Mayor Peter Marchetti answers trash and toter questions on Wednesday at the Ralph Froio Senior Center. Three more community forums will be held in September.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Are you informed about the new trash system that will roll out this fall?

Mayor Peter Marchetti kicked off a series of four community meetings on Wednesday to educate the public. The city has approved a five-year contract with Casella Waste Management that moves from unlimited curbside collection to automated collection with 48-gallon toters for trash and recycling.

"We've made it this far. Right now, it's the rollout," Marchetti said to a crowd at the Ralph J. Froio Senior Center.

"So if we do a terrible job of the rollout and a terrible job of educating, it's going to be a terrible experience for everybody."

Recycling toters will be delivered to households starting Wednesday, Sept. 11, for Friday routes with automated pickup beginning two days later. For the next two months, weekday routes will receive trash and recycling bins and have their first pickup.

Marchetti held the first community meetings in the springtime before the new system was approved.

"I will admit that I was very nervous coming here to the senior center and proposing it but by the time we were done, I think we walked out, not everyone is completely happy but I think people understood and we were beginning to make progress," he said.

Officials say Pittsfield's nearly 17,400 households produce about 1,800 pounds of trash each annually, generating close to 20 tons as a community. The system aims to reduce each household's waste to 1,370 pounds annually.

For an extra $40 quarterly, households can have a second 48-gallon toter for trash and a free toter for additional recycling.

The bins must be placed handle-side within 3 feet of a person's property, either on the road or on grass, with the lid properly closed. There needs to be a 3-foot separation between the trash and recycling toter so that the vehicle's arm has room to retrieve it.

"You need to leave it 5 feet away from other objects so your vehicle, your mailbox, trees, you need to leave that 5-foot space," Marchetti said. "I'm going to say that that's mostly to protect the other things."

If a person moves, the toter stays with the house. The mayor explained that the toters don't belong to the individual or the city but to Casella.

"Your tote belongs to the house. It doesn't belong to you," he said. "So when you move, you leave your tote behind because the serial number is attached to the address, not attached to you."

He pointed to misinformation on social media claiming that the city will switch to single-stream recycling. Dual-stream recycling will remain, he said, with Casella picking up paper and plastics on a rotating basis.

Casella purchased the waste transfer facility on Hubbard Avenue from Community Eco Power LLC, which filed for bankruptcy in 2021, and has demolished it for redevelopment into a waste transfer station. Marchetti reported that the station is in construction and will be available to residents in December.

Residents can pay a $120 base fee for yearly access to the transfer station ($80 for seniors) or pay separately per bag or bulky item.

"If you want to bring your garbage there, there's a fee," Marchetti said.

"I don't know why you would want to bring your garbage there when you can have it done curbside. There's no extra charge for recycling as long as it still falls the same week."

There was a question about bin delivery for snowbirds, as a resident explained that he and his wife would be heading south before their delivery time. The administration doesn't have a solution but will look into it.

Director of Council on Aging James Clark noted that this is a lot of information and the senior center will assist residents in accessing it online.

"I'll be the first to admit you guys are getting a lot better being educated in the digital world so welcome to the 21st century," he said.

"But sometimes it's still a little challenging so we can help you here at the center too."

Throughout this process, residents have asked what they will do with their old trash bins. Marchetti noted that there will be a scheduled pickup and drop off day for any receptacle — plastic or metal.

He also noted that all Casella employees affected by the change are being offered opportunities within the company, such as getting a CDL license to operate a truck or working at the transfer station.

One resident said she has found these sessions very informative and hopes that the naysayers attend one instead of complaining on social media.

Additional community meetings will be held on:

• Monday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m. at Morningside Community School, cafeteria, 100
  Burbank St.
• Thursday, Sept. 12, at 6 p.m. at Reid Middle School, auditorium, 950 North St.
• Monday, Sept. 16, at 6 p.m. at Berkshire Athenaeum, auditorium, 1 Wendell Ave. (Presentation provided in Spanish)

In addition to the community meetings, information will be shared through mailers directly to
residents, the city's website, the city's social media pages, and local media outlets during the
upcoming weeks and months.

More information, including answers to frequently asked questions, can be found on the city website.

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