The Franklin County Solid Waste Management District will hold its spring “Clean Sweep” Bulky Waste Recycling Day on Saturday, May 16, from 9 a.m. to noon, with three collection sites located across the county.
The collection locations are the Erving Highway Garage on Public Works Boulevard (off Route 2), Mohawk Trail Regional School at 26 Ashfield Road (Route 112) in Buckland and the Whately Transfer Station at 73 Christian Lane.
Residents and businesses from any of the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District’s 21 member towns may bring bulky items to the collection locations. The member towns are Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, Erving, Gill, Hawley, Heath, Leverett, Montague, New Salem, Northfield, Orange, Rowe, Shelburne, Sunderland, Warwick, Wendell and Whately.
There are charges for most items (cash only) and a price list for the most common items can be found at franklincountywastedistrict.org. Advance registration is not required.
Acceptable items include tires, appliances, refrigerators, air conditioners, scrap metal, furniture, carpeting, construction debris, computers, televisions, propane gas tanks, bulky rigid plastics for recycling and other large items, according to the waste management district. Materials will be recycled whenever possible.
Saturday’s event accepts bulky rigid plastics for a special recycling program. The cost is $5 per load of acceptable items. This program only accepts the following items: clean and empty 5-gallon pails, plastic lawn furniture, laundry baskets, storage totes, plastic trash barrels, recycling bins and milk crates.
Books will not be accepted, except for at the Whately collection site. The waste management district advises that books in any condition (except moldy) are accepted for free at Roundabout Books in Greenfield. Residents can find more information by calling 413-773-0820 or visiting roundaboutbookstore.com/pages/donating.
Textiles will also not be accepted at the “Clean Sweep” Bulky Waste Recycling Day, but every municipal transfer station in Franklin County has a textile recycling dropbox, and other boxes are available around the community. A countywide textile collection is held on the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the municipal parking lot between Chapman and Davis streets in Greenfield.
Mattresses will not be accepted at this collection event, either. There are five regional mattress recycling locations in the county that are open year-round. For locations, pricing and hours, visit franklincountywastedistrict.org/mattress-recycling.
Although electronics will be accepted at the “Clean Sweep” Bulky Waste Recycling Day, residents can also recycle computer equipment and TVs at their town’s transfer station, or at the Greenfield Transfer Station. Staples stores also accept most types of computer equipment free of charge. Residents are advised to call a store for details.
Before sending unwanted items for disposal or recycling, the waste management district advises residents to consider offering them for reuse. Various charities, including local Salvation Army and Goodwill stores and nonprofits, accept donations of household items and working electronics. Always call ahead to ask if they can accept an item. Alternatively, residents can offer reusable items on a local “Buy Nothing” Facebook group, Freecycle group or local town groups such as Nextdoor.
For more information, visit franklincountywastedistrict.org or contact the district at info@franklincountywastedistrict.org or 413-772-2438.