Second Chance Composting has Moved and Expanded

A new hopper and rotating screener has more than quadrupled the amount of material that can be processed in an hour. 

SAVOY, Mass. — Second Chance Composting recently expanded and relocated.

The composting company used to be in Cheshire but moved to 96 Main Road in Savoy in March.

"We're operating full scale out of here. So all the material, all the food scraps that we pick up and haul, we bring here, and then we mix them with material. So kind of the real big benefit to the community here is that this is a place where homeowners can bring their leaves for free," said owner John Pitroff.

Second Chance also partners with landscaping companies which can drop off loads of leaves and wood chips to be put to good use. Residents can also drop off scraps if they are signed up for the program.

Pitroff said he hopes this will benefit everyone.

"If we can help them save some of their waste products and do it in affordable or free way for them, I think it benefits everybody, right, benefits them, benefits us, and it benefits the community, because then we can use it, create this stuff that can go out, create the compost going to be used again," he said. "So that was kind of my goal, make this a little bit more of a community hub for those types of things." 

He said the new space is bigger and more community friendly in access.

"We've scaled up as far as, like, the amount of room we have, and at the other location, it wasn't as open to the community as this," he said, and that the next big milestone and is getting the processed compost into stores.

"I'm working on my plan for next year. I'm currently working on a better, more efficient bagging system. But I work with a lot of places ... and my plan is to go into those places and say, 'Hey, would you carry our product.'"

Compost is sold at $89 a cubic yard and for $14.99 in 20-quart bags. The material is subjected to high temperatures during processing to meet federal standards to reduce any possible pathogens with end product a rich, dark soil. The company also sells mulch by the cubic yard and 20-quart bag. 

Second Chance Composting recently expanded its Residential Community Composting Program to 11 locations in the Berkshires. The program runs all year long and Pitroff sees its expansion as making it more convenient for county residents to find composting drop-offs closer to their home or work.

A mechanized rotary compost screener purchased through a grant helps move material through the process faster. The company received a $100,000 Recycling and Reuse Business Development Grant from the Department of Environmental Protection last year. 

"We didn't have that before, we were doing it by hand," Pitroff said of turning and screening the material. "So this can do anywhere from eight to 10 yards an hour, by hand I could do one yard probably every two hours. So this is huge for us," he said.

Second Chance Composting has composted more than 1.2 million pounds of food scraps and other organic materials since opening.

Memberships start at $9.99 per month with an annual fee. Any and all food scraps are accepted and members can drop off as many times as needed a month. Customers can also sign up to receive compost back.

Find out more on the website.

North Adams, Pittsfield Mark King Day With Calls for Activism

By Tammy Daniels & Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:01PM / Monday, January 19, 2026

Alÿcia Bacon, community engagement officer for the Berkshire Taconic Foundation, speaks at the MLK service held Price Memorial AME Church in Pittsfield. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Wendy Penner can be found pretty much everywhere: leading local initiatives to address climate change and sustainability, championing public health approaches for substance abuse, and motivating citizens to defend their rights and the rights of others. 

 

That's all when she's not working her day job in public health, or being co-president of Congregation Beth Israel, or chairing the Williamstown COOL Committee, or volunteering on a local board. 

 

"Wendy is deeply committed to the Northern Berkshire community and to the idea of think globally, act locally," said Gabrielle Glasier, master of ceremonies for Northern Berkshire Community Coalition's annual Day of Service. 

 

Her community recognized her efforts with the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker Award, which is presented to individuals and organizations who have substantially contributed to the Northern Berkshires. The award has been presented by the MLK Committee for 30 years, several times a year at first and at the MLK Day of Service over the past 20 years. 

 

"This event is at heart a celebration of our national and local striving to live up to the ideals of Dr. King and his committed work for racial equality, economic justice, nonviolence and anti-militarism," said Penner. "There is so much I want to say about this community that I love, about how we show up for each other, how we demonstrate community care for those who are struggling, how we support and and celebrate the natural environment that we love and how we understand how important it is that every community member feels deserves to feel valued, seen and uplifted."

 

King's legacy is in peril "as I never could have imagined," she said, noting the accumulation of vast wealth at the top while the bottom 50 percent share only 2.5 percent the country's assets. Even in "safe" Massachusetts, there are people struggling with food and housing, others afraid to leave their homes. 

 

In response, the community has risen to organize and make themselves visible and vocal through groups such as Greylock Together, supporting mutual aid networks, calling representatives, writing cards and letters, and using their privilege to protect vulnerable community members.