In April of this year, the city government of Worcester, MA approved the “Green Worcester Plan.” This plan is an ambitious and forward-thinking set of public policies and community initiatives aimed at transforming the city of Worcester and the surrounding area into a model for sustainability and environmental friendly livelihoods. According to the government website, the Green Worcester Plan intends to “bring sustainability values to all aspects of city life, including social and economic development. The Plan draws on our city’s unique strengths and challenges, identifies environmental and sustainability priorities and includes short and longer-term actions.” 

This short article will briefly outline some of the principal goals and objectives of this important sustainability plan. We will also look at how individuals, homeowners, and businesses in our community can do their part to support this initiative. Finally, we describe how Junk King of Worcester County is one business helping to move the region towards its sustainability goals by offering junk removal services with an environmental ethic. 

The Green Worcester Plan 

All across the country, states, cities, and smaller towns are coming together to create legislation and development policies that focus on a greener future. Some of these policies are focused exclusively on reducing carbon emissions, moving towards a net zero energy future, eliminating waste from our consumer livelihoods, or other environmental goals. 

Since 2019, the city of Worcester, Massachusetts has been involved in a process of designing a multifaceted sustainability plan. The design process allowed for a maximum of public participation, including interviews, a professional, scientific public opinion survey, several online surveys, a public workshop, and a public open house on proposed goals and actions. 

The public opinion survey revealed that almost nine out of ten residents of Worcester (89 percent) consider that it is “very” or “somewhat” important that Worcester become a “green and sustainable” city. Both individuals and businesses are worried about the potential impacts that climate change could cause to the city, and the vast majority of people are willing to support actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigate climate change impacts, and move Worcester towards a more environmentally friendly economy and society. 

Though the final draft of the Green Worcester Plan is still in the works, the overarching plan goals include: 

• Improving the energy efficiency of the city´s facilities and operations, 
• Reducing the level of greenhouse gas emissions,
• Improving the water quality in lakes and ponds around the city,
• Achieving 100 percent renewable energy for municipal facilities by 2030,
• Achieving 100 percent renewable energy in all sectors, including heating and transportation, by 2045,
• Increasing forestation via tree planting initiatives in the urban core of the City, 
• Developing a Complete Streets network for safe walking and biking, 
• Organizing policies to drastically reduce the amount of waste produced via a Zero Waste Master Plan. 

The Zero Waste Master plan is determined to find strategies and implement policies in order to prevent, reduce, reuse, compost, and recycle waste from individuals, homeowners, and businesses in the City of Worcester. More specifically, the local government will be unveiling initiatives in the coming years focused on diverting food waste through curbside green waste collection programs, and increasing trash and recycling containers in public places. 

According to the draft of the Green Worcester Plan: “As part of its commitment to reducing waste, Worcester has enacted an ordinance banning plastic bags and is working on implementing a curbside collection of textiles program.” The key strategies of this move towards Zero Waste will include: 

• Developing and implementing a Zero Waste Master Plan,
• Developing a residential green waste diversion program,
• Planning for sustainable disposal of construction and demolition waste, 
• Developing expanded city procurement policies to reduce waste and toxics.

What Can You Do? 

For people who live in the City of Worcester, the coming years will most likely reveal innovative public policies that seek to make the city more sustainable in its operations. On an individual or household level, there are several things you can do. Implementing energy efficiency upgrades in your home or business will help to reduce the carbon emissions of the city as a whole. In terms of waste streams, learning to separate your trash will contribute to the city´s stated goal of achieving zero waste in the future. Recycling, backyard composting, responsible consumer behavior can all help to reduce the amount of stress on local landfills and the city´s waste management program. 

But what about those large, bulky junk items that we tend to accumulate over time? Old couches, broken down refrigerators or other appliances, and construction and demolition (C&D) debris from a home renovation eventually need to be removed from homes and businesses. Might there be a way to get rid of these items in an environmentally responsible manner that helps the city move towards the sustainability goals outlined in the Green Worcester Plan? 

The Role of Green Junk Removal Companies in the Green Worcester Plan

Junk King of Worcester is the leading, full-service junk removal company in the region. We understand that individuals and business owners need to get rid of their accumulated junk from time to time. Instead of simply hauling your junk directly to the area landfill, our company is fully committed to the idea of a zero waste City. We are proud to say that over 60 percent of the junk and trash that we pick up gets donated or recycled. We work with individuals, homeowners, businesses, construction companies, and everyone in between, offering the most competitively priced Worcester junk removal and dumpster rental services in our region. Besides offering the best prices, we have a huge network of connections with local recycling agencies, donation centers, thrift stores, and other organizations that ensure that your junk stays out of the landfill. 

With Junk King, you can get rid of virtually anything that isn’t classified as toxic waste, including appliances, furniture, mattresses, televisions, refrigerator/freezers, construction waste, e-waste, garbage, yard waste, and more. 

We provide junk removal service and dumpster rental services for both residential and commercial customers in the following communities around Worcester County: Acton, Agawam, Arlington, Ashburnham, Belmont, Chicopee, Framingham, Grafton, Lancaster, Lexington, Oxford, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Springfield Townsend, Waltham, Westborough, and Worcester. We can also service to the Boston and Middlesex area. 

How to Contact Junk King Worcester

Whether you are planning a major renovation for your home, organizing a foreclosure cleanout of a home that you just sold, or are engaging in any other sort of activity where you plan to accumulate large amounts of waste, hiring a full-service junk removal from Junk King of Worcester is the greenest and most efficient way to deal with your trash. 

You can simply call us at 1-888-888-5865 (JUNK), at (978) 212-3973, or book our services online. We promise that we will go to every length to ensure that whatever junk we haul away is either recycled or donated. Call us today to inquire about junk removal service with Junk King of Worcester County!