Case Study on Resource Management Contracting
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has posted a new fact sheet titled, "Resource Management Contracting (RM) at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital" which highlights the first-year recycling successes of the 2002 RM contracting pilot project. In a nutshell, the hospital has saved roughly $11,000 using this new contract.
State is Promoting Reuse for Municipalities
The state is working with Massachusetts municipalities to promote reuse; one of the best ways to reduce waste and extend the useful life of equipment. The state's surplus property office (SSPO) manages equipment for all state agencies that are downsizing, relocating, or replacing existing equipment. John Crisley of DEP's Municipal Waste Reduction Program, in cooperation with Paul Guerino of the State Surplus Property Office, send bi-weekly Email messages listing the availability of surplus chairs, tables, office equipment, computers, and other used property. Using this simple method has notified local managers about the availability of state surplus.
"Reusing equipment and materials is the best way to conserve resources, and this effort has the added benefit of saving cities and towns money in these budget conscious times," said DEP Commissioner Robert W. Golledge.
Ashland, Watertown, Dartmouth and a Chelmsford charter school have received surplus equipment for their offices.
The Ashland Department of Public Works (DPW) obtained surplus office cubicle partitions from the Turnpike Authority to help reorganize their offices. David Miller, Management Analyst for the DPW, said "I personally think that the DEP's Surplus Property Initiative is a great opportunity to reuse/recycle usable equipment. We actually feel as though we won the lottery when we got our hands on the cubicles; with the statewide budget crunches we would not have been able to do this much needed redesign to the DPW offices."
The Watertown library also obtained 24 surplus office cubicle partitions also from the Turnpike Authority. The town library is undergoing a 2-year renovation. Beverly Shank, the Library Director, said "We're using the 24 divider panels to set up department and office space in our temporary quarters on the ground floor of a vacant school building. Finding these surplus panels meant one less expense in our overall project budget".
The Murdoch Charter School in Chelmsford obtained 15, Dell Pentium III desktop computers. Mara Gorden, Murdoch's Director of Technology and Development, was able to expand a language lab for Spanish classes using these surplus computer from the MA Department of Revenue. Ms. Gorden said "As a charter school our budget tends to be smaller and therefore we need to stretch our dollars. The option of surplus has enabled to acquire equipment we would not have otherwise been able to get". Murdoch also obtained overhead projectors from State Surplus Property Office with DEP's assistance.
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| Murdoch Charter School in Chelmsford used 15 surplus computers to expand a Spanish language lab. |
The Town of Dartmouth obtained 2 lap-top computers (mid 1990's models) from the Executive Office of Public Safety for secretaries to take minutes at public meetings. Michael Gagne, Executive Administrator, said "…it is great to be able to get a piece of equipment the Town needs and not have to buy new and pay the price of new". The units originally retailed for $500.00 each in the mid-90's but were obtained for a nominal $10.00 administrative fee through the state surplus system.
The DEP's Municipal Waste Reduction Program has distributed a "wish list" to enable communities to fax in a list of needed equipment for town offices and get help finding it from state agency inventories. For more information contact
DEP & OSD Receive State Sustainability Grant
The State Surplus Office at the Operational Services Division (OSD) and DEP's Municipal Waste Reduction Program are a joint award recipient of a State Sustainability Program grant from Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA). The grant will help pay for the development of an OSD database to better manage state surplus property between agencies and other public entities, and to improve the means of advertising surplus on the OSD web site. The State Surplus Property Office manages both state vehicle auctions and the surplusing of office equipment, furniture, computers and electronics, and other related items. John Crisley of DEP and Paul Guerino, the surplus property manager, will be working together on the project. The grant award is for a maximum of $10,000.
DEP Announces Rain Barrel Grant Awards
DEP has awarded discounts for discounts on 1,204 total rain barrels to 24 municipalities through its FY05 Municipal Recycling Grant Program. This new program teams up state and local recycling and water departments to help residents conserve water, save money and reduce stormwater run-off.
A rain barrel collects water from the roof when it rains and stores it for use during dry weather to water outside plantings or wash a car. This helps replenish groundwater and benefits our water supply. A one-inch rainfall on a 1,000 square foot roof yields 562 gallons of water. Using rain barrels is an excellent way to save some of this water and take pressure off our water supply and stormwater management systems. Run-off from a quarter-inch rainfall will easily fill a barrel. Five rainy days can provide 275 gallons of free water. Collected rainfall is especially valuable during droughts or dry conditions. It contains more nutrients and less salts than tap water, so it's great for plants.There are two types of barrels available through the DEP program. Both are 55-gallon recycled barrels that are placed under a downspout to collect run-off. They both have screened openings to keep mosquitoes, other insects and debris out. Through the grant program, they will be available for $47-$55, a $10 discount off the municipal bulk purchase price and nearly 50% off the retail price. Residents prepay for the barrels and pick them up on a specified pick-up day. Check with your municipality to see if they offer rain barrels and how to place an order.
DEP Offers Healthy Lawns & Landscapes Workshops Throughout Massachusetts
Over 30 Massachusetts municipalities requested Healthy Lawns and Landscapes Workshops on their FY2005 DEP Municipal Recycling Grant applications. DEP is providing 9 regional workshops this spring. Residents from any municipality may attend a workshop.
These workshops can help municipalities meet the public outreach and education component of their Nonpoint Source Discharge Elimination System Phase II stormwater management plans, required of all communities by EPA under the Clean Water Act.
- Encourage your residents to attend a free workshop to learn how to have beautiful yards without using chemicals that may harm children, pets and our environment. Homeowners, landscapers and municipal staff are welcome to attend and should call the contact person listed to register. The workshops cover:
- Health effects of pesticides;
- How to create healthy soil for lawns and landscapes;
- Simple steps to healthy lawns;
- Alternatives to lawns (flowers, shrubs, trees, vegetables, groundcovers);
- Alternatives to pesticides and chemical fertilizers
All attendees will receive a gift and a chance to win a compost bin. Refreshments will be served.
March 28, 7-9 pm
Newton Free Library
Intersection Walnut and Homer St., Newton
Contact: Barbara Herson, 617-964-7463
March 30, 6:30-8:30 pm
Leominster City Hall Auditorium
25 West St., Leominster
Contact: Rose, 978-534-7590 x501
April 2, 9-11 am
West Parish Church
Rte. 133 at Reservation Rd., Andover
Contact Joyce Ringleb, 978-475-3490
April 3, 2-4 pm
Newbury Firemen's Memorial Hall
3 Morgan Ave. (behind firehouse), Newbury
Contact: Abby Gindele, 978-499-3898 or Kay Halloran, 978-499-0413
April 7, 7-9 pm
Great Falls Discovery Center
2 Avenue A, Turners Falls
Contact: Franklin County Solid Waste Management District: 413-772-2438
April 26, 7-9 pm
Agawam Public Library
750 Cooper St., Agawam
Contact: Tracy DeMaio, 413-786-0400 x 286 or Mike Pattavina, 413-263-3234
April 28, 6:30-8:30 pm
South Hadley Town Hall
116 Main St., South Hadley
Contact: Jane Southworth, 413-538-5033
Water Conservation Kits - a New DEP Grant
The Department of Environmental Protection has developed a new element in its Municipal Grant Program: assisting communities with promoting residential water conservation. This fiscal year, DEP has awarded 17 communities with grants of household water conservation "kits" consisting of water efficient showerheads and kitchen faucet aerators, and toilet leak detection dye tablets. Municipalities can distribute these devices individually, as requested by householders, or package them as "kits." Additionally, grantees can receive optional outdoor water saving devices, including rain gauges, to determine supplemental yard watering needs, and garden hose nozzles, to prevent hoses from being left on. To better serve municipalities in the future, DEP is requiring grantees to gather feedback from 10% of recipients of these water conservation devices to determine if the devices are being used and to gauge residents' satisfaction with them. This information will be used to inform decisions on future year's grant programs.
DEP Job Posting For HHP Position
Mass DEP is seeking applicants for the position of Household Hazardous Waste Reduction Planner. This is a contract position at DEP's Boston Office in the Bureau of Waste Prevention, Municipal Recycling Branch. This position is currently held by Lori Segall. Unfortunately, Lori has decided to leave DEP at the end of June, 2005, to pursue new directions in the environmental field. DEP's loss will be someone else's gain.
The position description and an application can be obtained by going to http://www.mass.gov/dep and clicking on Jobs. Then scroll down to "Vacancies Open to All Applicants" and select "Planners" under the Official Job Title column.
The application period is currently scheduled to close on March 29, 2005 however this is likely to be extended an additional 2 weeks.
