Your business, your home, and the waste bans
"Waste bans" are Massachusetts restrictions on the disposal — and the transfer or contracting for disposal — of certain hazardous and recyclable materials at solid waste facilities. They live in the state's solid waste facility regulations (310 CMR 19.017) and they apply on Nantucket just as they do on the mainland. MassDEP publishes the current list of banned materials and guidance for businesses.
Nantucket waste separation requirements
The Town of Nantucket has a strong recycling and waste-separation bylaw. In practical terms:
- Household trash and kitchen waste goes to the composting plant at the landfill. It must be in clear plastic bags — except for commercial establishments with large containers emptied by a commercial hauler.
- Recyclables — glass, plastic and metal food and beverage containers, and cardboard — must be separated from the regular waste stream and deposited in the designated areas at the landfill. We supply clear bags for residential recyclables and run separate trucks for commercial trash, cardboard, and recycling.
- Miscellaneous debris — mops, brooms, hoses, rubber mats, milk crates, wood and metal items — cannot ride with regular trash. Leave it in the open in your trash area so the driver can see it and handle it appropriately, and call the office for anything large or urgent.
The Town charges a tipping fee on virtually all miscellaneous items — some by the ton, others (a TV, a mattress) by the item. Current fees are set by the Nantucket Department of Public Works.
Hazardous waste
Hazardous waste — oil-based paint, pesticides, solvents, and similar common household and commercial products — cannot be disposed of at the Nantucket landfill, so it can never go in your regular trash or out on a regular pickup.
- Households: call our office and we will arrange pickup in line with the Town's Hazardous Material Collection Dates, when a specialized contractor collects and disposes of the material safely.
- Businesses: commercially generated hazardous waste is subject to disposal fees payable to the Town's contractor, Clean Harbors, and is accepted only at the DPW facility on Madaket Road on four designated Saturdays a year. We will do our best to help you get it there properly.
- Latex paint is not hazardous. Dry it out (kitty litter works), leave the lids off, and we can dispose of the cans as metal.
Not sure where something goes?
Call us at 508-228-0998. It is always easier to answer before pickup day than to sort it out on the truck.