DUSP Courses 1998

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11.949 Recycling from the Inside Out

11.949 -- RECYCLING FROM THE INSIDE OUT

FALL 1998

Thursdays 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Room 1-242

Scott Cassel, Visiting Instructor

(Director of Waste Policy and Planning - Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs)

MIT OFFICE: Room 9-314; 253-1367 (ph)

STATE OFFICE: 727-9800, x291 (ph)/e-mail: scott.cassel@state.ma.us

OFFICE HOURS: By appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Recycling is the most common way for people to act on their concern for the environment. While Massachusetts and other states have made great strides toward collecting and recycling materials that used to be called "waste," many usable items are still disposed of in landfills and incinerators. This class will study the contemporary issue of recycling as a means to explore the basic tools of policy making and planning, including economic analysis; raising an issue on the political agenda; manufacturing and its role in community development; investing in innovative technologies to reduce costs and create value; product marketing; the role of the media; setting goals and evaluating performance; revising municipal laws and policies; and analyzing options to solve a particular problem.

While the first half of each class will explore policy and planning principles as they relate to recycling, the second part of the class will directly apply those principles. In small groups, students will develop a recycling program plan for either the City of Revere, the City of Chelsea, or one other municipal client. Each team will present options to key municipal officials for increasing recycling, decreasing waste generation, enhancing the recycling industry, buying more recycled products, and decreasing the toxicity of the waste stream. Students will work individually and in small groups, and will advise each other on ways to achieve the goals for their respective municipal client.

The client reports will be designed to be implemented. To make the plan usable, you will need to find out what your client wants, then determine how to deliver a meaningful product within the political, social, technical, and economic context that exists in your client municipality. You will be expected to factor in the interests of other key stakeholders, such as local and state environmental groups, and state officials.

GRADING: 50% class participation; 50% written and oral assignments.

READINGS: Reading assignments are located in the reader in Rotch Library. Supplemental readings will be distributed in class.

CLASS 1 INTRODUCTION TO SOLID WASTE/RECYCLING ISSUES AND MUNICIPAL PROGRAM PLANS

Thursday, September 10

We will begin by discussing the goals for the class, which combines classroom theory with practical application in the field. Students will learn about the environmental and public health issues that arise from solid waste disposal, debate the benefits of recycling, and get an overview of solid waste management in America and in Massachusetts. We will address the fundamental question people ask about recycling: "Is it really worth it?" We will also start to create the framework for the municipal client projects. Students will hear about the components of the municipal program plans, divide into small groups by municipal client, and select special areas of focus (e.g., waste reduction, recycling job creation, increasing the recycling rate, buying recycled products, toxics reduction).

CLASS 2 SOLID WASTE/RECYCLING BASICS (CONT.) AND GOAL SETTING

Thursday, September 17

To set the context for the program plan that each student team will develop, we will cover federal, state, and local solid waste/recycling laws, regulations, and policies. Students will explore how municipalities establish their budgets and make decisions about recycling and solid waste issues. With this overview, students will discuss setting goals and establishing priorities. How will the municipality know that its recycling program has been successful? What resistance might you encounter among officials in your client municipality to setting goals? How have the state and federal governments set their recycling goals? What is the process you should follow to recommend goals to your municipal client, and how will you convince local officials that these goals are the right ones for them?

Guest Speaker (one hour): Jan Aceti, City of Cambridge Recycling Director and past President of MassRecycle, Massachusetts' statewide recycling association.

DUE: Municipal solid waste/recycling profiles. This assignment is a group project due on the day of class.

CLASS 3 SOURCE REDUCTION AND ECONOMICS OF RECYCLING

Thursday, September 24

For the first hour, we will discuss the first "R" in the waste management hierarchy -- reduction of waste -- including the difficulties in measuring results, the factors contributing to waste generation, successful pilot projects around the country, and what is possible to expect from a municipality. For the second hour, we will learn about the most common misperception in recycling -- that it is not cost effective, even though for most municipalities in Massachusetts, recycling saves money. What factors should you consider when developing a cost analysis? Where do you find the data? How should you present cost savings to key municipal officials? How do the capital and operating costs change as the recycling rate increases? We will analyze several cost analyses developed for representative municipalities and discuss how to develop a cost analysis for your client. For the third hour, we will discuss the main issues that have arisen in developing the municipal program plans for your client municipality. Students will articulate the problems encountered and the group will work together to offer solutions and share their own experiences.

DUE: Describe the goal you think your client should pursue in one of the five technical areas that will comprise the municipal program plans. Justify your goal and raise any pertinent issues related to goal setting and your particular client. Length: under four pages. This is an individual assignment due on the day of class.

CLASS 4: INCREASING MUNICIPAL RECYCLING/COMPOSTING RATES

Thursday, October 1

This class will begin with a discussion of who is not recycling and why. We will then highlight the main problems that municipalities encounter in increasing their recycling rates -- the lack of access to recycling services and the lack of participation in existing programs. Students will learn about options that municipalities can choose and the political, social, economic, and technical issues that need to be considered in each case, whether the strategy is based on incentives or "command and control"/enforcement. We will debate the full range of options, including unit-based pricing, mandatory recycling, waste bans, the beverage container redemption law, contract changes, requirements on haulers to offer recycling service, multi-media educational campaigns, and Massachusetts' municipal recycling incentive program and minimum recycling requirements. For the last part of the class, we will discuss progress on the municipal program plans, in particular the economic analyses and source reduction planning discussed the week before.

CLASS 5: RECYCLING INDUSTRY/JOBS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Thursday, October 8

Where do recyclable materials go once they are collected at the curb or at the recycling center? Are there really markets for the recyclables we collect? What factors influence the prices mills pay for recyclables? Is it more cost-effective for municipalities to sell recyclables directly to the mill or to contract with a recycling collection company? This class will emphasize the importance of recycling manufacturing jobs to the local and regional economies and to municipal and commercial recycling programs. Students will learn about the need to create a demand for recyclable materials which, in turn, lowers collection costs and helps create a sustainable recycling industry and stable recycling programs. We will explore the barriers and opportunities faced by manufacturers using recycled materials in their feedstocks, and will hear about the latest findings of the "Massachusetts Strategic Plan for the Use of Recycled Materials." We will also learn how to determine which materials are used by businesses in our client municipalities, whether these materials can be reused locally, and how the local and regional recycling industries can be enhanced. The last part of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson pertaining to options for increasing recycling.

Guest Speaker (one hour): Amy Perlmutter, Executive Director of the Chelsea Center for Recycling and Economic Development.

Due: Outline for municipal program plans. This assignment is a group project due on the day of class.

CLASS 6: BUYING RECYCLED PRODUCTS/MARKET DEVELOPMENT

Thursday, October 15

There is a saying in the recycling field, "You aren't truly recycling until you buy recycled." We will learn why purchasing products made from recycled materials is a key to "closing the recycling loop" and what opportunities exist in federal, state, and local government agencies, and among businesses, to create a demand for recycled products. We will discover the challenges in marketing recycled products, the barriers to overcoming product acceptance, and the challenges that lie ahead. Our discussion will focus on questions such as: How do municipal officials create a demand for recycled products? Which products should you recommend that the municipality purchase? What motivates a local purchasing official to buy recycled products, and what can the state do to create purchasing incentives? What resistance to buying recycled are you likely to face in your client municipality? By the end of the class, you will be able to develop a plan for your client municipality to buy recycled products. The last part of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson on recycling industries.

Guest Speaker (one hour): Eric Friedman, Environmentally Preferable Products Purchasing Coordinator, Executive Office of Administration and Finance.

DUE (for part of class): Describe the strategy you will recommend to your client municipality pertaining to one of the following special topic areas related to the municipal program plan: source reduction, increasing the recycling rate, or enhancing the recycling industry. Explain why this strategy makes sense for your municipality as compared to other options, and outline your implementation strategy, its budget impacts, and time line. This is an individual assignment due on the day of class.

CLASS 7: REDUCING THE TOXICITY OF THE MUNICIPAL WASTE STREAM

Thursday, November 5

Although products containing toxic substances comprise less than one percent of municipal solid waste, they create the greatest environmental and public health risk. We will learn which products are of most concern and why; the difficulty in analyzing impacts and assessing risk; and the government's role to make policy decisions on incomplete information. The class will discuss the contemporary topic of the risk posed by the state's eight solid waste combustion facilities, and will explore different perspectives regarding the state's new regulation to reduce solid waste incinerator emissions, including its requirement that facility operators set up programs for the collection of toxic products. We will cover national, state, and local programs to collect hazardous household products and the factors affecting cost, such as markets for toxic materials, regulatory frameworks, and transportation. We will also outline the options a municipality can include in its plan to divert from disposal hazardous materials originating from households and businesses. The last hour of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson regarding the purchase of recycled products.

Guest Speaker (one hour):. Mark Smith, Office of Research and Standards, Department of Environmental Protection.

CLASS 8: COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL RECYCLING

Thursday, October 29

Businesses generate over half the waste in Massachusetts and recycle at a higher rate than residences. While white paper recycling in large office buildings has proven cost effective, however, few small and mid-size businesses venture into the realm of waste reduction and recycling. We will explore the obstacles faced by businesses, such as lack of storage space, employee turnover, and costs, and the innovative programs and contracting mechanisms in place to meet businesses' needs. We will also cover the difficulties in recycling in government and university buildings. In the second part of the class, we will discuss the role of local and state governments to stimulate commercial recycling and learn how certain agencies have assisted businesses to increase their recycling rates, including a current state-sponsored cooperative recycling project on Newbury Street (Boston) and restaurant composting projects in western Massachusetts. We will discuss what your client municipality could do to stimulate commercial and institutional recycling, and the factors they need to consider for each option. The last hour of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson pertaining to reducing the toxicity of the waste stream.

Guest Speaker (one hour): Lauren Scharfman, Executive Director, WasteCap of Massachusetts.

CLASS 9: VISIT TO A RECYCLING PROCESSING FACILITY AND A MANUFACTURING PLANT MAKING PRODUCTS FROM RECYCLED MATERIALS (specific locations to be announced)

Thursday, October 22

We will take a break from the classroom discussion to embark on a site visit to a regional facility that processes recyclables collected from the City of Cambridge and other municipalities and businesses in the area. We will then travel to a manufacturing plant that receives recycled materials from the processing plant and turns them into high quality recycled products. You will get to ask the plant managers in both facilities about worker productivity, transportation costs, market dynamics, material contamination, and other questions you have related to your recycling program plans.

DUE (for part of class): Describe the strategy you will recommend to your client municipality pertaining to one of the following special topic areas related to the municipal program plan: buying recycling products or reducing the toxicity of the waste stream. Explain why this strategy makes sense for your municipality as compared to other options, and outline your implementation strategy, budget impacts, and time line. This is an individual assignment due on the day of class.

CLASS 10: THE ROLE OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

Thursday, November 12

A change in technology can be the difference between a certain recyclable material ending up as a recycled product or as a waste in a landfill or incinerator. By increasing material quality and supply, innovative technologies can help create markets. Technological opportunities exist throughout the recycling field: screening out contaminated materials; collecting trash and recyclables in one vehicle; changes in the manufacturing process that make it feasible to use recycled feedstocks; deinking recovered paper; and optically sorting plastics and glass at recycling processing facilities. This session will cover the potential for technology to solve problems by reducing costs and creating markets for recyclable materials. We will look at the difficulties of introducing new technologies into the marketplace, the state's efforts at assisting innovative companies, and the role of research and development in identifying and solving technical barriers. The last hour of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous lesson on commercial and institutional recycling.

Guest Speaker (one hour): Gina McCarthy, Strategic Technology Environmental Partnership, Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.

CLASS 11: COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

Thursday, November 19

For each component of the municipal program plan: Who is your audience and where do they get their information? What message do you want to convey? What are the best ways to reach them? How should you vary your message and communication tools based on the ethnic diversity in the community? The first part of the class will address these and other questions. In addition, we will identify the different groups of stakeholders for each component of the plan. How do you get these stakeholders to seriously consider your recommendations? What do you do if your recommendations differ from the municipality's political objectives? Who has the authority to make the decisions, and how can you reach these people? The second part of the class will discuss the role of the press. When should you reach out for press attention? What are the benefits and pitfalls of public recognition? What are the best media venues (e.g., news, radio, television) for getting recognition for your program and alerting the public to recycling program choices and changes? The last part of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson on the role of innovative technologies.

CLASS 12: DEBATE: THE NEW HOOD MILK BOTTLE/SHOULD IT BE ALLOWED? Thursday, December 3

For the first hour of the class, we will debate whether organizations or agencies should intervene in a private business decision to change the packaging of a milk bottle that allegedly increases product shelf life and taste but lowers the value municipalities receive for the recycled material. We will consider legislation previously introduced in Massachusetts that would have required packaging for products sold in Massachusetts to meet certain requirements for reuse, recyclability, or recycled content. The second part of the class will prepare you for your final presentations of the municipal program plan. Who is your audience for the final presentation? What are they expecting to hear? What questions are they likely to ask? How can you best get across your message in the time allotted? What will be your press strategy? How should you present the information so that your recommendations have the best chance of being accepted? The last hour of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson on communication strategies.

CLASS 13: MUNICIPAL PROGRAM PLANS: CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS

Thursday, December 10

Each student team will present its recommendations to the other students as if they were the client. Students will critique the presentations and offer suggestions to strengthen them.

DUE: Final municipal program plans (group project) are due on the day of class.

FINAL PRESENTATION TO MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS

week of December 14

Each student team will present its recommendations to key municipal officials and other stakeholders. This presentation will most likely be given at a municipal location so that a maximum number of high level officials have the opportunity to attend.

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This syllabus may have been updated. To ensure that you're looking at the most recent version, please hit "Reload."
11.949 Recycling from the Inside Out
11.949 -- RECYCLING FROM THE INSIDE OUT FALL 1998 Thursdays 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Room 1-242 Scott Cassel, Visiting Instructor (Director of Waste Policy and Planning - Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs) MIT OFFICE: Room 9-314; 253-1367 (ph) STATE OFFICE: 727-9800, x291 (ph)/e-mail: scott.cassel@state.ma.us OFFICE HOURS: By appointment COURSE DESCRIPTION: Recycling is the most common way for people to act on their concern for the environment. While Massachusetts and other states have made great strides toward collecting and recycling materials that used to be called "waste," many usable items are still disposed of in landfills and incinerators. This class will study the contemporary issue of recycling as a means to explore the basic tools of policy making and planning, including economic analysis; raising an issue on the political agenda; manufacturing and its role in community development; investing in innovative technologies to reduce costs and create value; product marketing; the role of the media; setting goals and evaluating performance; revising municipal laws and policies; and analyzing options to solve a particular problem. While the first half of each class will explore policy and planning principles as they relate to recycling, the second part of the class will directly apply those principles. In small groups, students will develop a recycling program plan for either the City of Revere, the City of Chelsea, or one other municipal client. Each team will present options to key municipal officials for increasing recycling, decreasing waste generation, enhancing the recycling industry, buying more recycled products, and decreasing the toxicity of the waste stream. Students will work individually and in small groups, and will advise each other on ways to achieve the goals for their respective municipal client. The client reports will be designed to be implemented. To make the plan usable, you will need to find out what your client wants, then determine how to deliver a meaningful product within the political, social, technical, and economic context that exists in your client municipality. You will be expected to factor in the interests of other key stakeholders, such as local and state environmental groups, and state officials. GRADING: 50% class participation; 50% written and oral assignments. READINGS: Reading assignments are located in the reader in Rotch Library. Supplemental readings will be distributed in class. CLASS 1 INTRODUCTION TO SOLID WASTE/RECYCLING ISSUES AND MUNICIPAL PROGRAM PLANS Thursday, September 10 We will begin by discussing the goals for the class, which combines classroom theory with practical application in the field. Students will learn about the environmental and public health issues that arise from solid waste disposal, debate the benefits of recycling, and get an overview of solid waste management in America and in Massachusetts. We will address the fundamental question people ask about recycling: "Is it really worth it?" We will also start to create the framework for the municipal client projects. Students will hear about the components of the municipal program plans, divide into small groups by municipal client, and select special areas of focus (e.g., waste reduction, recycling job creation, increasing the recycling rate, buying recycled products, toxics reduction). CLASS 2 SOLID WASTE/RECYCLING BASICS (CONT.) AND GOAL SETTING Thursday, September 17 To set the context for the program plan that each student team will develop, we will cover federal, state, and local solid waste/recycling laws, regulations, and policies. Students will explore how municipalities establish their budgets and make decisions about recycling and solid waste issues. With this overview, students will discuss setting goals and establishing priorities. How will the municipality know that its recycling program has been successful? What resistance might you encounter among officials in your client municipality to setting goals? How have the state and federal governments set their recycling goals? What is the process you should follow to recommend goals to your municipal client, and how will you convince local officials that these goals are the right ones for them? Guest Speaker (one hour): Jan Aceti, City of Cambridge Recycling Director and past President of MassRecycle, Massachusetts' statewide recycling association. DUE: Municipal solid waste/recycling profiles. This assignment is a group project due on the day of class. CLASS 3 SOURCE REDUCTION AND ECONOMICS OF RECYCLING Thursday, September 24 For the first hour, we will discuss the first "R" in the waste management hierarchy -- reduction of waste -- including the difficulties in measuring results, the factors contributing to waste generation, successful pilot projects around the country, and what is possible to expect from a municipality. For the second hour, we will learn about the most common misperception in recycling -- that it is not cost effective, even though for most municipalities in Massachusetts, recycling saves money. What factors should you consider when developing a cost analysis? Where do you find the data? How should you present cost savings to key municipal officials? How do the capital and operating costs change as the recycling rate increases? We will analyze several cost analyses developed for representative municipalities and discuss how to develop a cost analysis for your client. For the third hour, we will discuss the main issues that have arisen in developing the municipal program plans for your client municipality. Students will articulate the problems encountered and the group will work together to offer solutions and share their own experiences. DUE: Describe the goal you think your client should pursue in one of the five technical areas that will comprise the municipal program plans. Justify your goal and raise any pertinent issues related to goal setting and your particular client. Length: under four pages. This is an individual assignment due on the day of class. CLASS 4: INCREASING MUNICIPAL RECYCLING/COMPOSTING RATES Thursday, October 1 This class will begin with a discussion of who is not recycling and why. We will then highlight the main problems that municipalities encounter in increasing their recycling rates -- the lack of access to recycling services and the lack of participation in existing programs. Students will learn about options that municipalities can choose and the political, social, economic, and technical issues that need to be considered in each case, whether the strategy is based on incentives or "command and control"/enforcement. We will debate the full range of options, including unit-based pricing, mandatory recycling, waste bans, the beverage container redemption law, contract changes, requirements on haulers to offer recycling service, multi-media educational campaigns, and Massachusetts' municipal recycling incentive program and minimum recycling requirements. For the last part of the class, we will discuss progress on the municipal program plans, in particular the economic analyses and source reduction planning discussed the week before. CLASS 5: RECYCLING INDUSTRY/JOBS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Thursday, October 8 Where do recyclable materials go once they are collected at the curb or at the recycling center? Are there really markets for the recyclables we collect? What factors influence the prices mills pay for recyclables? Is it more cost-effective for municipalities to sell recyclables directly to the mill or to contract with a recycling collection company? This class will emphasize the importance of recycling manufacturing jobs to the local and regional economies and to municipal and commercial recycling programs. Students will learn about the need to create a demand for recyclable materials which, in turn, lowers collection costs and helps create a sustainable recycling industry and stable recycling programs. We will explore the barriers and opportunities faced by manufacturers using recycled materials in their feedstocks, and will hear about the latest findings of the "Massachusetts Strategic Plan for the Use of Recycled Materials." We will also learn how to determine which materials are used by businesses in our client municipalities, whether these materials can be reused locally, and how the local and regional recycling industries can be enhanced. The last part of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson pertaining to options for increasing recycling. Guest Speaker (one hour): Amy Perlmutter, Executive Director of the Chelsea Center for Recycling and Economic Development. Due: Outline for municipal program plans. This assignment is a group project due on the day of class. CLASS 6: BUYING RECYCLED PRODUCTS/MARKET DEVELOPMENT Thursday, October 15 There is a saying in the recycling field, "You aren't truly recycling until you buy recycled." We will learn why purchasing products made from recycled materials is a key to "closing the recycling loop" and what opportunities exist in federal, state, and local government agencies, and among businesses, to create a demand for recycled products. We will discover the challenges in marketing recycled products, the barriers to overcoming product acceptance, and the challenges that lie ahead. Our discussion will focus on questions such as: How do municipal officials create a demand for recycled products? Which products should you recommend that the municipality purchase? What motivates a local purchasing official to buy recycled products, and what can the state do to create purchasing incentives? What resistance to buying recycled are you likely to face in your client municipality? By the end of the class, you will be able to develop a plan for your client municipality to buy recycled products. The last part of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson on recycling industries. Guest Speaker (one hour): Eric Friedman, Environmentally Preferable Products Purchasing Coordinator, Executive Office of Administration and Finance. DUE (for part of class): Describe the strategy you will recommend to your client municipality pertaining to one of the following special topic areas related to the municipal program plan: source reduction, increasing the recycling rate, or enhancing the recycling industry. Explain why this strategy makes sense for your municipality as compared to other options, and outline your implementation strategy, its budget impacts, and time line. This is an individual assignment due on the day of class. CLASS 7: REDUCING THE TOXICITY OF THE MUNICIPAL WASTE STREAM Thursday, November 5 Although products containing toxic substances comprise less than one percent of municipal solid waste, they create the greatest environmental and public health risk. We will learn which products are of most concern and why; the difficulty in analyzing impacts and assessing risk; and the government's role to make policy decisions on incomplete information. The class will discuss the contemporary topic of the risk posed by the state's eight solid waste combustion facilities, and will explore different perspectives regarding the state's new regulation to reduce solid waste incinerator emissions, including its requirement that facility operators set up programs for the collection of toxic products. We will cover national, state, and local programs to collect hazardous household products and the factors affecting cost, such as markets for toxic materials, regulatory frameworks, and transportation. We will also outline the options a municipality can include in its plan to divert from disposal hazardous materials originating from households and businesses. The last hour of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson regarding the purchase of recycled products. Guest Speaker (one hour):. Mark Smith, Office of Research and Standards, Department of Environmental Protection. CLASS 8: COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL RECYCLING Thursday, October 29 Businesses generate over half the waste in Massachusetts and recycle at a higher rate than residences. While white paper recycling in large office buildings has proven cost effective, however, few small and mid-size businesses venture into the realm of waste reduction and recycling. We will explore the obstacles faced by businesses, such as lack of storage space, employee turnover, and costs, and the innovative programs and contracting mechanisms in place to meet businesses' needs. We will also cover the difficulties in recycling in government and university buildings. In the second part of the class, we will discuss the role of local and state governments to stimulate commercial recycling and learn how certain agencies have assisted businesses to increase their recycling rates, including a current state-sponsored cooperative recycling project on Newbury Street (Boston) and restaurant composting projects in western Massachusetts. We will discuss what your client municipality could do to stimulate commercial and institutional recycling, and the factors they need to consider for each option. The last hour of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson pertaining to reducing the toxicity of the waste stream. Guest Speaker (one hour): Lauren Scharfman, Executive Director, WasteCap of Massachusetts. CLASS 9: VISIT TO A RECYCLING PROCESSING FACILITY AND A MANUFACTURING PLANT MAKING PRODUCTS FROM RECYCLED MATERIALS (specific locations to be announced) Thursday, October 22 We will take a break from the classroom discussion to embark on a site visit to a regional facility that processes recyclables collected from the City of Cambridge and other municipalities and businesses in the area. We will then travel to a manufacturing plant that receives recycled materials from the processing plant and turns them into high quality recycled products. You will get to ask the plant managers in both facilities about worker productivity, transportation costs, market dynamics, material contamination, and other questions you have related to your recycling program plans. DUE (for part of class): Describe the strategy you will recommend to your client municipality pertaining to one of the following special topic areas related to the municipal program plan: buying recycling products or reducing the toxicity of the waste stream. Explain why this strategy makes sense for your municipality as compared to other options, and outline your implementation strategy, budget impacts, and time line. This is an individual assignment due on the day of class. CLASS 10: THE ROLE OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES Thursday, November 12 A change in technology can be the difference between a certain recyclable material ending up as a recycled product or as a waste in a landfill or incinerator. By increasing material quality and supply, innovative technologies can help create markets. Technological opportunities exist throughout the recycling field: screening out contaminated materials; collecting trash and recyclables in one vehicle; changes in the manufacturing process that make it feasible to use recycled feedstocks; deinking recovered paper; and optically sorting plastics and glass at recycling processing facilities. This session will cover the potential for technology to solve problems by reducing costs and creating markets for recyclable materials. We will look at the difficulties of introducing new technologies into the marketplace, the state's efforts at assisting innovative companies, and the role of research and development in identifying and solving technical barriers. The last hour of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous lesson on commercial and institutional recycling. Guest Speaker (one hour): Gina McCarthy, Strategic Technology Environmental Partnership, Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. CLASS 11: COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES Thursday, November 19 For each component of the municipal program plan: Who is your audience and where do they get their information? What message do you want to convey? What are the best ways to reach them? How should you vary your message and communication tools based on the ethnic diversity in the community? The first part of the class will address these and other questions. In addition, we will identify the different groups of stakeholders for each component of the plan. How do you get these stakeholders to seriously consider your recommendations? What do you do if your recommendations differ from the municipality's political objectives? Who has the authority to make the decisions, and how can you reach these people? The second part of the class will discuss the role of the press. When should you reach out for press attention? What are the benefits and pitfalls of public recognition? What are the best media venues (e.g., news, radio, television) for getting recognition for your program and alerting the public to recycling program choices and changes? The last part of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson on the role of innovative technologies. CLASS 12: DEBATE: THE NEW HOOD MILK BOTTLE/SHOULD IT BE ALLOWED? Thursday, December 3 For the first hour of the class, we will debate whether organizations or agencies should intervene in a private business decision to change the packaging of a milk bottle that allegedly increases product shelf life and taste but lowers the value municipalities receive for the recycled material. We will consider legislation previously introduced in Massachusetts that would have required packaging for products sold in Massachusetts to meet certain requirements for reuse, recyclability, or recycled content. The second part of the class will prepare you for your final presentations of the municipal program plan. Who is your audience for the final presentation? What are they expecting to hear? What questions are they likely to ask? How can you best get across your message in the time allotted? What will be your press strategy? How should you present the information so that your recommendations have the best chance of being accepted? The last hour of the class will address issues arising from development of the municipal program plans, particularly the previous week's lesson on communication strategies. CLASS 13: MUNICIPAL PROGRAM PLANS: CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS Thursday, December 10 Each student team will present its recommendations to the other students as if they were the client. Students will critique the presentations and offer suggestions to strengthen them. DUE: Final municipal program plans (group project) are due on the day of class. FINAL PRESENTATION TO MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS week of December 14 Each student team will present its recommendations to key municipal officials and other stakeholders. This presentation will most likely be given at a municipal location so that a maximum number of high level officials have the opportunity to attend.