Dalton Green Committee Discusses Getting Compost Program

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:42AM / Monday, October 09, 2023Print Story | Email Story

DALTON, Mass. — The Green Committee is mulling the potential of a composting program at the transfer station.

The program would allow residents to bring organic compost to the transfer station without charge.

The compost station would have three sections separated by concrete cubes. Every six months to a year, the compost would be moved to a different section as it breaks down, committee member Antonio Pagliarulo said.

Pagliarulo and committee member Thomas Irwin visited the Egremont Transfer Station to inform Dalton's proposed program.

"It's gratis to the townspeople of Egremont. They leave their compost, and then at the final year, they pick up what they wish to take home. Very simple, very straightforward," Pagliarulo said.

Egremont's program was established 10 years ago before all the permitting, he said. Now there is a lot more state Department of Environmental Protection involvement so Dalton has to navigate through a lot more permitting.

After speaking with various organizations, Pagliarulo realized that other than Williamstown, Egremont is the only town in Berkshire County that has a composting program for kitchen scraps.

In Williamstown, residents purchase buckets so that the transfer station knows who is using the program. They bring filled buckets to the transfer station where the compostable material is put into one of the two large vats in a shed and covered with sawdust. The compost is collected two times a week.

"That's a more costly system. That is in a pilot program now with 75 families," Pagliarulo said.

Williamstown Composts won't know the actual cost of the program until the end of the calendar year but will keep Pagliarulo up to date on that.

The Center for EcoTechnology sent Pagliarulo all the information and forms needed to have it consult during this process.

Pagliarulo will share this with the committee and continue to discuss the program with Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson and Highway Superintendent Edward "Bud" Hall. Hall runs the transfer station.

Tags: composting,

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Second Streets Second Chances Awarded $85K for Workforce Re-Entry Program

By Brittany Polito03:00PM / Monday, September 28, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A local program for formerly incarcerated citizens seeking a technical career received $85,000 from the state.

On Thursday, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced $2.25 million in Re-entry Workforce Development Demonstration Program grants to 12 organizations that will provide job training, career support, and employment opportunities to 445 formerly incarcerated individuals returning to their communities.

Second Street Second Chances was allocated $84,712 to partner with the Berkshire County Sheriff's Office to offer a training program to 12 returning citizens with a focus on the advanced manufacturing and engineering industry.

The funds will be used to put 12 returning citizens through a training program with a focus on the advanced manufacturing and engineering industry. Successful program graduates will be placed in manufacturing and welding roles at Onyx Specialty Papers and Hi-Tech Mold and Tool.

The program was one of 12 awardees, a majority on the eastern side of the state; Greenfield also saw funding.

"When people return to their communities, they should have a real opportunity to get a good job, support their families and build a stable future," said Gov. Maura Healey in a press release.

"These grants connect people with the training and experience they need to succeed and with employers that are ready to hire."

Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll said successful reentry means making sure people have the tools and opportunities to move forward, and these programs bring together community organizations, public safety partners, and employers to connect people directly with training and jobs.

Launched in 2022, Second Street Second Chances' mission is to provide a central point of access for medical and mental health, housing, job training, legal services, and more for a successful reentry into the community.

Early this year, the nonprofit saw an $89,000 grant from the program. Executive Director Lindsay Cornwell at the time said this funding allowed 2nd Street to expand its mission of supporting returning citizens in Berkshire County through meaningful workforce opportunities and a pathway toward sustainable employment.

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