The City of Worcester is calling on the community to take part in its final “Toward Zero Waste” survey, an important step in shaping how Worcester handles waste over the next decade. This plan will guide how the city reduces trash, expands recycling and composting options, improves access for large buildings, and tackles issues like illegal dumping and litter.
Your feedback will help determine which strategies become top priorities, directly influencing the services, programs, and resources Worcester invests in. For anyone who lives, works, or studies in Worcester, this is a real chance to help build a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable city for everyone.
Read the full press release below.
Take the “Toward Zero Waste” Community Survey and Help Decide Priority Strategies for the Zero Waste Master Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/19/2025 3:31 pm
WORCESTER, Mass. – The City of Worcester announced Wednesday the launch of its “Toward Zero Waste” survey — the final opportunity for community members to share feedback on the strategies in the municipality’s forthcoming Zero Waste Master Plan (ZWMP). The ZWMP is a bold and comprehensive roadmap designed to reduce waste and build a more sustainable future for Worcester.
Following a survey last spring, four community workshops, and several listening sessions, this final survey asks community members to help prioritize more than 20 strategies identified through public and stakeholder engagement, research, and the municipality’s waste characterization study. Final decisions on the priorities will also take into account cost, feasibility, potential reduction in waste and emissions, and broader community benefits. All who live, work, or study in Worcester are encouraged to participate.
The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and closes Sunday, December 7.
Take the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K99HSGK
The Zero Waste Master Plan is a 10-year plan that will include waste-reduction targets and strategies for reducing, preventing, repairing, reusing, recycling, and composting waste across Worcester. It will evaluate the effectiveness of the current Pay As You Throw (Yellow Bag) program and curbside recycling, assess ways to improve access to waste services for residents in large multifamily and commercial buildings, explore options for food-scrap composting, propose strategies to reduce illegal dumping and litter, and review services at the Millbury Street Drop-Off Center.
For more information about the Zero Waste Master Plan, visit:
https://www.worcesterma.gov/sustainability-resilience/zero-waste-program/master-plan
Have news, tips, or a story Worcester needs to hear? Reach Editor-in-Chief Jerry Filmore at jfilmore@whatsupworcester.com or press@whatsupworcester.com (because community news starts with you.)
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