This month, a group of Smith College students published their Capstone Project report and presentation, Implementing Waste Minimization Strategies in Amherst. The 60-page report makes a strong case that Amherst should move away from its fragmented, privatized waste system and toward a townwide hauling contract that includes trash, recycling, and curbside compost, as has been under consideration in the Amherst Town Council since its referral to a subcommittee in August, 2022. The central argument of the report is that the town can cut waste dramatically — by at least 40%, lower costs, and improve equity if it pairs that contract with Pay-As-You-Throw pricing, universal compost diversion, and sustained public education. Another group of Smith College students published a report and recommendations on the same topic in 2021.
In November of 2024, the Town Council moved to advise the Manager to issue an exploratory Request for Proposals (RFP) from local haulers to get potential cost information regarding implementation of the proposed contracted system. On May 21, Mimi Kaplan of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, is scheduled to provide the Town Services and Outreach Committee with recommendations around the potential elements of such an RFP.
Sponsors of the proposal have changed over the years. The current council sponsors are Jennifer Taub, Amber Cano-Martin, Jill Brevik and Ellisha Walker.
Why waste reduction matters
The 2026 report begins from the premise that Amherst’s current waste system is environmentally and socially unsustainable. Landfilling and incineration contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, especially methane from organic waste, while also creating air, water, and soil pollution. The report also stresses environmental justice: waste facilities and disposal burdens are disproportionately pushed onto lower-income communities and communities of color, so reducing waste is not just a climate strategy but a fairness issue too.
The report argues that Amherst has a particularly strong reason to act because the town’s current system is expensive, inefficient, and structurally hard to reform. Most residents rely on a private hauler at high annual cost, and the existing setup gives residents little flexibility to reduce what they throw away or to get affordable compost service. Since organics make up a major share of the waste stream, diverting food scraps and yard waste is presented as the single most effective way to reduce disposal volume and shrink the town’s environmental footprint.
Why a contract is necessary
A major conclusion of the report is that Amherst needs a townwide hauling contract if it wants meaningful waste reform. The report describes the current system as effectively monopolized, with one dominant company controlling most curbside pickup and setting prices with little competitive pressure. In that context, the town cannot reliably require compost, standardize service, or control costs without stronger public intervention.
The report’s recommendation is not merely to regulate the existing market more tightly, but to replace the subscription model with a public contract structure. A competitive bidding process would allow Amherst to demand specific service standards, including universal curbside pickup, compost diversion, clear pricing, and reporting on diversion rates. The report also notes that previous studies, town reports, and advisory bodies have reached the same basic conclusion over many years, which strengthens the case that contract-based service is the practical next step rather than a radical experiment.
Why PAYT should be required
PAYT is one of the report’s most important recommendations because it directly changes behavior. Under a Pay-As-You-Throw system, households pay more if they use larger trash carts or create more trash, and less if they generate less waste. The report argues that this creates a real financial incentive to compost, recycle, and reduce consumption, rather than simply treating trash service as a flat, unavoidable cost.
The report also emphasizes that PAYT is not a punishment for wasteful households. It is presented as a fairer system because residents who reduce their trash should not subsidize those who continue to generate large volumes of waste. The report points to examples from other towns showing that PAYT can reduce household trash substantially and can even lower annual waste costs when paired with a properly designed hauling contract.
Why compost diversion should be mandatory
The report is equally clear that compost diversion needs to be built into the contract, not left optional. It argues that if compost pickup is merely an add-on, most households will not adopt it, especially when the current system already feels expensive and inconvenient. Universal curbside compost service would make participation easy, normalize it across the town, and remove the transportation barrier faced by people who cannot drive to the transfer station.
This is also why the report links composting to broader waste policy. Composting is not treated as a niche environmental preference but as a core operational strategy for cutting trash volume, reducing methane emissions, and making the whole system more efficient. The report suggests that Amherst could phase in the system with household organics and yard waste first, then expand as service capacity and public familiarity grow.
Will the community support it?
The report is cautiously optimistic that a progressive town like Amherst can get behind these changes. It says the strongest case for public support is that the policy bundle speaks to values many residents already share: climate action, affordability, public health, and environmental justice. Amherst already has an active reform culture, and the report notes that advisory bodies, student researchers, and community advocates have repeatedly called for the same direction of change.
Still, the report does not assume support will appear automatically. It says the town will need clear education, visible leadership, and transparent explanations of how the system works and why it is being adopted. Residents will need reassurance about convenience, odors, pests, costs, and composting rules. The report’s view is that if Amherst presents the change as simpler, fairer, and cheaper than the current system, community acceptance is likely to be strong enough to carry it through.
Bottom line
The report’s recommended path is straightforward: adopt a townwide contract, require PAYT, mandate universal compost diversion, and back the whole system with sustained education and public outreach. Its core argument is that Amherst cannot achieve serious waste reduction through voluntary measures alone; it needs a coordinated policy structure that makes low-waste behavior the default, not the exception.
Darcy DuMont is a former town councilor and a founding member of Zero Waste Amherst. She can be contacted at dumint140@gmail.com. Smith student authors of the Waste Minimization report (four Seniors and one Junior) are Ava Blando ‘27, Candice Brown ‘26, Rose Cooper ‘26, Louisa Goltry ‘26, Helena Venzke-Kondo ‘26.