Transfer Station on closed landfill helps fund town's solid waste/recycling programs
Of course it's a "matching grant" so the town will have to come up with $50K in tax money and once the state money is gone the town will assume full responsibility for the cost of that position.
Select Board Chair Alisa Brewer did not seem overly enthusiastic about the idea telling the Town Manager we don't have to jump on money just because it's offered by the state, although she certainly did not have that attitude with the Massachusetts School Building Authority's $33 million match for the new Mega School, aka Maria's Folly.
The Recycling & Refuse Management Committee will go before the Select Board on Monday night to discuss their Solid Waste Master Plan which was issued over a year ago but to little if any notice.
Coming this close on the heels of the single use plastic bag ban which takes away a convenience most shoppers and stores took for granted, combined with the push for a full time employee to enforce such rules and regulations the issue may get a tad more attention.
Big Y switched to thin paper bags
And of course "public outreach/education" is one of the stated goals of their Master Plan.
But businesses in spite of the inconvenience seem to have come into compliance with the plastic bag ban just as they did a couple years ago with the Styrofoam ban, so a full time enforcement cop is hardly necessary unless of course the town continues down the road of increasingly restrictive ordinances.
The RRMC is also concerned about the number of private trash haulers doing business in town (7) and would like to get that down to only three or better yet one to reduce the number of trucks running all over town spewing hydrocarbons as they go.
Draft recommendations from Master Plan
Restaurants would also be penalized for not keeping organic wastes out of the trash stream through composting.
And if there's any free time left in their workweek the Waste Reduction employee could snoop through homeowners trash to make sure it does not contain more than 5% recyclables or the occasional mercury thermometer or cadmium batteries.
The Town Manager is required to submit his budget to the Select Board in a couple of weeks and since it's a safe bet he's not going to increase the number of desperately needed full time firefighters, any new position he does add -- even if somewhat paid for by state money -- will come under close scrutiny.
And hiring a new employee dealing only with trash, recycling, sludge and compost may not pass the smell test.
34 comments:
I was approached by a social-environmental activist-made the switch from petroleum to re-usuable bags-Sooooooooo glad I did-no room for 30 plastic toss outs a week-reduce clutter-fire hazard-plus re-usable are nifty-shop online for nice artesian ones- proudly tout local causes/business going cloth totes !!!
I hope she was cute.
"Maria's Folly"
Are you saying we don't need to replace our dilapidated, out-dated schools?
How do you know it was a she? Very odd.
No, that's not what I'm saying.
But thanks for asking.
100 grand seems pricey. I hope that includes health insurance and any other benefits.
I got a great idea... Take the 100grand and add some firefighters..
Yep.
And charge it to tax exempt Hampshire College for all the runs AFD does there annually.
Speaking of Hampshire College, do they clear their sidewalk that runs all the way down 116 or is that another free service they get from town?
9 0's. A new world record.
Exactly when has eliminating competition reduced prices?
Doesn't the left accuse WalMart of driving small businesses out of business via predatory pricing so WalMart can then raise prices?
So what's the advantage of giving someone like BFI a monopoly on trash hauling in Amherst? Are you folks happy with Comcast, or wouldn't you rather have the option of six competing companies?
The claim that there would be fewer trash trucks on Amherst streets is asinine -- anyone who has ever worked for a private sector transportation company understands that you try very carefully to drive with as big a load as short a distance as possible.
Trash volume will remain the same -- recycled stuff still has to be hauled.
Hence the ONLY way to reduce the number of trucks is to have bigger/heavier trucks which are not only bigger & louder, but heavier. Not only will this destroy town streets, but do you have any idea how much pollution repaving causes?
This is even more asinine than the bag ban.
"I'm here from the government and I'm here to help."
Of course the town wants to reduce the number of trash haulers to one....they want one of each business and then they want to be that business.
The only consequences will be higher prices and lower service....so go for it.
Yeah it's for the hydrocarbons, that's like the race card.
Just give up the ambulance service to AMR in Leverett,Pelham, and Shutsbury and you don't need additional EMT's
Problem solved
They would never be able to handle the call volume.
They handle it quite well in Springfield and Holyoke
Feel free to live there.
I guess the point is, why do Amherst Ambulances feel the need to be in those town other than tp pad their stats and collect $$$
Actually they don't charge nearly enough to those towns (and UMass) so there's talk about increasing the price when the contracts come up for renewal.
They have enough calls. They don't need to "pad" those stats.
Why is the town even involved in such things, this is odd. Most towns pick up trash or make citizens deal with it. Pretty simple.
How do you know it wasn't? Very odd.
I' m willing to sell the town of Amherst all my unused carbon credits at a reduced price. Such A deal.
Actually, the way to reduce trash is to reduce consumption.
Make less trash folks, that simple.
The town could also do it the way we do other codes and zoning and just limit families to some amount of trash and let them deal with the consequences. You get 1 cf per family per week and we all know that is still too much, not sustainable....but also not enough to live an Amherst socialist elitist lifestyle...which is the obvious priority.
People who throw away much more are like folks with suvs for no reason, which the town could limit to reduce actual emmissions.
...and not a single period!
Trying to tell me how to live. What to consume. What to drive. What and what not to eat. F that. Liberty!
Fine. Just don't use a plastic bag.
Please..eat crow..that's eaten a plastic Wal Mart happy face tote !!!
Can't control what crows eat. But thanks for regulating what I do .
I will use whatever I please. And I prefer plastic.
A new Waste Reduction Employee to be hired by the town? They won't have much trouble finding waste here....especially in town spending. Talk about "draining a swamp." What a great way to start! I really have never heard of anything so utterly ridiculous. Say it again WASTE REDUCTION EMPLOYEE FOR THE TOWN OF AMHERST!!
Anon 9:31...under what legal theory could a town outlaw SUV'S? Also don't you think people might start illegally dumping or burying their excess trash putting at risk groundwater? Are you the same person that wants to put meters on homes to regulate the time young people can use electronic devices? You are a scary dude!
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From what I heard this past week, Hadley is not renewing their ambulance contract with Amherst..
Going with EMS private entity …No need for additional Amherst EMT's now
Not like Hadley is a major call generator.
Now UMass on the other hand ...
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