MELROSE — The City of Melrose is collaborating with the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and several towns and cities across eastern Massachusetts to bring residents “Stories of Our Stuff: Recycling & Secondhand Industry Across the World,” a webinar geared toward informing the public about the recycling industry and practices globally taking place on Tuesday, April 11, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
In addition to MassDEP and the City of Melrose, the webinar is co-hosted by the Town of Arlington, Town of Bedford, Town of Brookline, City of Newton, City of Somerville, City of Watertown, as well as the Refuse Management District, and the South Shore Recycling Cooperative. Melrose Environmental Outreach Coordinator, Alison Beucler, will be present at the meeting for Melrose residents, who are encouraged to attend to learn more about recycling in Massachusetts and Melrose specifically.
Residents can sign up for the “Stories of our Stuff” webinar by visiting the registration link, https://cambridgema.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_x0h4n052RIGMiT2Mzfrbxg.
“We know recycling is an important component of America’s sustainability agenda,” said Mike Orr, Recycling Director of the City of Cambridge. “Recycling reduces the amount of deforestation, mining, and fracking that are done to make new items. However, the process of recycling and the secondhand industry is largely unknown. In this webinar, we will peel the curtain back on how electronics are recycled in China, how broken TVs in Ghana are repaired using components from old TVs, how recycling works in Mumbai, and finally how our most common recyclables (aluminum, paper, plastic, and glass) generated in Massachusetts are recycled into new products.”
Three panelists will lead the webinar. Adam Minter, author of “Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade,” and “Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale;” Meera Singh, a Waste Management educator in Mumbai and Cambridge, MA; and Brooke Nash, the Branch Chief for Municipal Waste Reduction at the MassDEP.
About the Speakers:
Adam Minter is a columnist with Bloomberg Opinion, where he writes about emerging markets, technology, waste, and other topics. From 2002 to 2014, he was based in Shanghai, where he covered the trans-Pacific trade in recycling; he continued that coverage from Kuala Lumpur, where he was based in2014 until 2020. His first book, “Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade,” is an insider’s look at the world of globalized recycling. His most recent book, “Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale” is a deep dive into the secondhand economy that thrives around the world.
Meera Singh has been involved in environmental and waste management initiatives for over a decade. She has carried her message in China, India, and Cambridge MA. She has worked with adults in corporations and communities, youth in schools and colleges, and continues to work with family and friends to increase waste diversion! Most recently she has worked on a waste management campaign in three Mumbai slums. Meera has a master’s degree in international educational development from Teachers College, Columbia University. Fun fact: Meera uninhibitedly rescues recyclables from the trash in her neighborhood.
Brooke Nash has spent her entire career in the solid waste/recycling field. Since 1997, she has served as the Branch Chief for Municipal Waste Reduction at the MassDEP, where she manages technical assistance programs, grants, and training to increase the effectiveness of local and regional waste reduction programs. Prior to MassDEP, Brooke co-founded and served as the first executive director of Solana Recyclers, a community-based non-profit that pioneered curbside recycling in San Diego County in the 1980s. Brooke serves on the Board of Directors of the Northeast Recycling Council. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego. She lives in Boston and is an avid gardener and reader.
