In 1976, the U.S. Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA, found at 42 U.S. Code Section 6901 et. seq.), which established a national framework for the management of non-hazardous solid wastes (including environmental standards for disposal facilities).  This law also established a "cradle to grave" management system for hazardous wastes.  States are required to adopt and implement standards for their solid waste facilities that are at least as strict as the federal requirements.

In general, Massachusetts laws and regulations have been designed to ensure that our waste handling and disposal facilities are located on sites that are suitable for these activities, are properly designed, and safely operated.  Massachusetts does not regulate or require recycling, except as noted below.  Nor does the Commonwealth regulate businesses that collect and haul solid waste from generators to handling and disposal facilities.

In 1955, regulation of solid waste disposal activities at Massachusetts landfills and incinerators began with the enactment of General Law Chapter 111, Section150A.  This law authorized local boards of health to "assign" or approve sites for solid waste disposal facilities (landfills and incinerators) before they were built.  In 1971, MassDEP promulgated its first solid waste regulations (310 CMR 19.000), establishing permit and operational requirements for solid waste facilities.

In 1987, the Solid Waste Act (Chapter 584 of the Acts of 1987) substantially revised Chapter 111, Section 150A and added a new Section 150A 1/2 to establish specific criteria for siting solid waste facilities.  The Act also established a new chapter of the Massachusetts General Laws (Chapter 21H) and a bond fund to provide financial assistance to cities and towns for closing and cleaning up old unlined landfills, to build environmentally sound solid waste facilities, and to promote recycling and regional solid waste planning.  It also required MassDEP to prepare a Solid Waste Master Plan (see Chapter 16, Section 21), and established requirements for "refuse burning facilities" to monitor their emissions of specific hazardous constituents.  In 1990, MassDEP promulgated site assignment regulations, (310 CMR 16.00) and modernized the environmental and other performance standards of 310 CMR 19.000.  MassDEP has since revised both 310 CMR 16.00 and 310 CMR 19.000.

The Beverage Container Recovery Law was approved by voters in 1982 (60 percent in favor, 40 percent opposed).  Also known as the "Bottle Bill," this law requires bottlers and distributors of carbonated and malted beverages to place a $0.05 deposit on every container sold to retailers (stores) in Massachusetts. Retailers collect the $0.05 deposit from their customers, for each container purchased.  When consumers return empty containers, their deposit for each is returned.  Stores and redemption centers that collect the containers return them to the beverage distributors or their agents and collect $0.05 plus an additional $0.0225 "handling fee." If a container is not returned, the $0.05 deposit is turned over to the Commonwealth's General Fund.  

By providing an economic incentive for consumers to return used beverage containers, to the Bottle Bill drives the conservation of materials and energy through recycling and reuse. The Law has had a dramatic effect on litter abatement and reminds the public about the importance of recycling. Currently, about 66 percent of all beverage containers sold with a deposit are recovered through the system. While additional containers are recovered through existing curbside and drop-off municipal recycling programs, MassDEP does not have data on the quantities recovered through these programs.  Learn more about the Bottle Bill.

In 2006, the Mercury Management Act (Chapter 190 of the Acts of 2006) was enacted to remove products containing mercury from the waste stream and to minimize the amount of mercury released into air and water from solid waste disposal facilities.  This law is the first in Massachusetts to make product manufacturers responsible for collecting and recycling "end of life" mercury products and components that are sold or distributed in the Commonwealth. Learn more about products that contain mercury.

MassDEP's site assignment regulations require any new or expanded solid waste facility (e.g., landfill, incinerator, waste processing facility or transfer station) to obtain a site suitability determination from MassDEP before a site assignment can be issued by the local board of health. The regulations establish minimum distances or "setbacks" from sensitive receptors and resources (e.g., residences, drinking water supplies, rivers, agricultural land and wetlands, wildlife, and nearby Areas of Critical Environmental Concern) and promote integrated solid waste management.  Ultimately, the municipal board of health is the final decision-maker for a site assignment, but its decision can be appealed to Massachusetts Superior Court. 

The site assignment regulations exempt small recycling operations (if they handle less than 100 tons per day) and small leaf and yard waste and agricultural composting operations that accept pre-sorted recyclables (i.e., not mixed with other waste), as long as these facilities register with MassDEP and meet certain conditions that ensure that they present little risk of nuisance or other potential problems.  In addition, the regulations include a "Determination of Need" or "DON" process through which MassDEP may decide that a site assignment is not required for recycling and composting operations that will handle more than 100 tons of pre-sorted material per day or are otherwise outside the scope of conditionally exempt operations. An application for a DON must include descriptions of what the operation will recycle or compost, and how the materials will be managed, and must also demonstrate that there is a market available for the recyclable or compostable materials. 

MassDEP's solid waste regulations (310 CMR 19.000) establish permit requirements for solid waste landfills, municipal waste combustors (governing the management of solid waste at these facilities), and handling facilities (i.e., facilities that are required to obtain a municipal site assignment before they can be built).  The regulation establishes stringent standards for design, operation, and monitoring, and requires that project owners provide financial assurance that funds are available for proper closure of the facility at the end of its life. MassDEP issues permits for facilities in two steps:

• First, MassDEP issues an Authorization to Construct (ATC), which allows construction of the facility, based on a detailed engineering review of plans.  
• Once the facility construction is complete, MassDEP issues an Authorization to Operate (ATO), demonstrating that the facility has been constructed in accordance with the approved plans and that all other requirements, such as financial assurance, have been met.

In addition, landfills and municipal waste combustors are also required to obtain separate MassDEP approvals of their plans for managing their emissions of air pollutants, which are regulated by MassDEP's air pollution control regulations (310 CMR 7.00).  Once they receive approval of these plans, the facilities are required to monitor their air emissions during operations, and to submit periodic reports on emissions of specific pollutants to the Department.

In general, solid waste must be handled and disposed of at solid waste management facilities that hold site assignments and MassDEP permits, or recycled or composted at facilities that are conditionally exempt from MassDEP regulation. However, some solid wastes can be beneficially used for purposes that may not qualify as recycling or composting.  Therefore, MassDEP's solid waste regulations (310 CMR 19.060) provide another mechanism for managing solid waste materials, by allowing discarded materials to be re-used.

The Beneficial Use Determination (BUDs) regulations allow a proponent to demonstrate to MassDEP that a solid waste material can be used in one of four types of situations, and can meet the appropriate risk-based standards:

• Commercial Products, such as bricks and concrete (Category 1);
• Regulated Systems, which use material in or at a facility that is already regulated by MassDEP such as a landfill (Category 2);
• Restricted Applications at a specific location or in a specific application where the exposure to the material exposure can be controlled or limited, such as a roadway or at a construction site (Category 3); and
• Unrestricted Applications, such as use at a residential property or on agricultural fields.

Risk standards have been developed for each category based on the potential for people to be harmfully exposed to the material.  Therefore, the most stringent standards apply to BUDs for Unrestricted Applications because the material can be reused with few, if any, restrictions, and the potential for exposure to potentially harmful constituents is high, while a BUD for a Commercial Product would allow the use only in a very specific product where contaminants, if present, would present little opportunity for exposure. 

To preserve disposal capacity at Massachusetts solid waste facilities, to encourage recycling and composting, and to reduce the toxicity of the waste stream, MassDEP included a provision in 310 CMR 19.000 when it was first promulgated in 1990 that banned specific materials from disposal or transfer for disposal (310 CMR 19.017).  Transfer stations and disposal facilities are required to establish plans to ensure that banned materials are separated from trash and are not disposed of.  Generators and haulers are not allowed to contract for disposal of banned materials.  Materials covered by the 1990 ban are:

• Lead acid batteries 
• Leaves and other yard waste 
• Tires 
• White goods
• Aluminum, metal & glass containers
• Single polymer plastics
• Recyclable paper

In 2000, the waste ban regulation was extended to cathode ray tubes (found in televisions and older computer monitors and other electronic equipment).  In 2005, the ban was extended further to specific types of construction and demolition debris:  asphalt pavement, brick, concrete, metal and wood.  Learn more about the Waste Bans.

In 2007, MassDEP promulgated the first regulations to implement the Mercury Management Act (310 CMR 74.00 and 75.00).  These regulations established specific requirements for the removal of mercury switches from "end of life" cars and trucks, and mercury lamp manufacturers' public education plans.  In addition, the regulations established performance standards for "end of life" mercury product collection and recycling programs that manufacturers are required to implement for mercury products they sell or distribute in the Commonwealth. 

In October 2008, MassDEP proposed additional regulations that would establish a process for manufacturers to obtain an exemption from the statute's ban on the sale of certain mercury products, as well as requirements for labeling mercury products and implementing the ban on disposal of these products in trash.  Learn more about products that contain mercury.