ATHOL – For two consecutive Saturdays, Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, Athol residents will be allowed to take debris from last week’s storm to the Transfer and Recycling Center, 1010 West Royalston Rd. (Route 32), at no cost.
According to TRC manager Duane Truehart, the event, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days and was approved by the Town Manager, will require identification showing proof of Athol residency. A permit sticker is not required.
A crew from the Department of Public Works will direct traffic to the brush area, help residents unload debris from their vehicles, and run it through a chipper. DPW Assistant Superintendent Richard Kilhart said, “we picked up a tremendous amount of limbs and brush as part of that storm” and had received a “fair share” of calls from people inquiring about bringing the residual limbs to the Transfer and Recycling Center, which led to the open fee-free drop-off.
The drop-off is intended for debris from the storm only, according to Kilhart. “This is for people to clean their yards of storm-related damage.” He said the DPW is “pretty familiar with the areas from where they would be coming” and for the most part, they would be in small amounts. The drop-off excludes commercial haulers, and the debris must be clean of trash.
The DPW will accept limbs four inches in diameter and smaller that have fallen off trees. Kilhart said the chips will be turned to something reusable by the town such as mulch or to stabilize a bank. Crediting the town manager, DPW, fire and police departments, he said the clean up effort after the storm was “a well-coordinated event from an emergency standpoint,” by opening roads and making them passable. “The DPW crew was amazing,” he said. “They worked long, long hours.”
Truehart said normally there is an additional charge of $5 per year for a yard voucher which permitted residents use to dispose of leaves, pine needles, grass clippings, and small limbs.
He said the 2020 facility permit stickers, which will be available Dec. 1, will increase to $60 for residential use, to $120 (commercial use), $65 (non-resident), and other items will go up “$5 or so across the board” due to rising trash disposal costs. Residents can purchase the sticker as well as trash bags at the Transfer and Recycling Center and at the DPW office in the Town Hall, 584 Main St., Room 24.
The Transfer and Recycling Center has containers for electronics, televisions, tires, and mattresses. When he started the job a few years ago, the charge per pound for televisions and LCDs used to be 16 ½ cents and has gone up to around 36 ½ cents, Truehart said. The center received a grant that allows him to charge less for the mattresses. The fee for a mattress disposal varies depending on the condition, and he’s found that more often they’re made of memory foam than metal springs.
The Transfer and Recycling Center also has Planet Aid clothing bins. Truehart said any clothing of any condition is accepted and if they’re wearable, the non-profit organization cleans them. If not, they will be ground and made into something else. The bins are picked up once a week.
An area near the co-mingles (plastic and glass) bin is designated for returnable bottles and cans that are picked up and cashed in by North Quabbin Regional Animal Control.
Truehart said last year, the center collected 2,300 tons of solid waste, around 250 tons of cardboard, and 250 tons of co-mingles, and around 700 tons of construction debris. In August and September this year, the center collected ore than 315 tons of MSW (municipal solid waste, or “regular” trash).
The Transfer and Recycling Center has a three-year contract with Charles George Companies of Londonderry, NH. Truehart pointed out that while the permit sticker runs through the calendar year, the fiscal year budget covers August to August.
A complete itemized listing of the 2019 trash disposal prices can be found at http://www.athol-ma.gov/transfer-and-recycling-center/news/2019-transfer-recycling-center-fees.
For more information, contact the DPW at 978-249-4542 or the Transfer and Recycling Center at 978-249-9551 or 774-345-0793.