorium is so important to protecting the national resources in our watershed, and throughout the entire commonwealth. I sincerely appreciate the leadership and passion of Representative Falzone on this crucial issue,” commented Joan LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Saugus River Watershed Council.

“I am encouraged and relieved by this announcement,” said Ann Devlin, President of the Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment (SAVE). “This is so important for Massachusetts. I am especially excited about the new focus on recycling and higher emissions standards.”

“Recycling saves three to five times the energy that can be captured by incineration, and without the harmful impacts on public health and the environment,” said Lee Ketelsen, New England Co-Director of Clean Water Action, a national organization that has been fighting alongside local environmental groups, such as SAVE, to keep this moratorium. “Every 10,000 tons of garbage that goes to disposal creates only one job, but the same amount of discarded products can employ dozens of people in recycling, and hundreds more in reuse and repair.”

“Companies operating in the recycling and reuse sector tend to be smaller and owned by members of the community, leading to more local jobs and more local retention of the generated wealth,” added Representative Falzone. “This is important for all of our communities, especially now.”

In the December 11th announcement, the administration also promised to strengthen the existing moratorium in two significant ways. They will dramatically reduce the amount of recyclable material that goes into the waste stream by giving cities and towns assistance to expand their recycling efforts and requiring greater responsibility from manufacturers for their products. Additionally, they will develop tougher performance standards for existing waste-to-energy facilities that require higher recycling rates in waste collection areas, lower emissions, and higher efficiency in energy recapture.

“We are serious about managing the waste we generate in a way that saves money for cities and towns, curbs pollution and protects the environment for our children and grandchildren,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “There are better ways than traditional incineration.”