The Solid Waste Disposal Recycling Advisory Committee for the Town of Needham met Oct. 21 and approved its minutes before discussing newly implemented disposal rates, a slide in recycling commodity revenues, the restart of a service-delivery study, and recent waste events.

The committee approved the minutes as amended by unanimous voice vote. Jeff Heller, chair of the Solid Waste Disposal Recycling Advisory Committee, opened the meeting and led the updates.

Heller told the committee that fee changes approved by the Select Board went into effect Oct. 1. He summarized the new fees as residential mattress collection increasing from $20 to $25 per unit, commercial mattress collection at $40.50 per unit, and truck-tire fees rising from $15 to $21 per unit. He said the Select Board approved the changes and they are now in effect.

On market conditions, Heller said recycling revenues have declined since June 2025. "We are currently getting, in revenue, $33.18 per ton" for cardboard, he said, adding that cardboard revenue is down about $10 per ton since June. He said paper has moved from a small positive revenue in June to a cost, from about $1.47 per ton to a cost of $4.87 per ton. "So, commingled recycling costs are now $83.89 per ton," Heller said, and noted that commingled costs are about $31.38 per ton worse than in June. He pointed to low virgin-plastic prices, difficulties with glass, and new Chinese restrictions on imported fiber as contributors to the downward trend in commodity values.

The committee discussed a change order for the ongoing service-delivery study. Heller said the change order adjusted both the study duration and pricing and was approved; he said the committee has a phone meeting scheduled with the consultant to realign goals. Department of Public Works staff must set a date to present a draft to the Select Board and the committee. A committee member said the study deadline is Dec. 31 and that tentative presentation dates would be Nov. 18 and Dec. 9 if the report is delivered in time. Heller said the study used grant funding from the DEP for that work.

Heller reported operational updates: a new employee trailer is installed and occupied but still awaits building-maintenance work to weatherproof some plumbing; DPW will coordinate the remaining work.

The committee reviewed recent public events. Heller announced a household hazardous waste collection scheduled for Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at the DPW and said the event enforces a strict noon cutoff for drop-offs. He reported a record paper-shredding event on Oct. 11 that served 126 households, up from a previous record of 80, and said the shredded material was captured for recycling rather than placed in drop-off containers.

Heller also described a pilot food-waste diversion effort at the Harvest Fair. He said the pilot placed three food-waste stations next to trash receptacles but collected only about 15 pounds of food across the three containers, a negligible yield. "It really wasn't productive, but it was interesting to see," he said. He and other committee members noted that recycling containers and the town's Big Belly compactors were frequently full during the fair and that next year the committee should increase recycling capacity for large events.

Committee members discussed public outreach tied to the service-delivery study. One member said about 2,300 households responded to the study survey (approximately 20% participation) and cautioned the town should publicize the survey results so residents understand how grant funds were spent and the basis for any future warrant articles.

The meeting closed after a motion to adjourn passed by unanimous voice vote.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to approve minutes as amended: moved and seconded; unanimous voice vote (approved).
- Motion to adjourn: moved and seconded; unanimous voice vote (approved).