Northampton, Mass. Residents Face 66% Increase in Permit Price to Use Municipal Transfer Station

Due to changes in the recycling industry, Northampton, Massachusetts residents will face a sizeable increase in the cost of drop-off waste.

Residents looking to dispose of their household waste, compost, and other recyclables at Northampton’s municipal transfer station will now pay 66 percent more per year for a permit. The new cost for the annual permit is $75, up from $45. According to Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, this increase is in line with changes happening in the recycling industry.

"We were actually receiving revenue for recyclables that we took in, and now we have to pay to dispose of them," Sciarra said. "So that's a real switch in sort of the revenue and expenditures of the transfer station and the solid waste enterprise."

Roughly one-third of Northampton residents, 12,000 households, use the municipal transfer station while others use private waste disposal companies.

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