Massachusetts: wood disposal ban at landfills
The waste-ban table lists wood with an effective date of July 1, 2006 for landfills and for transfer facilities, as a 'ban on disposal or transfer for disposal at landfills'.
What the law says
- The waste-ban table lists wood with an effective date of July 1, 2006 for landfills and for transfer facilities, as a 'ban on disposal or transfer for disposal at landfills'. 310 CMR 19.017(3), Table (source)
- Other entries in the same table, such as metal and asphalt pavement, brick and concrete, are banned from 'disposal or incineration'; wood's entry names landfills only, so it does not bar sending wood to a combustion facility. 310 CMR 19.017(3), Table (source)
- No person may dispose of, transfer for disposal, or contract for disposal or transport of a restricted material except as the table allows, and violators may face enforcement under 310 CMR 19.081. 310 CMR 19.017(3)(a) (source)
- Contracting for disposal includes depositing restricted material for collection, or mixing pre-sorted restricted material back into trash so that it has to be disposed of. 310 CMR 19.017(2) (source)
What to do
Ask your hauler where your pallets go, and put reuse or grinding in the contract. The Pallet Fate Report shows the tons you'd move out of landfill.
Sources
- 310 CMR 19.017 Waste Bans Massachusetts DEP (text via Cornell LII). Accessed October 27, 2026.