Berkshire Communities Awarded Recycling, Waste Reduction Grants

Print Story | Email Story
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced more than $4 million in Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP) grants to 285 municipalities and regional solid waste districts, that will help communities maximize their recycling, composting and waste reduction programs.
 
"Every day, communities across Massachusetts are taking important steps towards environmental protection and sustainability through waste reduction," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "This funding will further empower municipalities to implement innovative programs and policies that are proven to maximize reuse, recycling, and composting."
 
In Berkshire County:
 

Pay-As-You-Throw Program Start-up Funds

  • Monterey $ 2,700.00

Recycling Dividends Program

  • Adams $ 4,550.00
  • Cheshire $ 4,200.00
  • Dalton $ 4,900.00
  • Egremont $ 4,550.00
  • Florida $ 1,960.00
  • Great Barrington $ 1,225.00
  • Hancock $ 1,470.00
  • Hinsdale $ 4,550.00
  • Lee $ 1,960.00
  • Monterey $ 1,225.00
  • New Marlborough $ 1,470.00
  • Otis $ 1,225.00
  • Peru $ 4,200.00
  • Pittsfield $ 17,500.00
  • Sandisfield $ 1,225.00
  • Savoy $ 5,250.00
  • Sheffield $ 4,550.00
  • Stockbridge $ 1,470.00
  • Washington $ 735.00
  • Williamstown $ 4,900.00

Regional Small-Scale Initiatives

  • Northern Berkshires Solid Waste Management District (NBSWMD) $ 1,500.00

Shed or Equipment for Reuse Swap Shop

  • Dalton $ 6,000.00
  • New Marlborough $ 6,000.00
  • Peru $ 6,000.00
  • Savoy $ 6,000.00

Shed for Universal Waste

  • Stockbridge $ 5,000.00
MassDEP's SMRP Program provides funding for recycling, composting, reuse, and source reduction activities that will reduce the amount of waste disposed of in landfills and incinerators. Waste prevention and recycling reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing the embodied energy in everyday products and packaging waste and converting it into new products. More than $60 million has been awarded through the program since 2010.
 
This year, 278 communities qualified for the Recycling Dividends Program and will receive funding totaling more than $3 million. This program recognizes municipalities that have implemented policies and programs proven to maximize materials reuse and recycling, as well as waste reduction. Communities receiving funding must reinvest in their own municipal recycling efforts. Under the program, 12 municipalities are being awarded grants of more than $50,000: Attleboro, Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Fall River, Lowell, New Bedford, Newton, Quincy, Springfield, Taunton and Worcester.
 
Additional grant funds are being awarded to support start-up incentives for Pay-As-You-Throw programs, containers to direct mattresses to recycling facilities, wheeled carts for curbside collection of food waste, equipment for the collection of mercury-bearing items, and regional small-scale initiatives.

 


Tags: recycling,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Companion Corner: Cali and Kyzer at The Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded dog pair awaiting a new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Kyzer and Cali are both poodles. Kyzer is the male and is 7 years old, a quite a bit bigger than his sister Cali, who is a miniature of Kyzer and 8 years old.

Canine adoption counselor Rhonda Cyr introduced us to the two.

"They came from a household that couldn't hold on to them, and it sounds like they may have been abandoned by their previous owner with somebody else, and so they came to us looking for a new home," she said.

The two love to be around you and snuggle. But both are very happy dogs.

"Kyzer is 7 years old, and his personality is that he kind of wants to be in everything. He's very loving, very snuggly, as you can tell. And Callie here, she's 8 years old, and she is kind of like the life of the party," said Cyr. "She wants to tell you everything about her day, and she's a little bit of a little ham."

The two are considered seniors and really like soft treats as Cali just had a few teeth removed and Kyzer has a tooth procedure coming up.

"Currently, they really like soft treats, because they are both on the senior side of things. So they have had some dental work, so they are really in need of something softer. They are not big chewers at this age, really, their main focus right now is just really socializing and cuddling," Cyr said.

The two would love a quiet home with someone who wants to snuggle. They shouldn't go to a home with bigger dogs but if you have a dog, you can bring them in for a visitation with the poodles to see if they will get along. Cats will be fine and the preference is for older and more responsible children so that the pups don't get hurt, as they are senior citizens.

"The perfect home for them would be a quiet home that's not too active. Like I said, they're very social, so they could handle some visitors," she said. "They're very friendly, but I don't think that they would really enjoy any other dogs in the home."

Poodles need to be regularly groomed, and the prospective adopter will have to keep an eye on their health. Kyzer has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. This doesn't mean he is in bad health, as he could live a perfectly normal life, but he will need to be checked by a veterinary specialist routinely.

"Ideally, he would go to a home that could provide further health care with a specialist in cardiac care. And you know, he could very well live out the rest of his life comfortably and happy," Cyr said. "We just don't have all that information at the moment, but I think that you know the way he's going right now. He's got a good spirit, and he seems to be pretty happy."

The shelter is hoping the to get them a home for the holidays.

"We would love to get them a home in time for the holidays. They've been here since the eighth of November, and they're really, really looking as much as the staff loves them here, we're really looking to get them into a home and somewhere nice and cozy so they can spend the rest of their life together," she said.

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories