2.0
OPTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION
2.1.
Trash Collection
The Town of South Hadley currently has a contract for trash and recycling collection with a
private hauler for bi-weekly collection at each household. The contracted hauler (Allied Waste
Services) delivers the trash to the Town’s landfill. The town pays a single price for this
collection service and a separate price for the disposal of trash, based upon tonnage. (The
current agreement with the landfill operator allows for 4,000 tons of municipal solid waste
(MSW) to be tipped for free; once tonnage goes above 4,000 the cost is $53/ton.) The collection
of recyclables and the collection and disposal of trash are becoming more expensive.
Across the Commonwealth, there are a number of alternatives for the collection of trash and
recycling including the following:

No municipal service or “washed hands” (Easthampton, Lenox): In this scenario, each
household contracts individually with their own private hauler and is provided with
recycling collection as well as unlimited trash for one annual fee. The Town has no
responsibility for service or cost; this is between the homeowner and the private hauler.
The cost for this service to the subscriber can be quite expensive; typically twice the cost
per household of a town managed single contract service.

Drop-off: A drop-off service would mean that all residents would be required to bring
their trash and recycling to a DEP and Board of Health registered transfer station. The
operation and maintenance of the transfer station can be funded through the general
property tax rate or by user fees or a combination of both. For small rural towns, this
option is often preferable because it is usually the least expensive of all municipally
sponsored collection options. Travel, site congestion, air quality issues and transfer
station design can be significant issues.

Curbside collection either weekly or bi-weekly: A town managed single hauler curbside
collection on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule affords a relatively densely populated
community the opportunity to provide an efficient, convenient and relatively cost
effective infrastructure for the collection of both trash and recyclables. The frequency
and method of collection significantly affects the cost. For instance, weekly, automated
collection of containers might be more costly than bi-weekly manually handled
collection. These issues should be considered as part of the request for proposal (RFP)
process. It should be noted that the cost of collection generally has been increasing at a
significant rate as fuel and workman’s compensation costs rise.

Curbside Collection either weekly or biweekly, with town owned and operated vehicles.
Several communities in our area (Holyoke, Chicopee and Springfield) own and operate
their fleet of trash and recycling vehicles.
The SWAC conducted a survey of communities in our area to see how they managed their solid
waste. The survey confirmed that there is no “one” system used by South Hadley neighbors, but
rather several different programs, depending on the community need. Survey data is provided in
Attachment C.
2.2
Recycling Collection and Processing
Recycling helps to reduce waste and to save resources. Increasing the town’s ability to recycle
should be one of the town’s top solid waste management goals. Every ton recycled saves the
town money twice; by not having to pay a tip fee at a disposal facility and by bringing in revenue
from the sale of the recyclable material. South Hadley currently contracts with a private hauler
(Allied Waste Services) for an every-other week dual stream (paper products and
glass/metal/plastic) curbside collection of recyclable material. The recyclables are brought to the
Springfield MRF.
The Town also operates a full-service Recycling Center for drop-off of recyclables. The DPW
staff hauls these materials to the Springfield MRF. In 2004 the Town entered into a long-term
contract with the MRF, which extends to 6/30/15. The contract guarantees base revenue of
$15.67/T as well as a revenue share when the commodity markets are high. Market value of
recyclables has increased dramatically, and the current combined revenue is over $40/T. In
2006, South Hadley had a recycling rate of 40%, which is about average for towns in western
MA. Of that 40%, 19% was compost/yard waste and 21% was mixed recyclables from the
curbside and drop-off programs.
Alternatives for the collection of recyclables include curbside or drop-off collection, either dual
stream as currently exists in South Hadley, or single stream where paper/glass/metal/plastic are
co-mingled. The MRF contract and the commodity market determine the type of material
collected.
a. Drop-off: The least expensive recycling option for any town is the drop-off program,
where residents bring all of their recyclable materials to one designated drop-off facility,
thus eliminating curbside collection. South Hadley does have an existing Recycling
Center, making this an option to consider. The Town offers drop-off recycling as an addon service to the existing curbside program. Eliminating the curbside program and
relying solely on the drop-off option would save some money but would also result in a
significant traffic problem at the Recycling Center and increased air pollution from
traffic. A drop off only program would also be a major inconvenience and deterrent to
residents for recycling.
b. Curbside recyclable collection: South Hadley spends about $225,000 annually for
contracted every-other week dual stream curbside collection of recyclables. While this is
costly, it is also convenient and practical. With the relatively high population density of
the community, this allows for efficient and convenient collection of approved
recyclables.
c. Dual stream vs. single stream collection: Dual stream simply refers to our current system
of collecting paper products in one container and bottle and cans in another. Single
stream, a newer technology, allows all approved recyclables to be placed in one “single”
container. The Springfield MRF is currently a dual stream facility. Single stream
collection relies on increased automation at the MRF and allows for increased automation
of collection. As technology evolves and recycling becomes even more cost effective,
the Springfield MRF may convert to a single stream facility. The decision as to which
method to use will depend on the circumstances and finances of any future collection
contract. While there is some evidence that recycling rates increase with single stream,
the jury is still out on that issue.
2.3.
Disposal
Like most towns in our country, the old dump and burn strategy was discontinued in the early
1970’s with the implementation of the Federal Clean Water and Clean Air Acts. Unlike most
communities, South Hadley had the foresight to purchase an additional 162 acres of land, in
1979, expanding its landfill area potential to over 53 acres and increasing the town’s ability to
manage trash, yard waste and recycling on town owned land. In 2003, the town contracted with
Northeast Waste Services (now South Hadley Landfill, LLC) to operate their new double lined
cells, providing a site assigned location for town generated trash as well as a regional landfill.
(See Attachment A for more landfill history)
South Hadley has benefited financially from having its own landfill for town use and for out-oftown trash. Not only does the Town enjoy a reduced tip fee for each ton of trash it delivers, but
also the Town receives a payment for every ton that is accepted at the landfill by the operator.
This amounts to about $400,000/year in revenue that has helped offset our solid waste operation
costs significantly.
What are the disposal options available to the town once the landfill closes in December 2010?
The picture becomes even more complicated when factored into the equation is the fact that both
the Chicopee and Granby landfills are also scheduled to close within a year or two of South
Hadley’s closure date. It is anticipated that the lack of available regional landfill space will drive
the cost of disposal even higher in western Massachusetts.
Interviews with the major solid waste companies in the region indicate that they are confident
that finding a future disposal site will not be a problem. Options mentioned included transport to
a facility in eastern MA, the use of new disposal technology such as gasification to reduce trash
volume and create fuel or energy from the organic fraction of waste including paper and plastic,
and/or send the trash by rail out of state to places like North Carolina and Virginia.
In addition, MassDEP is in the process of rewriting and updating the State’s Solid Waste Master
Plan and it is possible that the moratorium on the building or expansion of waste-to-energy
facilities might be lifted to create some additional disposal and energy recovery capacity. If that
were to happen, it is likely that the Covanta waste-to-energy facility in West Springfield would
expand and provide increased local capacity. Therefore, it is clear that the solid waste
professionals are not concerned about the future availability of disposal capacity. However, the
long-term economic and financial picture concerning disposal is less clear.
What are some of the issues and options facing the town regarding disposal?
a. Should the Town seek to enter into a long-term (20 years) contract with a disposal facility
such as Covanta? The benefits of a long-term disposal contract are that you lock into a
disposal rate structure and guarantee that the town has a place for its trash to be taken
during the life of the contract. The disadvantage of such a contract is that you lose the
ability to benefit from free market competition. If new technology were to become
economically and technologically feasible in the near future and the convenience and cost
of that were to present an opportunity for the town, a long term contract with a disposal
facility would prevent the Town from considering that option.
b. Should the Town expand the footprint of its current Recycling Center, seek a small
transfer Station permit and plan to consolidate its residential trash at this site? South
Hadley is very fortunate to have resources and options already available when evaluating
these options. All of the SWAC’s research suggests that the solid waste industry will
undergo a major transition in the next 5-10 years. Between the cost of fuel,
transportation, green house gas emissions, and the significant reduction in disposal
capacity in our region, the market will force the development of additional capacity, new
technology and new opportunity. Although the Town could seek transfer station status
for its Recycling Center and create a consolidation point for solid waste, it is important to
note that the transfer station application process requires significant time (possibly as
long as 18 months), technical expertise and potentially significant cost.
c. How can the town reduce its disposal needs? While South Hadley’s curbside trash and
recycling program is comprehensive, it allows for the disposal of unlimited trash and has
no financial incentive to recycle. Over 120 communities in Massachusetts have found
that adding one of several models of waste reductions incentives to their collection
program significantly reduces the amount of trash needing to be disposed. The
unanimous opinion among the solid waste professionals that the SWAC interviewed was
that the cost for trash disposal would continue to rise and that the best way to control that
cost impact was to adopt programs that reduce trash and increase recycling.