Sustainability Panel Reviews Rising Recycling Costs

Sustainability Committee · Meeting of October 20, 2026

Tyngsborough's Sustainability Committee reviewed a FY27 trash and recycling tonnage report Tuesday showing the town's recycling rate has held at 23 to 25 percent for years, even as haulers now charge more to recycle than to dump trash. One member said Waste Management is charging "$115 to $120 per ton for recyclables," compared with $106 a ton for trash, while Republic Services processes recyclables itself for roughly $89 to $90 a ton. Junior Girl Scout Troop 83838 briefed the committee on research toward a proposed ban on styrofoam food packaging, modeled on Chelmsford's 2018 bylaw and Tyngsborough's own 2018 plastic bag ban, also authored by a Girl Scout; the troop found seven local restaurants still use styrofoam.

The committee approved its September 15 minutes unanimously and set its next meeting for November 17.

In the full story:

• Fall Events Debrief
• Zero Waste Day and Holiday Lights Collection
• Styrofoam Ban: Girl Scout Troop 83838's Citizen Petition
• FY27 Trash and Recycling Tonnage Report
• Education and Outreach
• Other Business
• Member Reports
• Administrative
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,278 words

Source: the Sustainability Committee meeting of October 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.