A study has uncovered that a stunning amount of recyclable or compostable waste is ending up in New Hampshire landfills, and the state's environmental agency is calling for change.
What's happening?
As the Concord Monitor detailed, the state Department of Environmental Services teamed up with MSW Consultants to do a "deep dive" into New Hampshire's waste stream. They found that the Granite State is seeing at least 226,000 tons of nonrecyclable waste sent to dumps, and the picture is more complicated than it may seem.
That's because New Hampshire doesn't have the infrastructure to process materials that other states would classify as recyclable, so it is falling behind where others have succeeded.
"Anything is recyclable if you can get a large enough volume to a central location," MSW Consultants Vice President John Culbertson told the Monitor.
The study found that food made up the bulk of New Hampshire's solid waste, followed by compostable paper like newspapers and cardboard. Textiles and leather were close behind, accounting for nearly 40,000 tons of solid waste, according to the report.
Why is this important?
Even though New Hampshire acknowledged it could do more to manage the waste stream, Northeast Resource Recovery Association Executive Director Reagan Bissonnette suggested that residents could also make adjustments to contribute to a cleaner community.
Bissonnette told the Monitor that fast fashion was a major driver of the problem. The industry churns out large volumes of trendy yet cheaply made apparel, encouraging a wear-and-discard culture that costs a lot of money and negatively impacts the environment.
According to Earth.org, under-wearing and failing to recycle clothes leads to an estimated $500 billion in losses each year, while around 10% of our oceans' microplastics — linked to health complications like cancer, dementia, and reproductive difficulties — comes from synthetic textiles like polyester favored by fast-fashion companies.
What's being done about this?
Michael Nork, who supervises the state's Materials Management, Education & Planning Section, told the Monitor that the study shed light on processes New Hampshire could improve.
"One of the ways to look at the report is what are the low-hanging fruit, and then, what are the longer-term goals to target," Nork said. "I think a lot of that has the biggest impact is especially food waste, and then all the commonly recyclable items that are disposed of, like cardboard and certain types of plastics and aluminum cans, steel cans."
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Giving me money back 💰 Whether you live in New Hampshire or elsewhere, you can also take action at home to keep recyclable and compostable materials out of waste streams — and save cash to boot.
For instance, if you have a garden, you can transform your biodegradable cardboard boxes into planters or reuse them as weed suppressants. Freezing food will keep it fresher for longer, but if you can't salvage your scraps, you can start a home composting bin.
And investing in high-quality clothes made from natural fibers rather than poorly made fast-fashion apparel — whether you buy new or find secondhand gems from resale platforms like ThredUp — could save you at least $200 each year in the long run.
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