Zero Waste Amherst (ZWA) has submitted goals to be apart of and included in the Town of Amherst's Environment and Climate Action Committee planning process. The goals encompass the key areas where ZWA felt that action was necessary within Town to begin to manage waste and recycling issues within our community.
The goals are:
1. Town Council to adopt a Town Zero Waste ordinance by February 1st, 2021
A. Develop ordinance and implementation plan
B. Develop compliance & enforcement plan, including tracking system
C. Educate the community, businesses on ZW principles and ZW Ordinance
2. Reduce our trash by 75%, from the residential, commercial, institutional, and municipal sectors, by June 30th, 2025 by diverting food scraps and recyclable items from the trash stream.
A. Restructure hauling system: initiate a contract between town and local haulers,
renegotiate contract with local haulers or implementation of Town control of local
hauling, with the goal of prioritizing waste reduction.
i. Require at least bi-weekly, residential, business and municipal pick up of food
scraps, including at apartment complexes;
ii. Require haulers to report their Amherst collection data to the town annually;
iii. Enforce haulers compliance of DEP regulation of no more than 10% contamination
per bin from residential, commercial, municipal sectors;
iv. Implement incentive programs to reduce trash (ie: PAYT or by weight).
B. Determine current diversion rate and tonnage of trash generated in residential,
commercial, institutional and municipal sectors, March 1, 2021.
C. Provide education for and obtain support from all Town sectors:
i. Require recycling and trash receptacles paired together in all community spaces
(parks, commons, streets);
ii. Require all property owners (commercial and residential, including multi-family
complexes and HOAs) provide effective trash, recycling and composting service to
their tenants and occupants to divert 50% from landfill;
iii. Require all businesses separate 100% of recyclables and compostables from the
trash; providing properly placed containers and signs to facilitate the collection;
iv. Require all community and municipal events provide both recycling and compost
collection to divert 100% from trash;
v. Businesses, restaurants and grocery stores must report compliance with the
ordinance to the town councilors by June 30, 2021 and annually thereafter. The Town
Manager may also require other businesses and property owners to annually report.
vi. Reduce trash by reuse/repair/share.
a. Reduce consumption (especially of clothing, furniture and plastics);
b. Develop a Community repair space at transfer station;
c. Recruit and train volunteers to be Zero Waste captains.
3. Reduce our trash by a ban on single use plastics from being sold or provided by businesses, municipalities, colleges, nonprofit operations and events, including: Styrofoam packing peanuts and Styrofoam food service ware, single use water bottles, take-out containers, cups/lids/straws by June 30th, 2021.
A. Provide education on alternatives and innovative reduction practices to businesses,
municipalities, colleges, nonprofit operations and events;
B. Install water refill stations in/outside of schools, parks, down-town streets and public
events;
C. Work on regional solutions with neighboring businesses, municipalities;