Conceived as a means to significantly reduce waste and resident costs in Amherst, the townwide waste hauler bylaw proposal is moving forward after several years of wheel-spinning.
In 2020, the Department of Public Works received a technical assistance grant from MassDEP 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 pickup. Currently, residents must either contract directly with USA Hauling and Recycling or haul their waste to the transfer station.
A proposal with recommendations from MassDEP 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 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 from haulers in mid-2023, got results in October 2023 and shared them with the Town Services and Outreach Committee last month. Which brings us to the present.
The services subcommittee voted unanimously on June 27 to advise the town manager to issue a request for proposals to local haulers — which can be done as an exploratory measure. The full council will vote on whether to support that recommendation at its Aug. 19 meeting. That 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, a pay-as-you-throw fee structure and curbside compost pickup by emailing the council at amherstma.gov/councilcomments.
The council sponsors of the measure are Jennifer Taub, Andy Steinberg and Ellisha Walker. Zero Waste Amherst is the community sponsor.
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.”
Our current system of waste hauling is completely inadequate from both a waste reduction and cost savings perspective. In the spring of 2023, Zero Waste Amherst was asked by the town to conduct a survey regarding waste hauling costs in town. It 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 pickup frequency, and that there is no incentive to reduce trash because weekly trash pickup is provided to and paid for by all customers regardless of whether they opt for biweekly trash pickup. Our survey also showed that residents pay less for curbside pickup in towns with hauler contracts.
The proposal has support from many town organizations, including the League of Women Voters, the Hitchcock Center, faith-based organizations, and 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 recycling coordinator’s final report in 2019.
Town-contracted services have for years been strongly recommended by both the Mass Municipal Association and MassDEP as a means of significantly reducing waste and saving money. Let’s bring this common sense proposal to fruition!
You can find more information about the bylaw proposal on the Zero Waste Amherst 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.