Green Dalton Committee member Laurie Martinelli told the Select Board in September that people at the Methodist Church, where she volunteers, were talking about a letter saying they needed to start recycling. She described it to iBerkshires as the kind of "buzz" the town wants to create.
Before changing its rules in April, the Board of Health had written to every solid waste hauler in town. Those letters are part of how Dalton is reviving a recycling requirement that has been on the books since January 1, 2020 and, as iBerkshires put it, "has long been unenforced." The pressure lands on the trucks first. Over the last few years the transfer station off Park Avenue has also grown into the simplest way to follow the rule.
The Rule Has Been in Place Since 2020
Dalton's mandatory recycling requirement sits in Chapter 270 of the Town Code. It covers every generator in town: residential, commercial and institutional. The Board of Health's posted version shows it was approved on January 7, 2019 and took effect on January 1, 2020.
The code gives every household and business three ways to keep recyclables out of the trash:
- Bring them to the town transfer station.
- Contract with a permitted hauler that provides recycling.
- Use dedicated recycling receptacles supplied by the property owner or manager.
The list of materials will look familiar from any kitchen counter. It covers steel and tin cans, glass bottles and jars, aluminum, plastic bottles, jugs and trays, cartons, newspaper, magazines, junk mail, paperboard, corrugated cardboard, paperback books and phone books. Chapter 270 allows a fine of up to $300 per offense and gives seven days to file a written appeal with the Board of Health. No household fines have been publicly reported. The town's renewed push has gone to a different link in the chain.
Why the Pressure Starts With the Hauler's Permit
Dalton has no public trash or recycling pickup. Every household either hires a private hauler or buys a sticker for the transfer station. That means the haulers hold most of the information about where the town's recyclables actually go.
A separate Board of Health rule, Chapter 604, has governed haulers since November 1, 2020. It requires every hauler serving Dalton to offer both trash and recycling at a single bundled price, and it bars a cheaper trash-only option. The posted regulation also sets out penalties: a warning, then $50, $100 and $250 fines, then loss of the permit.
Reporting is where the system had stalled. In January 2026, iBerkshires reported that only one of the town's seven haulers, Dave Baumann Trucking, had sent the Board of Health the tonnage reports the regulation called for.
In April the board changed its approach. As iBerkshires reported in September, Board of Health co-chair Nancy Hopper told the Select Board that haulers must now file an annual report with their permit application, or the application will be denied. The report must show the total weight of reuse and recyclables collected in town, weight slips backing up those figures, and the names and locations of the facilities where the material goes. Hopper described the timing penalty this way:
"If you're late on getting your permit, there's a $25 a week fee in regards to that."
The board wrote to every hauler before adopting the change and planned a reminder letter for October. The posted Chapter 604 document still describes quarterly reports. The annual permit requirement is the version the board described to the Select Board in September. For households with curbside service, the change works through the company that already picks up their bins.
The Cost Behind Every Bag
The town's reason for pressing now shows up in its disposal bills. When Dalton proposed community composting in 2025, its compost proposal estimated that the town shipped 372 tons of municipal solid waste in calendar 2023 to a landfill near Morrisonville, New York. That took 57 hauls at $180 per haul, plus $120 per ton before hauling charges. Every can or cardboard box in that load paid the per-ton rate and rode across the state line.
The Board of Health and Green Committee press release, as summarized by iBerkshires, says trash shipments to New York, New Hampshire, Ohio and Alabama are increasing, raising fuel and labor costs. It also notes that Massachusetts bans disposal of 14 material categories, including recyclable paper, cardboard, glass, metal and plastic containers. Waste reduction is also part of Dalton's Climate Action Plan, which the Green Committee developed with Blue Strike Environmental and the Select Board endorsed in spring 2025.
Bridle Road Has Become the Easiest Way to Comply
If your household uses the transfer station, following the rule is mostly a matter of sorting. The town says a vehicle sticker includes unlimited recycling at no extra charge. Under the FY27 schedule, which runs July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, the first sticker costs $120 at the station or $114 online, and a second household vehicle costs $40. The station on Bridle Road is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 2 to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The station now handles much more than recycling. Dalton took over its management on July 1, 2022 and joined the Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District on July 1, 2023. Here is what it takes beyond the standard recycling stream:
| Material | How it's handled | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Food scraps | Community composting since July 1, 2025, serviced by Tommy's Compost Service | Requires station access |
| Clothing, shoes, towels, curtains, sheets | CMRK textile bins, bagged | Free |
| Mattresses and box springs | Mattress recycling hub | $40 if recyclable, $150 if not |
| Gently used household items, small appliances | Dal-Mart Swap Shop, open since May 1, 2026 | Free exchange |
| Holiday light strands | Scrap metal container, year-round | Free |
| Redeemable bottles and cans | Weekly drop bins collected for Troop 4 | Donation |
Several of these line up with state law. MassDEP added mattresses and textiles to its disposal bans effective November 1, 2022, and the town says neither belongs in the trash. The CMRK flyer sets limits on what the bins take. Torn, wet or moldy fabric is excluded, and so are rugs, carpet and furniture.
The compost program accepts more than a backyard pile can handle. When it was announced, The Berkshire Eagle reported that it would take all food scraps, including oils, bones and protein. The district reports 2.21 tons of food organics collected at Dalton in 2025, a year in which the program ran only from July onward. That is a small number next to the 372 tons of trash shipped to New York in 2023, and it shows how much room remains.
One limit is worth knowing before you load the car. The station does not accept white goods such as freezers, and the town's page refers residents to other options and suggests calling first.
November Puts the Rule on the Calendar
The education campaign iBerkshires described is meant to run over the next several months. It includes a town-wide mailing, a resource webpage, a social media campaign, public meetings, and outreach through Wahconah Regional High School's Green Umbrella Committee.
The first public session comes early in November. On Tuesday, November 3, the Dalton Free Public Library hosts Laurie Martinelli of Green Dalton and Nancy Hopper of the Board of Health for a talk on the town recycling mandate. It's a good chance to ask the two people leading the campaign how the hauler reports will work and what a household bin is expected to hold.
The holiday light program matters most in the next few weeks. The district runs it with Sayers Scrap Metal, free across its 14 member towns: broken or unwanted strands go into the scrap metal container instead of the trash. The CRA's Light Up the Holidays tree lighting is set for Saturday, December 5. Any strand that doesn't make it through the season can go to Bridle Road the following Friday or Saturday.
This post is general information about town rules, not legal advice. For questions about your own property or hauler contract, check with the Dalton Board of Health or the right professional.
Knowing how a town works, from the transfer station hours to the rules behind a hauler's permit, is part of how we support clients here. If you'd like a local perspective on owning a home in Dalton, Katie Soules and our team would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a consultation.
