The proposed pay-as-you-throw overhaul in Amherst, Massachusetts, would affect more than 5,000 households by moving them to curbside trash and recycling service.
Here's what to know
According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, the Town Council's Town Services and Outreach Committee is wrapping up a request for proposals for curbside collection at just over 5,000 homes. Trash and recycling are both included in the plan, and compost pickup could be added as well.
Town officials are looking at a pay-as-you-throw setup because they believe charging based on waste volume could push households to throw away less. They also want to reduce Amherst's dependence on landfills and incinerators and lower emissions connected to disposing of trash.
One of the biggest issues still being weighed is what happens to the Belchertown Road transfer station. More than a quarter of town residents use it for household trash because they either don't hire a private hauler or don't live in a building that already provides service.
During discussion with the committee, Amherst Department of Public Works superintendent Guilford Mooring said potential vendors made their position clear in a request for interest, saying they "wouldn't take part if the town kept the transfer station open for household trash."
More background
Some decisions have already been made, including the use of 45-gallon carts for trash and larger carts for recycling. The committee is still working through questions about pickup frequency and whether collection should happen through a single stream or two separate streams.
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Jennifer Taub, a District 4 councilor and committee member, said the transfer station should still take large items even if ordinary household trash moves to curbside service. In her view, that would preserve part of the site's function for residents while giving any selected vendor a better idea of how many households would actually join the program.
Even if household trash drop-off changes, Mooring said the transfer station would continue handling municipal trash collected by the Department of Public Works.
The request for proposals is being drafted by Mimi Kaplan, a consultant with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.
What's being done?
Before deciding whether to proceed, Amherst is using the RFP process to test whether a pay-as-you-throw system would be financially workable. Officials want bids that show whether curbside service can function for households outside private service arrangements.
That need for a reliable number of participating households is also why closing the transfer station to household trash is part of the debate. Vendors want confidence about how many homes would use the curbside program.
George Ryan, the committee chair and District 3 councilor, argued for pickups every other week instead of weekly as a way to shrink the environmental footprint of the system.
USA Waste and Recycling is Amherst's only licensed residential hauler, and town officials are trying to measure how much interest a new municipal-style collection system might attract.
Ryan said he supports every-other-week collection "to limit the environmental impact of trucks on the streets."
Where can I learn more?
Other communities are weighing similar questions about curbside trash, recycling costs, and compost collection.
• Residents pushed back after a forced monthly garbage fee accompanied wildlife-resistant carts.
• Communities are reconsidering curbside recycling programs as costs rise and landfill pressure persists.
• Recyclops built recycling pickup for underserved homes where curbside service still doesn't exist.
• New York City began mandatory composting with fines for residents who ignore bin rules.
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