Dalton Health Board Pushes Recycling Reporting

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
10:52AM / Saturday, January 24, 2026Print Story | Email Story

DALTON, Mass. — The Board of Health is looking to issue an educational pamphlet on recycling to residents and waste haulers after haulers failed to report their tonnage.

The company Solid Waste Haulers was not reporting its tonnage quarterly as required. This sparked a conversation with the Green Committee about the need to educate the public about recycling.

"I don't think the residents of Dalton know that recycling is mandatory, so I think the Green Committee is going to do some education during Earth Week about the fact that recycling is mandatory," Nancy Hopper said.

The solid waste town bylaws adopted in 2020, states that all generators in town must separate recyclables whether by taking them to the transfer station, contract with a hauler, or deposit recyclables in recycling receptacles provided by owner.

According to the solid waste haulers regulations, haulers must report their tonnage to the Board of Health quarterly. They must also send out public education materials.

One out of seven haulers supplied their tonnage report and reported who is not recycling. Dave Baumann Trucking was the only one who reported tonnage and described how they report their recyclables.

"[Green Committee member] Laurie Martinelli and I are going to meet with Linda Cernik who manages Northern Berkshire Waste Management, about this issue, and how that the small haulers would be able to weigh their tonnage, and where they would do it, and then, and we were going to put that directly into a letter to give the small haulers, and then we can put it in permanent about how that they're supposed to report it quarterly," Hopper said.

The board decided to send out a letter to the waste haulers with the reiteration of the bylaws stating they must be reporting their refuse and recyclable tonnage, recycle information as well before a formal warning if they do not report their tonnage in March.

Tags: recycling,

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Healey Announces Housing Development Supports at Former Pittsfield Bank

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:29PM / Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Gov. Maura Healey poses with the bank's old safe. The building is being refurbished for housing by Allegrone Companies. The project is being supported by a commercial tax credit and a $1.8M MassWorks grant for infrastructure improvements.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Gov. Maura Healey stood in the former Berkshire County Savings Bank on Tuesday to announce housing initiatives that are expected to bring more than 1,300 units online.

"People come here from all over the world. We want them to stay here, and we want kids who grew up here to be able to afford to stay here, but the problem is that for decades, we just weren't building enough housing to keep up with demand," she said.

"And you guys know what happens when there isn't enough supply: prices go up. We have among the lowest vacancy rates in the country, so against that challenge, we made it our priority from day one to build more homes as quickly as possible."

Approximately $8.4 million from the new Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative (CCTCI) is designed help communities transform empty or rundown commercial buildings into new homes along with $139.5 million in low-income housing tax credits and subsidies through the Affordable Housing Development grant program.

The historic 24 North St. with a view of Park Square has been vacant for about two years, and Allegrone Companies plans to redevelop it and 30-34 North St. into 23 mixed-income units. The administration announced its Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative (CCTCI) and the Affordable Housing Development grant program as ways to aid housing production, both of which Pittsfield will benefit from.

The state is partnering with Hearthway for the construction of 47 affordable units on Linden Street, utilizing the former Polish Community Club and new construction, and Allegrone for its redevelopment of the block.

The Linden Street project is one of the 15 rental developments the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities is supporting through $25.7 million in federal low-income housing tax credits, $32.4 million in state low-income housing tax credits, and $81.4 million in subsidies.

Allegrone's project is supported by the commercial tax credit and was recently awarded $1,800,000 from the MassWorks Infrastructure Program.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said she fully comprehends the importance of housing and how crushing it is in communities that need it and want to build, but face difficulties with high construction costs.

"Housing is the key to keeping people in the community in a safe way and giving them an opportunity to fill those many roles that we need throughout the Commonwealth in cities and towns, large and small, urban and rural, these are all important work. Having somebody fix your boiler, fix your car, we want those individuals to be able to live in our communities as well, particularly in our gateway cities," she said.

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