Adams to Look Into Expanding Solid Waste Services
 Adams officials are considering establishing a transfer station. The town is one of few that only has a recycling center. |
ADAMS, Mass. — The town may establish a transfer station at the recycling center to save money.
Town Administrator Tony Mazzucco met with the Selectmen, Board of Health Chairman Allen Mendel and Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District Program Coordinator Sandy Totter at Wednesday's workshop meeting to discuss the possibility of adding a transfer station.
"We are looking at all different areas in the budget were we can either save money or make money," Mazzucco said. "Here is a case before we try to save money by cutting a service, there might be an opportunity to make money."
Mazzucco said there would be an initial anticipated cost between $30,000 and $40,000 for electricity, site improvements, and the actual trash compacter. He said between permits and selling the special "pay as you throw" garbage bags the town will eventually be able to cover these costs as well as save money.
He said the town usually spends near $50,000 a year removing trash and this cost could be brought down by expanding services.
"We are not going to make millions off of it, but we have the opportunity to at least explore expanding a level of service and offsetting our cost," he said. "Even if we offset it by $10,000 that is still $10,000 we can use somewhere else."
He said right off the bat the town would save nearly $4,000 because town trash would not have to be contracted out and hauled to North Adams.
Totter said she recently applied for a grant for Adams that would provide the town with state resources to help make the process move quicker and at a possibly lesser cost.
"That grant will give the technical assistance to set up the station, help through the site assessments ... and work out the pricing so that the town would come out in a good place," she said.
She said the town should hear back from the state in October and getting the state involved could open up the door for a compacter grant.
Totter said Adams is already "halfway there" because it does not have to buy land or hire any more people. She added the Board of Health would be responsible for the station and the Department of Public Works would offer manpower and trucks.
Mazzucco said the recycling center sees nearly 400 cars on a good day. He added that many people actually have permits for the North Adams transfer station and it would be more convenient if there was one in Adams.
Totter said Adams is one of the few communities in the area without a transfer station.
"For a long time in fact, Adams has been the not-good neighbor because a lot of stuff ends up on Jenks Road and my road in Savoy because people have limited options," she said. "If you give people an option ... wouldn't it be great to allow them to drop their trash with their recyclables."
She added that Adams in the past had discussed implementing a transfer station but it was too expensive to get electricity to the site. Now with the nearby solar array, it is a viable option.
Mazzucco said the town would create an enterprise fund that would directly connect the amount the town pays to the amount of garbage that is hauled. He said the town is charged by the ton of trash it generates. He said the hauler is contracted by the Northern Berkshires Solid Waste Management District.
Mendel suggested that some trash haulers may charge less than the transfer station and may take advantage of it.
Mazzucco said the costs should be pretty low and the transfer station allows for more flexibility allowing people to get rid of bulky waste that trash haulers won't take and being less expensive for people who do not generate a lot of trash.
The bags would be sold at Town Hall and possibly at stores around town. In the future, a paint shed could be added and business fees implemented.
Mazzucco said the first steps is to lock down costs as well as survey people who currently use the recycling center and see if they would be interested in the services.
Totter said the whole procedure could take a year and half.
The board agreed the transfer station would benefit the town and is worth looking into.
Tags: NBSWD, transfer station,
