Chicopee, Massachusetts, approves zero-waste plan

City council pursuing waste-reduction resolution to boost recycling levels.

An article in Reminder Publications, East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, reports that the Chicopee City Council has approved the implementation of a zero-waste plan.

The plan is part of a resolution proposed by Mayor Richard Kos to reduce 30 percent of city waste by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. These goals were initially established by the commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Pathway to Zero Waste Plan. Kos stressed the need for educating residents and businesses to recycle and to motivate manufacturers to market reusable materials

“This resolution provides an ambitious goal for the city to become a zero waste community,” Kos told Reminder Publications. “It’s good for the environment and will save the city and our residents money. It’s a win-win.”

According to Jeffry Neece, superintendent of the Chicopee Department of Public Works , the plan will still require steps for proper implementation. He told Reminder Publications that the bulk of a person’s garbage consists of packaging and can easily be recycled. He does not believe, however, that organic waste can be solved by a municipal solution, he told the media outlet.