Officials in Hamilton, MA are requiring residents to leave out a compost bin during trash collection in order to have their garbage picked up. The Hamilton Board of Selectmen announced that they recently passed an “organics ban,” which bars residents from putting food waste and compostable paper in their trash.
The organics ban was instituted as the board tries to find other ways to reduce the amount of trash generated by Hamilton residents after officials suspended the town’s bi-weekly trash pickup program as more people began working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus generating more trash.
The only requirement under the ban at this time, however, is that every household has its town-provided green compost bin curbside during weekly trash collection. If the green trash bin is not curbside, then the town’s trash service provider — Casella — will not pick up the household’s black bin that contains trash.
Officials say the ban will go into effect on Feb. 1, 2021, and that it has the potential to reduce the amount of trash that is collected in the town by up to 30% while reducing the town’s carbon footprint.