Composting Volunteers need to help compost those pumpkins with the Town of Amherst!

FROM:  Susan Waite, Amherst Recycling Coordinator

Hello Friends!

A fun project that supports a Sustainable Amherst needs some help.  On November 2nd and 9^th (consecutive Saturdays) Amend Organics will be collect discarded jack-o-lantern pumpkins for composting at the Transfer Station and the Farmer’s Market (see flyer below and press release).  He is looking for some assistance at the Farmer’s Market location between 8 and 2 as he cannot be at both locations.  It will be a fun time and a great public education opportunity.

Thanks much! The work will not be taxing…compost cheerleading…making sure the pumpkins are not painted or coated with shellac and then direct folks where to plop it in (wheeled tote bins will be provided).

If we split each day into three, two-hour shifts, we are looking at:

Sat 11/2  8-10                      Sat 11/9 8-10

Sat 11/2  10-12                    Sat 11/9 10-12

Sat 11/2  12-2                      Sat 11/9 12-pm

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If you can help, please contact Susan Waite at;

Susan Waite

413-259-3049

Household food waste collection at the Amherst Transfer Station will continue through fall 2014, per an agreement between Amend Organics and the Department of Public Works’ Division of Solid Waste. The pilot program, originally set to end in late October of this year, was very suc-cessful in terms of process and the quality of compostable household waste generated.

Open to all Transfer Station sticker holders, the program accepts all food waste and food-soiled paper, including material unsuitable for home composting such as meat, dairy, seafood, bones and greasy pizza boxes. Amend Organics’ biodegradable bags are sold at the Transfer Station in rolls of fourteen for $20.00. Participants may deliver bagged compost during Station operating hours.

Collected material is removed daily and transported to a nearby site for processing.
To kick-off the program’s continuation, Amend Organics will collect discarded Halloween Jack-o-lanterns free of charge from the general public during the Great Pumpkin Drop-off, held on two consecutive Saturdays: November 2nd and 9th. On those two days, area residents may deliver unpainted, uncoated pumpkins between 8am and 2pm to a collection center at the Amherst Farmer’s Market on the Town Common or to the Amherst Transfer Station. The Transfer Station sticker requirement will be waived for the pumpkin-possessing public on the two collection days. Transfer Station Supervisor Steve Telega feels this is important: “We collect discarded Christmas trees without stickers in January and we must avoid discriminatory practices…(we) don’t want to anger any ghouls and goblins.” he explained.

Amend Organics’ Great Pumpkin Drop-Off will positively impact on the environment in several ways. Pumpkin flesh is heavy, and collected material will be composted locally; removing it from the municipal waste stream will cut down on garbage truck emissions, as Amherst waste is hauled as far as 284 miles away for disposal. Finished compost is an excellent natural soil amendment and can be used in place of commercial petroleum-based agricultural fertilizers. Waste haulers operating locally will also benefit via reduced tonnage fees at landfills and incineration facilities.