Web Site Focuses on Combustion Facilities

The Web site provides an overview of the role municipal waste combustors play in the Massachusetts' solid waste management system, how they operate and are regulated, and the progress that the five largest facilities are making toward reducing their emissions of targeted air pollutants.

Among the facilities' achievements has been an 85 percent reduction in mercury emissions from pre-1998 levels. Much of this improvement can be attributed to a DEP tool for preventing pollution from entering the combustion process. The agency requires facility operators to submit Material Separation Plans that describe how they will prevent discarded items that contain mercury from entering their plants.

In the first year that they were required to submit Material Separation Plans, the operators of the five largest facilities in Massachusetts collaborated on a consumer education and outreach campaign, and individually undertook a variety of other activities, including thermometer exchanges, fluorescent bulb collections, and related programs. These efforts were expected to reach approximately half of the state's population.

The Web site provides information about emissions of specific pollutants and operating conditions and compares environmental performance across the industry in Massachusetts. Information about DEP's compliance and enforcement activities at each combustion facility is also provided.