LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board is considering ways to make the town Recycling Center more available to prevent people discarding trash off-hours. 

 

Tessa DiLego, who works at the Recycling Center, asked the board on Monday if there was a way to extend summer hours for residents as she has heard the current time Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon doesn't fit into everyone's schedule.

 

DiLego said people are coming outside of those hours to drop stuff off — including some stuff they shouldn't be. She is hoping extending the hours could help with that. She also noted that there are cameras and that it might be better to use those more frequently.

 

Department of Public Works Director Nate Fenwick lives next to the center and said he frequently sees people illegally dumping and coming at night or off-hours. He also said the road is tight and people speed in the small area and it's a safety concern, especially with his kids nearby.

 

Fenwick said he has tried speed signs, cones, camera signage and even "road closed" signs but it has not deterred people from dumping their recyclables.

 

He suggested that the board consider moving the center in the future because there is no room to fence it off. A possibility is the area near the Venue at Skyline, where the police station is proposed to be built. However, board member Juli Baker said moving the center could have financial implications.

 

It was suggested the DPW start using the cameras and have people receive citations from the Police Department if they are dumping out of hours. But the center does accept metal and people are able to grab sand in the winter months outside of hours, making it difficult to use "no trespassing" signs.

 

Board member Jason Breault suggest looking into the costs of using a service for townwide pickup for trash or just for recycling to see if it could work.

 

The board decided to form a small task force that will include Breault and Fenwick to come up with ideas on how to address the issue and report back to the Select Board on possible options.