From Our Neighbors in Sheffield

By Rene Wood

Attached is the Environmental Protection Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Guide. This is a great guide to help achieve whatever reuse, recycle and yes, reduce goals you may have for the holiday season this year and for 2025. Click Here: https://www.epa.gov/recycle

Soon (November 16, 2024) there will be a LOCAL EDITION. It’s a great refresher on what’s accepted at individual Berkshire County municipal transfer stations as well as giving you an idea of what other communities are collecting. This may lead to the question: “Why are we doing that?” and can help improve every one’s effort to reduce their solid waste footprint. 

While textiles and mattresses are the state’s latest focus, did you know that over 90% of clothing, shoes, and other textiles can be reused or recycled? For most mattresses, it’s 95%.

Food composting is another focus where so much may be kept out of the solid waste stream and made into soil enriching compost — whether at home or through a home- or community pick up service. And of course, 2nd hand clothing and numerous other item stores continue to increase in popularity, as more people look for good clothing and other buys and people give items to such stores, many of which have an important social mission. While we may think of Goodwill, there are numerous private stores and don’t forget the Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity Restore in Pittsfield. What a gold mine!

Finally, you’ll find all kinds of help in figuring out what to do with all the stuff that doesn’t seem to have an obvious next place — from A for aerosol cans to Y for yoga mats.

The Guide is a great read, with so much information. Most people keep it for year-round usage or have their recycling coordinator put a link online for easier reference. It’s good until Nov. 2025.

Editor’s note: Rene is a former member of the Sheffield Select Board, now concentrating her appreciable talents on recycling