The face of solid waste management in Massachusetts has changed dramatically over the last several decades. 

Before 1990, almost all trash was disposed of in more than 150 landfills and nine "municipal waste combustors" (which burn trash and generate some electricity). Most of the landfills were owned and operated by municipalities.  They generally lacked liners and modern controls for the leachate and gas produced as the waste decomposes.  Only small quantities of waste were being recycled. 

Today, Massachusetts has a modern solid waste management system that promotes waste reduction and recycling, and ensures that facilities that handle and dispose of waste are properly designed and operated. 

In 1990, Massachusetts adopted its first Solid Waste Master Plan, a blueprint for managing solid waste that is generated, reused, recycled, recovered and disposed in the Commonwealth.  Since then, efforts by citizens, businesses, and state and local government have led to a 47 percent recycling rate overall, which is among the best in the nation.

Our solid waste management facilities have installed modern pollution control equipment and adopted operating practices that minimize their environmental impact. However, waste generation continues to increase while the growth in recycling has leveled off, and we continue to dispose of materials that have significant value. 

Dramatic increases in energy costs, heightened concerns about climate change, renewed interest in more efficient use of waste as second-hand materials, and diminishing public resources are prompting the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to fundamentally reexamine the way we think about solid waste management.  A new Master Plan needs to take advantage of new market opportunities and provide a framework for improving the overall environmental performance of our solid waste management system.

The web pages that follow describe the Massachusetts solid waste management "system," the wastes that we generate, the facilities that manage these wastes, and the Commonwealth's waste reduction and recycling programs.

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