There's been a 17 percent reduction of trash and a 4 percent increase in recycling.
SOUTH HADLEY – Residents of this town have reduced their trash output by 713 tons in the first year of the “Green Bag” program that went into effect on July 1, 2011, according to Veronique Blanchard-Smith, solid waste coordinator at the South Hadley Department of Public Works. During the same period, recycling of containers and paper went up by 61 tons in the same fiscal year, she said.
That’s a 17 percent reduction of trash and a 4 percent increase in recycling.
“I think the town should be very proud of itself,” said Blanchard-Smith.
The Green Bag plan requires residents to pay for trash disposal “by the bag,” using municipal green bags they purchase in town. The idea is that a family will be more likely to reuse and recycle rather than paying for more bags.
At first the plan met with controversy, but Blanchard-Smith said even people who once opposed it have told her they have changed their view.
“One of the concerns some people had was that there would be an increase in illegal dumping,” said Jim Reidy, director of the Department of Public Works.
“That has not happened.”
Reidy said the town has saved itself at least $50,000 by avoiding the alternative, which was to keep throwing things away at the same rate, forcing the landfill to close and paying to have refuse trucked to a site that was still open.
Blanchard-Smith said the recycling center, or “Swap Shop,” at 10 Industrial Drive is thriving, thanks to her “very dedicated” volunteers.
The Swap Shop has three separate areas. The “book shed” takes used books, and donates the ones that don’t move to an organization at readingtree.org.
Another area is dedicated to such items as plates, glasses, tools, holiday decorations, tapes, CDs and knickknacks.
The most popular section contains used furniture, which is outgrowing the trailer it’s stored in. Blanchard-Smith plans to apply for a grant to buy a large year-round metal structure to protect the items against snow and wind.
She is also announcing a pilot program to recycle two materials that were previously not recyclable: “rigid” plastic and styrofoam.
The program requires that these materials be taken directly to the South Hadley recycling center. They may not be put in the curbside boxes used for other recyclables.
“Rigid” plastic is the kind found in such items as flowerpots, laundry baskets, toys and plastic chairs.
Clean styrofoam (except for “peanuts”) will be collected in a special container and transferred, by hand, into a truck destined for a Rhode Island company called “ReFoam It.”
The South Hadley Recycling Center is open to residents Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nonresidents and people who dump trash while it is closed will be fined.