Public Comment: Town Council Should Adopt Curbside Compost Pickup

The following public comment was submitted in writing to the Town Services and Outreach Committee for their meeting on June 13, 2024.

My name is John Root and I live in District 3. I was the Chairperson of the Town of Amherst Refuse and Recycling Management Committee when the Solid Waste Master Plan was submitted to the Select Board in 2015. The plan, which was enthusiastically praised by the board for its thoroughness, prioritized both curbside pickup of organics and the institution of a Pay As You Throw pricing system to incentivize minimal contamination of our waste stream by compostable materials and other recyclables.

I would like to urge that the TSO refer the Zero Waste Amherst bylaw proposal to the Town Council without further delay so that the town can proceed with soliciting RFP bids from area haulers in order to achieve these goals. 

Residents liviing in municipalities that already have curbside collection of organics consistently welcome the opportunity to separate odious and odorous garbage from their trash. They are also grateful to be given the opportunity to minimize their contribution to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by burning or burying compostable materials. Compost created as a result of curbside pickup of organics will then be made available to farmers to grow more nutritious food for all of us.

Amherst residents are currently burdened with escalating rates for waste and recycling pickup, with no accountability from the company currently providing these services. When offered a Pay As You Throw billing system managed by the town, homeowners will be incentivized to minimize contamination of their refuse with organic recyclables, thus reducing their annual expense for handling waste and recyclables.  

Environmental Justice communities, which consistently suffer disproportionally from air pollution and particulates resulting from contamination of the waste stream by organics in incinerators and landfills operating near where they live, will also benefit when we do the right thing by separating these materials from the waste stream. 

John Root is former Chair, Town of Amherst Recycling and Refuse Management Committee