Berkshire Communities Awarded Recycling and Waste Reduction Grants

08:09AM / Monday, November 24, 2025Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced more than $4 million in Sustainable Materials Recovery Program grants to 280 municipalities and regional collaboratives to help communities maximize recycling, composting and waste reduction.

"These grants support our communities, expand recycling and composting efforts, and target new materials to remove from the waste stream," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "We are committed to ensuring our cities and towns have the resources they need to become more sustainable and achieve their goals of reducing disposal costs and the amount of waste in our landfills."

In Berkshire County:

Recycling Dividends Program (Total: $87,060.00)

Adams: $6,000.00
Becket: $3,360.00
Dalton: $6,000.00
Egremont: $3,360.00
Great Barrington: $420.00
Hancock: $2,100.00
Hinsdale: $3,780.00
Lee: $2,520.00
New Marlborough: $1,680.00
Otis: $1,680.00
Peru: $3,360.00
Pittsfield: $21,000.00
Plainfield: $7,800.00
Richmond: $1,260.00
Sandisfield: $840.00
Savoy: $3,780.00
Sheffield: $3,780.00
Stockbridge: $1,260.00
Washington: $420.00
Williamstown: $7,200.00
Windsor: $6,600.00

Reuse Swap Shop (Total: $18,000.00)

Becket: $6,000.00
Cheshire: $6,000.00
Otis: $6,000.00

Food Waste Collection Systems - Drop-off (Total: $6,000.00)

Great Barrington: $3,000.00
New Marlborough: $3,000.00

Cardboard Compactor (Total: $10,000.00)

Washington: $10,000.00

Source-separated Glass Container (Total: $8,000.00)

Great Barrington: $8,000.00

Regional Small-Scale Initiatives (Total: $1,500.00)

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

MassDEP's Sustainable Materials Recovery Program (SMRP) provides funding for recycling, composting, reuse, and source reduction activities that decrease the amount of waste disposed of in landfills and incinerators. In addition to minimizing solid waste, SMRP projects boost resiliency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by capturing the embodied energy in everyday products and packaging materials for conversion into new products.

More than $60 million has been awarded through SMRP since 2010. This year, awards are being granted through six programs that operate under the SMRP umbrella: the Recycling Dividends Program, Regional Small-scale Initiatives, Drop-off Recycling Equipment, Food Waste Collection Carts, Pay-As-You-Throw, and Waste Reduction projects.

The Recycling Dividends Program supports municipal policies and programs proven to maximize materials reuse and recycling, as well as waste reduction. This year, 271 communities will receive awards totaling nearly $2.95 million.

Additional grant funds are being awarded to support start-up incentives for Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) waste reduction programs, wheeled carts for the curbside collection of residential food waste, recycling equipment for targeted materials at a municipal recycling drop-off or transfer station ("facility"), and regional small-scale initiatives to support regional entities working with multiple municipalities.

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15 People Displaced in Pittsfield Home Fires

Staff Reports11:35AM / Sunday, October 11, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fifteen people were displaced after 2-alarm home fires this weekend on Springside Avenue and Elaine Drive.

On Friday evening, the Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 209 Springside Ave., which took a four-hour battle to extinguish and resulted in a partial roof collapse. The next day, on Saturday evening, crews knocked down a fire at 121 Elaine Drive in about an hour.

The garage and part of the single-family home on Elaine Drive were gutted to the frame, along with a vehicle parked in the driveway. On Springside Avenue, the top level and porch of the multifamily were burned through.

A GoFundMe has been started for the family of the Elaine Drive home, which includes several young children. The fundraiser, with a $5,500 goal, explains they lost their home and all of their belongings. (iBerkshires.com does not confirm or endorse fundraisers; they are provided as information only.)

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries, and both incidents are under investigation. One dog was rescued on Springside Avenue.

On Oct. 10, around 6:15 p.m., PFD responded to the Springside Avenue home for a reported structure fire and saw a 2 1/2-story wood frame multifamily with a heavy blaze showing from the second-floor front porch, extending out.

The building suffered a partial roof collapse, which prolonged extinguishment. The fire was brought under control after about four hours.

“An aggressive offensive attack was mounted by first arriving crews stretching hose lines into the building as well as primary searches that proved negative. Ladders were placed around the structure to provide access as well as escape if needed. An off-duty Fire Captain had also been on scene early in the incident to help evacuate the structure and rescue a dog,” PFD wrote in a press release.

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