Where Is "Away" When We Throw Away?
Hey Smart Recyclers,
It’s easy to forget about our stuff once we throw it away – until you see where “away” is. The Recycle Smart team thinks about “away” all the time, so we thought it was high time we showed you what it looks like. It’s a powerful reminder of why we do what we do and why creating less waste matters!
Visiting "Away" (an inside look at where our trash goes)

A few weeks back, the Recycle Smart team visited one “away” place, technically known as a municipal waste combustor (or a waste-to-energy facility). There are currently five of these combustors operating in Massachusetts, and together they dispose of about 60% of our trash. The rest is either buried in landfills in MA or transported to disposal facilities out of state.
Waste-to-energy facilities receive trash from surrounding communities and burn it at a very high temperature, creating energy that powers the electric grid. The facility we visited produces enough energy to power 16,800+ local homes and businesses a year.
During our visit, we tagged along with Rob Tocchio, one of MassDEP’s waste ban inspectors who regularly checks in on these facilities to see what’s ending up in the trash. Together, we watched garbage trucks of varying sizes enter the facility two at a time and unload trash onto what’s called the “tipping floor.” Fragments of our neighbors’ lives spilled out – everything from daily discards like snack wrappers, plastic grocery bags, paper coffee cups, and knots of bubble wrap to more personal belongings: a rainbow-splotched soccer ball, a binder full of notes, a purple kiddie pool, a welcome mat, and even a bean bag chair.
We found ourselves imagining where these forgotten items came from and who they once belonged to. Our trash tells a tangled mess of stories – it’s like an anthropological record of our routines, our habits, and our choices.
Once dumped out, Rob eyed these piles from afar to determine if he needed a closer look. What was he looking for? Things that are banned from the trash in MA, like clothing, large amounts of food, mattresses, car batteries, cardboard…just to name a few. We talked about some of these waste ban items a couple newsletters ago – go give it a read (after you’re done with this one)!
With a closer look, Rob determined if there was a waste ban violation and gathered information for follow-up. When he had what he needed, he gave a thumbs up to a facility worker operating a massive front-end loader, who then scooped and pushed the trash into one of six concrete bays. Behind the bays lives a giant claw that workers operate like a giant arcade claw game to grab trash and drop it down into the incinerator.


The front-end loader pushes trash into the bays, and the claw picks it up and drops it into the incinerator.
Watching all of this was a powerful experience. No matter how many times we see it, we are floored by the magnitude of trash coming in and the towering mountains of it that surround us. In just an hour of being there, 14 garbage trucks came and went, each unloading heaping pile after heaping pile. And by the time we left, there were many more lined up outside waiting their turn. An estimated 1,500 tons of trash is processed by this facility every day.
That’s just one day at one facility. 🤯

These looming piles show another, very practical reason why we need to curb our waste: our waste combustors are operating at capacity and there’s a moratorium in MA against building new municipal waste combustors. We do have five landfills left in MA, but they are set to reach capacity within the next decade. After they close, we’ll be sending far more of our trash out of state. So, we need to do all we can to keep good stuff out of the trash!
Zooming out: In 2023, the most recent year for which we have data, households and businesses across MA disposed of about 4.68 million tons of solid waste. That amount of trash would fill 1,948 football fields end zone to end zone and all the way up to the goal post crossbar.*
Again, all this trash is what keeps us fired up (no pun intended) to do everything we can to reduce our waste and help you do the same. It’s also why MA has a statewide plan in place that charts out how the state will reduce and manage its waste over the next decade and beyond. We could write a whole newsletter about that plan, but suffice it to say, there are a lot of people who care about this problem and are working on fixing and/or improving our systems to reduce these mountains of trash. We promise!
*We calculated this figure using the EPA’s volume-to-weight conversion chart (residential waste) and the dimensions of a regulation American football field.
There's Hope Living in Our Trash
At this point, you may be feeling overwhelmed – we feel you. Coming face-to-face with our waste can be unsettling, even daunting, but we see it as a reminder that keeping items in use and recycling the right things matters. There’s a lot of valuable stuff ending up in the trash that could have been reused, repaired, donated, or otherwise kept out. We saw all sorts of easily recyclable materials, too. Stuff like glass and plastic bottles, aluminum cans, milk jugs, and cardboard…
…since we mentioned it, let’s talk about cardboard for a second. Rob shared that cardboard is, by far, the most common waste ban item he sees in the trash.
That’s disappointing because not only is it super recyclable, it’s also valuable. Manufacturers want to buy cardboard and turn it into new boxes that could one day end up back on your doorstep. If it ends up in the trash, it’s missing a chance to live a second, third, or even sixth life!
The same goes for all the aluminum cans we saw. If they’d landed in a recycling bin instead of the trash, they could have gone on to become new aluminum cans back on store shelves (in as little as 60 days!).
Think about it. Once something ends up at a combustor, it’s gone for good. What a pity!
But here’s the silver lining: each of us can still make a difference by practicing all the R’s that come before recycling and then recycling 100% of the stuff on the “yes” list (see Smart Recycling Guide below).

As we know from our newsletter All the Waste We Do Not See, giving materials another life reduces our reliance on extracting new resources, lessens harmful impacts to people and our planet, and avoids greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
While these may feel like small actions, they really do add up to change when we all participate. Every cardboard box recycled is one less piled atop the mountains at the combustor!
If you’re unsure what goes in your recycling bin, reference the Smart Recycling Guide. The top row of images shows the types of things we want to see in the recycling. Remember, smart recycling isn’t just about what you toss in the bin – it’s how you toss it in, too. Keep things loose and make sure everything’s empty and dry before it goes in.
Another Silver Lining
Another bright spot is Rob and what he’s working to enforce. The purpose of his inspections is to enforce waste ban laws, which were created to keep things that are either too good or too bad out of the trash. Remember that follow-up we mentioned earlier? That’s what Rob does after he records a violation; he reaches out to the business or community (the “generator”) whose trash contained banned items, lets them know what they got wrong, and connects them with resources to help them comply with the law. There are other levels of enforcement if violations continue, but the goal of an inspector, first and foremost, is to correct the mistake and equip people with tools to responsibly manage their waste going forward. Or better yet, prevent it in the first place!
Partners, did you know there’s a group dedicated to helping MA businesses and institutions effectively and responsibly manage waste? Meet RecyclingWorks in MA: a technical assistance program funded by MassDEP. They’ve got all sorts of FREE resources to help you reduce waste. Take a look!
After all of this, you may be wondering: what’s left after trash is burned? The answer: mostly ash and some salvageable metal. The metal can be recycled, but the ash must be taken to a special ash landfill where it’s buried. 🤔 It just goes to show that our trash never really disappears.
Now that you’ve seen where “away” is, is there anything you’ll do differently? Are you as moved as we are to live lower-waste lives? We’d love to hear from you!
Partner Spotlight: Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity
Speaking of keeping valuable stuff out of the trash, this month we’re spotlighting Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity who’s been working to do just that. With support from a MassDEP Reduce, Reuse, Repair Micro-Grant, they launched a program that collects and redistributes used metal ramps to low-income homeowners with limited mobility. The program helps people age-in-place while keeping these bulky items in use!
So far, they’ve connected 11 families to ramps, and the program continues to expand. We think the testimonials from ramp recipients speak for themselves:
“It is perfect! Perfect. I can get to the ramp by myself which opens everything for me as far as transportation goes. I am more independent.” – Janice, Dartmouth, MA
“Because of this ramp, my mother can now get out of that awful nursing home and feel comfortable and safe again. She has been coming here on the weekends since the installation; the first day I brought her home, she lit up like a kid in a candy store. Soon she will be discharged from the nursing home.” – Rowena’s daughter, Acushnet, MA
Read more about the program. Thank you, Habitat for Humanity!
📚What We’re Reading
- Cities Forgo Wrecking Balls and Order ‘Deconstruction’ of Old Buildings, Instead – WBUR
- How This Business Owner Keeps Mattresses Out of Landfills – Marketplace
- Beyond Bargains in Boston: The Social Impact of Free-Stuff Groups – Boston Globe
- Worcester, MA to Develop Zero Waste Master Plan – Waste Advantage Magazine
- Care About Food Waste? In Massachusetts, You Can Be a Compost Consultant. – The New York Times
Stay cool,
The Recycle Smart MA Team at MassDEP & combustion facility resident mama goose! 🥹
