GREENFIELD — The city collected 128 tons of recycling in the month of July.
That’s 10.81 tons more than the city collected in July 2025, representing what the city says is a trend toward increasing recycling volumes. Over the past year, Greenfield has collected a total of 1,303.14 tons of recycling, which the city attributes to recent changes in how recycling is collected.
Last year, Greenfield switched to a single-stream recycling system, allowing all recycling to be placed in a bin and collected together, whereas previously, paper, cans and plastic materials had to be separated. Earlier this summer, the city also replaced the 18-gallon bins with 95-gallon carts that could be picked up and collected using new automated recycling trucks.
“As with most changes this significant, there were some initial adjustments, but our new recycling program is working very well,” Department of Public Works Director Paul Newell said in a written statement. “It’s really reduced strain on our staff, and is improving the efficiency of our operations.”
Greenfield Communications Director Jonathon Weber said he believes the increase in recycling amounts is due to several factors: single-stream recycling is easier for folks who no longer have to separate their recycling; the new carts are larger, so people who previously filled their bins and put the rest in the trash can recycle more; and the city has focused more on publicizing the benefits and encouraging residents to recycle.
Last month, Greenfield saw the highest amount of recycling collected in the past year (128.33 tons), followed by October 2025 (120.34 tons) and July 2025 (117.52 tons). The months with the least recycling collected were February 2026 (81.32 tons), November 2025 (89.65 tons) and May 2026 (93.8 tons).
“It’s a much simpler system,” Weber said.
Weber said that while there had been a learning curve when the new systems were implemented, the systems allow Department of Public Works staff to complete collection routes faster. They no longer have to get out of the truck and lift heavy recycling bins.
“Previously our staff were lifting thousands of recycling bins,” Weber said.
Weber said he could not speak to whether the increased recycling tonnage affects the city’s recycling budget.
The city’s fiscal year 2027 budget book outlined a $148,000 budget for recycling fees, which covers the cost of transporting recycling to All American Waste in Connecticut, where Greenfield’s recycling is processed. The city also set a budget of $569,684 to cover materials and staff hours for trash and recycling collection.
According to the city’s online finance dashboard, since July 1, the start of the fiscal year, the city has paid $11,060 to Murphy Road Holdings LLC, which owns All American Waste. Throughout the entirety of the 2026 fiscal year, Greenfield paid $110,982 to Murphy Road Holdings.
In a written statement, Weber noted that last month the city saw zero days of contaminated recycling — when non-recyclable materials are mixed in with recycling, allowing the city to avoid additional fees and keep under budget.
Over the past year, the city saw 25 total days with contaminated recycling and had four months without any contamination.
Weber said he wished to thank Greenfield residents for their efforts during the transition. While learning new processes and schedules can be difficult at first, he said community members have done a great job of remembering to put carts out on time, closed and not overfilled, and by the road with enough room for the automated truck arms to pick the cart up.
“Greenfield folks should really give themselves a pat on the back,” Weber said. “Residents are doing an excellent job.”
