NORTHFIELD — As recycling costs rise across the Pioneer Valley, the Northfield Board of Health is actively testing ideas on how to make recycling more economical for the town. Starting this week, that means glass is being separated from other materials at the Transfer Station.
According to Board of Health Chair Bob MacEwen, glass containers will go in a container located on the right side of the Transfer Station. Other recyclables such as plastic, tin cans and aluminum cans will all go into a compactor on the left side of the Transfer Station.
When compacting is complete, the materials will be sent to the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) and weighed. Compacting plastics, tin cans and aluminum cans will not affect their ability to be recycled, MacEwen said.
“We’re doing this in case we decide to ship materials this way; it’s an experiment,” MacEwen said. “We just want to find out, if we remove glass … what it would cost to ship compacted materials.”
Additionally, the weight of separated glass will determine the percentage of waste stream the glass represents. MacEwen said the town plans to handle the glass locally, crushing it to sand-like consistency for use on roads or other construction projects.
Transfer Station workers will be on hand to direct and assist residents with the changes.
MacEwen said this experiment will help determine how economical it would be to compact items and make fewer hauling trips. This is an important factor because the state this week determined it will change the prevailing wage from $24 to $48 per hour for trash hauler drivers.
The wage increase will affect more than 20 towns in the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District. Right now, it costs Northfield approximately $200 to ship two tons of commingled materials to the Springfield Municipal Recycling Facility. There is no way to tell what local hauling rates will climb to now, MacEwen said.
“If we can compact containers, minus glass, and get five or six tons, it may represent big savings on fewer hauls,” MacEwen said.
The proposed changes to the contract with the state Department of Environmental Protection and the operator, Waste Management Recycle America, will go into effect in July. It will then cost transfer stations $93.50 — plus hauling costs — per ton of recyclables that are sorted using the dual-stream method, which involves separating paper products from bottles and cans.
If a town were to operate using a single stream, where all items are discarded together, it would cost $145 per ton to bring everything to the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility.
The new contract also offers a $5 per ton credit, if recyclables are substantially free of glass. Springfield facility operators are trying to avoid glass because bottles and jars break easily during transport and processing, and can contaminate other container and paper streams.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.