Beginning May 14, Amherst Transfer
Station permit (sticker) holders from Amherst, Pelham and Shutesbury may bring
food waste to the Transfer Station for composting via a program offered by
Amend Organics, a local agricultural composter.
The six-month pilot pay-as-you-throw compost program will accept all
food waste and food-soiled paper, including material unsuitable for home
composting such as meat, dairy, seafood, bones and greasy pizza boxes. If the pilot is successful the collection
program will continue.
Amend’s special thirteen gallon
biodegradable bags will be sold at the Transfer Station in rolls of fourteen
for $20.00. Compost collection bins will
be located to the right of the paper recycling collection area. Collected material will be removed daily and
transported to a nearby site approved and monitored by the Massachusetts
Department of Environmental Protection.
The pilot program, a cooperative
venture between the Solid Waste Division of the Amherst Department of Public
Works and Cam Weimar of Amend Organics, is the first of several changes to be
implemented as the DPW seeks balance between services offered and cost
minimization to maintain a healthy Solid Waste Enterprise Fund. The Fund will receive a small income from Amend’s
program.
