Opinion: Finally! A Big Step Forward for the Waste Reduction/Curbside Compost Pick Up Initiative

Local and Green

A version of this column appeared previously in the Amherst Bulletin.

Conceived as a means to significantly reduce waste and resident costs in Amherst, the waste hauler bylaw proposal is moving forward! This, after several years of wheel spinning.  In 2020, Amherst’s Department of Public Works (DPW) received a technical assistance grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protect (DEP) to look at the viability of changing from the current system of subscription hauling services to a town contract with the hauler, obtained through a competitive bidding process, that would include a Pay-As-You-Throw fee structure and universal curbside compost pick up. Currently, residents must either contract directly with USA Hauling and Recycling (USA) or haul their waste to the town’s Transfer Station. 

The proposal, with recommendations from DEP, went to the Town Service and Outreach Committee of the Town Council in mid 2021. Then it moved to the Board of Health in late 2021, which supported it, and in early 2022 urged the Town Council to move it forward. Then it was referred to the Town Services and Outreach Committee (again!) in mid 2022. Then the town issued a Request for Information (RFI) from haulers (with the help of another DEP Technical Assistance grant) in mid 2023, got results in October 2023 and shared them with the Town Services and Outreach Committee in June of 2024. Which brings us to the present. 

New Progress
The Town Services and Outreach Committee voted unanimously on June 27 to advise the Town Manager to seek the cost of implementation by issuing an Request for Proposals (RFP)  to local haulers – which can be done as an exploratory measure. The full council will vote on whether to support that recommendation at its August 19 meeting. The August 19 vote could be a make or break moment for the proposal.

Residents can send emails of support for the “Waste Reduction Bylaw Proposal” including town contracted services gained through a competitive bidding process, a Pay As You Throw fee structure, and curbside compost pick up by emailing the town council at: https://www.amherstma.gov/councilcomments.

The Council sponsors of the measure are Jennifer Taub, Andy Steinberg and Ellisha Walker. Shalini Bahl-Milne was a former sponsor of the measure. Zero Waste Amherst is the community sponsor.

Purpose
Zero Waste Amherst has been promoting this proposal for many years now based on its potential to significantly reduce waste and climate change-causing landfill emissions. Diverting compostable materials from trash is projected to reduce trash by 40%. Using a Pay As You Throw system could reduce much more than that. Diverting food scraps and other compostable materials to an industrial scale composting facility such as Martin’s Farm in Greenfield lowers greenhouse gasses by preventing methane emissions through aerobic decomposition (methane-producing microbes are not active in the presence of oxygen).

Recently, the New York Times clarified that the climate impact of landfill methane is much larger than previously thought: “The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that landfills are the third largest source of human-caused methane emissions in the United States, emitting as much greenhouse gas as 23 million gasoline cars driven for a year.”

Survey
Our current system of waste hauling is completely inadequate from both a waste reduction and cost savings perspective. In spring of 2023, Zero Waste Amherst was asked by the town to conduct a survey regarding waste hauling costs in town. The survey found that the average cost per household of residential hauler services is around $550 annually, that there is no meaningful price incentive to reduce trash disposal based on cart size or pick up frequency, and that there is no incentive to reduce trash because weekly trash pick up is provided to and paid for by all customers regardless of whether they opt for bi weekly trash pick up. Our RFI responses also showed that residents pay less for curbside pick up in towns with hauler contracts.

Support
The proposal has support from many townwide organizations including the League of Women Voters, the Hitchcock Center, faith based organizations, the town’s Energy and Climate Action Committee, and Board of Health. It is in the Town Manager’s annual goals and in the Town’s Climate Action, Adaptation and Resilience Plan. It was recommended in the Solid Waste Master Plan in 2016 and in our last Waste Reduction Coordinator Mimi Kaplan’s final report in 2019. Town contracted services have for years been strongly recommended by both the Mass Municipal Association and the DEP as a means of significantly reducing waste and saving money. 

Let’s bring this common sense proposal to fruition!

You can find more information and frequently asked questions about the bylaw proposal on the ZWA website.

Darcy DuMont is a former town councilor and sponsor of the legislation creating the Amherst Energy and Climate Action Committee. She is a founding member of Zero Waste Amherst, Local Energy Advocates of Western MA, and the Amherst Climate Justice Alliance and a non-voting member of Valley Green Energy Working Group. She can be contacted at dumint140@gmail.com.