Board of Health Decries Delay on Waste Hauler Reform: Asks for Progress Report

The Board of Health sent a letter to Town Manager Paul Bockelman and the Town Council on August 25, asking for a progress report on the Waste Hauler reform that had been unanimously endorsed by the board in January of 2022. The proposal called for a town contracted waste hauler and curbside compost pick-up. Subsequently, in August 2022, Town Councilors Shalini Bahl-Milne, Ellisha Walker, Jennifer Taub, and Andy Steinberg joined with Zero Waste Amherst to sponsor a town bylaw. That bylaw was referred to the Town Services and Outreach committee, where it has continued to languish. Funding for a consultant was approved by the Town Council in November 2024.

At the September 4 Board of Health meeting, Public Health Director Kiko Malin said that she met with Bockelman who admitted that the Waste Hauler reform had “dropped off his priority list, and that’s not acceptable.” He continued, “I’ve picked it up again and I’m talking to these [two] consltants.”  Malin told the board members, “I’m going to keep reminding him about this.”

The Board of Health’s letter states:

Dear Town Manager Bockelman and Town Council,

At the August 7, 2025 Board of Health meeting, members of the board unanimously voted to urge the Town Manager and Town Council to move the waste hauler proposal forward. We request especially that the Town Manager promptly hire a consultant to write a Request for Proposals. That request of the Town Manager was unanimously approved (August, 2024) and funded (November, 2024) by the Town Council.

Since January 2022, the Board of Health has supported the transition of Amherst’s waste hauler system to a town-contracted system with a proportional pay-as-you-throw fee structure including curbside compost pick up. In January 2022, it unanimously passed a motion to support it and asked for “input from the Town Council and the Town manager for action on the Zero Waste Amherst’s proposal- to move the proposal forward.” In June of 2022, the Board asked the town again for a progress report on the proposal. By August 2022, a town bylaw had been proposed by council sponsors Shalini Bahl-Milne, Ellisha Walker, Jennifer Taub, and Andy Steinberg, with Zero Waste Amherst as a community sponsor. The proposed bylaw was referred to a council standing committee, the Town Services and Outreach committee, where it remains without any movement forward.

The Board asked for a progress report again in May of 2023. We find the delay in moving this proposal forward inconsistent with public health goals.

We are very concerned that nothing has been done in the last 9 months, since the Council funded the hiring of a consultant. If there has been difficulty securing a consultant as we have been told, we ask that the process be transparent and that the Town Manager explore all recommended avenues to secure a consultant. Some of our members have had ideas for consultant referrals which we will forward to the Manager if appropriate.

The Board believes that the implementation of the proposal would significantly address climate change related issues, reduce waste in Amherst and lower refuse collection costs for town residents. In addition, it would reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and pollution in adjacent climate justice communities (defined as an area where residents, often low-income or people of color, experience a disproportionate burden of environmental hazards and have limited access to resources and decision-making power regarding their environment). Both of these are major public health goals. Every day, Amherst residents send at least twice as much trash to landfills and incinerators as we would under this proposal.

We invite you to attend a Board of Health meeting to give us an in person update at your earliest convenience.