The state permit that allows the city to operate the landfill officially expires at the end of June.
The Glendale Road landfill will close to residents on Monday.
NORTHAMPTON – After years of debate and thousands of tons of trash, the Glendale Road municipal landfill will finally close to the public for most purposes on Monday.
The city opened the landfill for residents in 1969 and made it into a regional landfill in 1990. Although it was due to reach capacity about now, the landfill became the subject of controversy several years ago when the city’s Board of Public Works proposed expanding it onto a neighboring site, prolonging its life.
Neighbors and others who called it an environmental hazard opposed the expansion. The issue went before voters in 2009 in the form of a ballot question. They rejected the expansion soundly.
While the landfill was projected to reach capacity by 2012, it has remained open until now, in part, according to public works director Edward S. Huntley, because commercial haulers have already begun taking their trash elsewhere. Duseau Trucking, the largest regional commercial hauler, has already begun bringing Northampton trash to its own facility on Route 10.
The Glendale Road site is also the location of one of two transfer stations where city residents may bring their household trash. The other is on Locust Street at the Department of Public Works yard. That station will remain open.
In order to use a transfer station, residents much purchase a vehicle sticker for $25, good for one year, and buy city-approved trash bags, which are available at DPW offices and in retail stores. The cost of a large bag with a 39-gallon capacity is increasing from $2 to $3, Huntley said, the beginning of what could be costly increases in waste disposal as a result of the landfill’s closing.
The Glendale Road facility will remain open 18 days a year on Saturdays for residents to dispose of brush and leaves. The Board of Public Works has not drawn up a schedule yet, but Huntley said most of the days will probably be in the fall when residents need to get rid of leaves.
The Glendale Road site will continue to accept appliances such as refrigerators and large items such as tires and mattresses. Two weekends will be set aside in January for disposal of Christmas trees, Huntley said.
The state permit that allows the city to operate the landfill expires at the end of June. Shutting down and capping the site will continue to take time, work and money. The city must monitor the location for another 30 years, according to Huntley.
Another result of the landfill’s closing is that the city must haul household trash from the Locust Street station to some more distant landfill. Residents may haul their own waste to the Duseau site for a fee.
Huntley said the cost of the vehicle sticker will remain $25. That fee allows residents to bring their compost to the transfer station along with their recyclables and other household waste.