MIDDLEBURY — Vermont’s Act 148, to be phased in during the next six years, will force some big changes in how material is recycled in the Green Mountain State.
As of July 1, 2015, recyclable material will be banned from landfills. Trash haulers will have to offer residential recycling collection at no extra cost. Residential trash charges will be based on weight or volume. And public buildings will have to provide recycling containers alongside trash containers, at no extra cost. Entities that produce more than 52 tons of food scraps per year will have to divert that material to any certified composting facility within 20 miles.
Beginning July 1, 2016, leaf, yard and clean wood debris will be banned from landfills. Haulers will have to offer leaf and yard debris collection.
On July 1, 2017, transfer stations and drop-off facilities will have to accept food scraps, and haulers will have to offer food scraps collection. Food scrap material will be banned from landfills come July 1, 2020.
Addison County Solid Waste Management District Manager Teresa A. Kuczynski thinks the county is making strides toward meeting those milestones.
“I think we’re in good shape to comply with Act 148,” Kuczynski