"Overall recycling has increased a bit," said DPW Supt. Randy Sylvester. "That said, the message I want to get out there is the cleaner the recyclable the more money we receive for it."

Recycling is mandatory in Hingham.

As part of its ongoing efforts to increase the rate of recycling among residents, the Town of Hingham recently entered into an extension of an inter-municipal cooperative recycling agreement with 14 other South Shore communities.


While the recyclables market has become tight, those that are free of debris do bring in some revenue. "We're only allowed a certain percentage of recyclables that aren't clean before the entire load is rejected," he said. "And if that happens we instead get charged to dispose of it."

A main reason the recyclables market isn't as profitable as it once was, according to Sylvester, is due to China's "National Sword" policy implemented in 2017. "They are the consumer of a large portion of recyclables, which is a resource they use to make various products, and [as part of this policy] they are requiring that recyclables be much cleaner due to the large number of out-throws [unclean or unusable recyclables] that they had been receiving," he said.

Besides Hingham, members of the South Shore Recycling Cooperative -- a voluntary association established in 1998 -- include Hull, Cohasset, Abington, Duxbury, Hanover, Hanson, Kingston, Middleboro, Norwell, Plymouth, Rockland, Scituate, Weymouth, and Whitman.

SSRC participants acknowledge that there is "a critical need to eliminate, mitigate, and prevent the adverse environmental and public health effects associated with the collection, processing, and disposal of solid waste -- whatever the source -- including municipal, industrial, domestic, commercial, and other sources."

Being part of the cooperative helps keep the DPW up-to-date about new regulations and recycling updates. The cooperate also does the administrative work for bidding contracts, including the one for the grinder. "We get the combined buying power of the 15 towns to get the best deal for Hingham," said Sylvester.

The SSRC helps member towns improve their recycling programs and reduce the quantity, toxicity, and cost of disposal by:

* managing their solid waste programs efficiently

* offering ways to further reduce costs

* providing a working knowledge of the most efficient state-of-the-art systems available for managing municipal solid waste

* offering regional procurement of services opportunities while allowing member towns to maintain full control over their own solid waste management

* educating residents about how and why they should manage their waste materials thoughtfully

* advocating for funding, sensible laws, and regulations that accomplish the goal of minimizing waste and cost and maximizing recovery at the municipal level. Recovery includes the collection of used paper and cardboard and delivery to a reprocessing mill.

Recyclable items that may be disposed of at the Hingham landfill include bagged household rubbish; batteries; books; brush and logs; bulky rigid plastics; bulky, construction, and demolition debris; steel and tinned cans; a clothing drop-off; corrugated cardboard; glass bottles; leaves and grass, microwave ovens; paper; plastic bottles and containers; propane tanks; returnable cans and plastic bottles; rubble; scrap and white metal goods; tires; TVs, computers, and monitors; waste oil; and miscellaneous other items.

There's also the popular Swap Shop, where residents can bring/take home various household and other items.

The five-year agreement extension is in effect from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023.