Berkshire Communities Awarded Recycling, Waste Reduction Grants

10:40AM / Tuesday, December 31, 2024Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced more than $4 million in Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP) grants to 285 municipalities and regional solid waste districts, that will help communities maximize their recycling, composting and waste reduction programs.

"Every day, communities across Massachusetts are taking important steps towards environmental protection and sustainability through waste reduction," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "This funding will further empower municipalities to implement innovative programs and policies that are proven to maximize reuse, recycling, and composting."

In Berkshire County:

Pay-As-You-Throw Program Start-up Funds

Monterey $ 2,700.00

Recycling Dividends Program

Adams $ 4,550.00
Cheshire $ 4,200.00
Dalton $ 4,900.00
Egremont $ 4,550.00
Florida $ 1,960.00
Great Barrington $ 1,225.00
Hancock $ 1,470.00
Hinsdale $ 4,550.00
Lee $ 1,960.00
Monterey $ 1,225.00
New Marlborough $ 1,470.00
Otis $ 1,225.00
Peru $ 4,200.00
Pittsfield $ 17,500.00
Sandisfield $ 1,225.00
Savoy $ 5,250.00
Sheffield $ 4,550.00
Stockbridge $ 1,470.00
Washington $ 735.00
Williamstown $ 4,900.00

Regional Small-Scale Initiatives

Northern Berkshires Solid Waste Management District (NBSWMD) $ 1,500.00

Shed or Equipment for Reuse Swap Shop

Dalton $ 6,000.00
New Marlborough $ 6,000.00
Peru $ 6,000.00
Savoy $ 6,000.00

Shed for Universal Waste

Stockbridge $ 5,000.00

MassDEP's SMRP Program provides funding for recycling, composting, reuse, and source reduction activities that will reduce the amount of waste disposed of in landfills and incinerators. Waste prevention and recycling reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing the embodied energy in everyday products and packaging waste and converting it into new products. More than $60 million has been awarded through the program since 2010.

This year, 278 communities qualified for the Recycling Dividends Program and will receive funding totaling more than $3 million. This program recognizes municipalities that have implemented policies and programs proven to maximize materials reuse and recycling, as well as waste reduction. Communities receiving funding must reinvest in their own municipal recycling efforts. Under the program, 12 municipalities are being awarded grants of more than $50,000: Attleboro, Boston, Brockton, Cambridge, Fall River, Lowell, New Bedford, Newton, Quincy, Springfield, Taunton and Worcester.

Additional grant funds are being awarded to support start-up incentives for Pay-As-You-Throw programs, containers to direct mattresses to recycling facilities, wheeled carts for curbside collection of food waste, equipment for the collection of mercury-bearing items, and regional small-scale initiatives.

Tags: recycling,

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

Greylock Youth SummerFest

Come join in on the wealth building fun! August 3-8. Click for event details. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Fenton: Governor's Council Must Deliver for the Berkshires

Community submissionGuest Column
10:22AM / Friday, August 28, 2026

I am a Springfield lawyer running for Governor's Council and I am asking for Berkshire County residents to support me over an incumbent from North Adams.

Here's why: Last year I learned about staffing issues in our regional courts that I could not ignore. In 2025, it was reported that four of Western Massachusetts' 11 Superior Court judgeships were vacant, all at the same time. A few weeks later, that grew to five vacancies. This meant there were only six Superior Court judges serving all of Western Mass at a time when Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden counties had more than 100 pending homicide cases.

Those numbers were alarming to me, so I started to engage with leaders in the community who work most closely with the court system and I came to learn that these vacancies were only the tip of the iceberg here in Berkshire County.

I learned that no Superior Court or District Court judge had been appointed from the Berkshires since the current incumbent took office. As a result, there is not a single Superior Court judge who lives in the Berkshires today, and several of the District Court judges drive in from other counties to support Berkshire courts in Pittsfield, Great Barrington, and North Adams. Court staff also informed me about severe staffing shortages at the Berkshire Clerk of Courts office resulting in other counties needing to loan staff to the Berkshires just so hardworking employees can take a brief and planned summer vacation. This is not normal. These issues are a reflection of genuine problems with the Berkshire County court system and show a lack of proactive attention from our Governor's Councilor.

Instead of focusing on regional equity, I watched as the current incumbent celebrated that she has voted against the governor's nominees more than any other councilor, without much explanation as to why. Most recently, she voted against two extremely qualified former prosecutors for the Parole Board. This was despite an in-person plea from the governor and a letter of support from all the three of the district attorney's from Western Mass. Those votes do not show independence or standing up for principles, they demonstrate naivete, and an unwillingness to work with the key stakeholders.

I had seen and heard enough. I decided to jump in the race and challenge the incumbent to address these problems head-on.

I am a partner of a regional law firm. I understand our courts and the importance of having qualified, fair and hardworking judges. And I know how important it is to have judges from the Berkshires serving the Berkshires. To achieve that, you need strong relationships with the legal community and local stakeholders. You need to know how to use the power of the Governor's Council to fight forcefully for our region. And you need to be laser focused on identifying vacancies before they occur so that they can be filled quickly with local candidates.

View Full Story