Bulky Waste Cleanup A Big Help for Westside Pittsfield Residents
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Community members were spared the cost of larger disposables and ensured that their items were recycled properly during the annual West Side neighborhood cleanup and bulky waste collection on Saturday.
The event is targeted at residents of the neighborhood and has a twofold aim of providing a free opportunity to dispose of items such as mattresses and furniture while keeping them out of dumping areas.
Now in its 20th year, it was hosted by the city's Department of Community Development in partnership with the Pittsfield Housing Authority and 18 Degrees/Pittsfield Community Connection.
Residents look forward to the collection, as mattress recycling costs more than $50 per unit.
"People kind of schedule around it," Community Development and Housing Program Manager Nate Joyner said. "A lot of people are now used to it happening in the fall so they can get rid of their big items or they can help out their neighbors and sometimes their tenants."
Supported by Community Development Block Grant funds, one is held in the spring and one in the fall.
The haul included about 60 mattresses, around eight pallets of electronic waste, some textiles and small household items, and about three Casella Waste Management dumpsters of bulky waste.
The Department of Public Works helped with hauling away mattresses and electronics.
The electronics amounted to about 2,000 pounds on their own, which are recycled through North Coast Services. CMRK Inc. is the city's partner in textile recycling and Tough Stuff Recycling manages mattress collection for the city.
"This has been one of the big successes today, the e-waste," Community Development Specialist II Amber Spring said. "Everybody has old TVs that they don't know what to do with."
18 Degrees' Gail Krumpholz, who is the mentor coordinator for Pittsfield Community Connection, said that this is a part of the organization's relentless community outreach.
"Just to make sure that we get connected to the community," she said. "Offering these services for folks who are in underserved communities."
A number of volunteers from 18 Degrees helped unload bulky items from vehicles and put them in their respective spots.
It was pointed out that the collection also helps clear homes of waste that may be reducing a person's quality of life and keeps public spaces free of unauthorized dumping.
"It helps that end up in a vacant lot or next to somebody's house or in the woods," Spring explained.
The Berkshire County Mosquito Control Project also helped to recycle tires as a way to reduce breeding grounds for mosquitos.
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