Law would require trash to be recycled by companies

BOSTON ? Two bills sponsored by Rep. Mark Falzone are among four pieces of legislation aimed at forcing manufacturers to take back and recycle after use by the consumer any products that contain ingredients harmful to humans or the environment.A hearing at the State House on Thursday before the Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture addressed the issue of how to halt dangerous material from entering the waste stream and ultimately polluting air and water.”Thinking about tossing a burnt out light bulb, dead iPod or an old vinyl shower curtain into the trash? Once an item is thrown away it’s ?out of sight and out of mind,’ but is it really gone? Unfortunately, these products have a way of making their way back into our lives in the form of dioxin, mercury, lead and other hazardous chemicals in our air, water, soil and food,” said Elizabeth Saunders, spokesman for Clean Water Action, a coalition of environmental and public health advocacy groups.Saunders said the goal is to convince legislators to support bills that require manufacturers to take back toxic trash and curb incineration.One bill proposes a moratorium on increased capacity of trash incinerators and three others would reduce the toxicity of the waste stream by requiring manufacturers to take back electronics, mercury-containing thermostats, and mercury-containing light bulbs at the end of their useful lives.”Products loaded with heavy metals and other toxins do not belong in the trash, but citizens do not have any easy way to dispose of them,” said Saunders, the organization’s health legislative director. “The Legislature has to take action. Many cash-strapped cities and towns simply can’t be expending resources on collecting these products at this point in time.”Making manufacturers responsible for taking back their products will help boost the state’s recycling rate and reduce the amount of trash that must be disposed of, she said.Massachusetts incinerates more of its solid waste than any other state in the nation except for Connecticut and Maine, said Saunders.Falzone, a Saugus Democrat, filed legislation to prevent the construction of new incinerator capacity in Massachusetts.Saugus is host to a waste-to-energy facility.”Massachusetts already incinerates 34 percent of its municipal solid waste, a huge amount when compared to other states. All my bill would do is prevent us from building more incinerators and increasing the exposure our residents are already subjected to,” Falzone said.Scientists have determined that mercury is a potent neurotoxin linked to learning disabilities, brain damage, heart problems and kidney failure. Mercury exposure occurs when humans eat contaminated fish. Children, pregnant women and the elderly are particularly susceptible.Mercury pollution found in lakes, rivers and oceans often comes from the incineration of products containing mercury, Saunders said.A 2004 estimate from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency suggests that 59 tons of mercury in lamps and 209 tons in thermostats will end up in the trash ? if not separated and recycled. The result is more air and water pollution.”We need to provide Massachusetts residents with the tools they need to properly dispose of these products and make healthy choices for their families and communities,” said Falzone. “Many people don’t know that fluorescent lights contain mercury and should not go into the trash, and wouldn’t have an easily accessible way to recycle them even if they did.”Requiring manufactures to take responsibility for these lights will solve the problem and keep the costs from falling to already overburdened cities and towns, he said.According to Saunders, in 2006 the Massachusetts Mercury Products Act was passed that banned the sale of thermostats and other mercury-containing products. However, the law did not ban the sale of mercury-containing light bulbs because there is no viable mercury-free energy efficient alternative, she said.The l