In June 2025, the City Council formally adopted Zero Waste Master Plan (ZWMP) 2.0. The Department of Public Works (DPW) began implementation immediately. ZWMP 2.0 identified eighteen strategies to implement over the next 5+ years. Some key strategies of ZWMP 2.0 are to:
- Require annual Zero Waste Plans for residential buildings (13+ units) and commercial buildings (25,000+ square feet).
- Require food waste diversion for all residential and commercial buildings.
- Reduce move-in / move-out waste.
- Reduce waste from food establishments.
- Improve accessibility to the Recycling Center.
In August 2026, the City Council voted to adopt several Ordinance changes to assist in implementing ZWMP 2.0. See “Documents” below to review the Plan and to review the Ordinance changes that were adopted.
To stay up-to-date on the Zero Waste Master Plan or news on City’s waste programs or changes, sign-up for the monthly e-newsletter here.
August 3, 2026: City Council passes Ordinance changes towards achieving ZWMP 2.0 goals.
In 2009, the City of Cambridge adopted the State’s goal of reducing trash 30% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, with 2008 as a baseline. By 2019, the City reduced trash by 31%. The City was able to surpass the 2020 goal due to the programs and measures implemented through the first Zero Waste Master Plan (ZWMP). ZWMP 1.0 laid out programs to implement such as the City launch curbside compost citywide, curbside mattress and textiles collection, a Small Business Recycle and Compost program, and more. To learn more about the efforts from the first ZWMP, watch this recording from 2024.
In 2025, the City Council formally adopted ZWMP 2.0, which established an intermediate goal of reducing trash 50% by 2030. As of 2025, the City has reduced trash 37% since 2008. Since 2023, the City has diverted more waste than we are sending to trash.
To accomplish these trash reduction goals, the City recognizes the incredible efforts by residents from all corners of the City to be more conscientious of their waste, so thank you, residents of Cambridge!