Recycling/Greener Gateway

Composting

Welcome! In this section, learn about:

  • Did you know: tips for a greener and safer world - updated with new tips as we receive/find them
  • Who we are and when we meet
  • Lee’s Founders Weekend 2022: Another successful effort to reduce trash
  • We finally celebrated Earth Day's 50th Anniversary - content coming soon....
  • Our 6th Annual Roadside Cleanup a Success Thanks to Widespread Support
  • Our continuing roadside cleanup efforts to help KEEP LEE CLEAN: you'd be surprised how much litter we find every month!
  • Our butt collectors are helping to keep downtown cleaner
  • The plastics reduction bylaws went into effect May 12, 2017: Background and Useful Information

Did you know? (Note: please share suggestions to improve our content and help us achieve broader outreach to our community.)

Each of us makes decisions every day that affect ourselves, others, and our surroundings. By being thoughtful we can reduce our impact on the planet, conserve resources, minimize waste, and climate change. There's a series of simple words that can help you in this:

  • RETHINK - Your Choices
  • REFUSE - Single Use
  • REDUCE - Consumption
  • REUSE – Everything
  • REFILL – Your Containers
  • REFURBISH - Old Stuff
  • REPAIR - Before Replacing
  • REPURPOSE - Be Creative!
  • RECYCLE - Last Option
  • REPEAT!

You might find the following information useful:

  • Recycle your Textiles in Lee: As of November 1, 2022 it's illegal to trash recyclable textiles. Fortunately, Lee has multiple options. 
    • the Goodwill store has been around for ages and accepts unwanted textiles.
    • CMRK (a Big Brother Big Sister Foundation partner) has two bins downtown in the parking lot across from the Post Office on Railroad Street and two bins at Lee Premium Outlets. The town benefits financially when you recycle your textiles at the downtown bins. CMRK also offers curbside pickup - call 508.466.4590.
    • Hartsprings Foundation (also a Big Brother Big Sister Foundation partner) has a storefront location at Lee Premium Outlets.
  • Composting in Lee: learn HERE the latest information about a pick-up service for residents and businesses (NOTE: the free drop-off service for Lee residents at Meadow Farm has been suspended due to compliance and safety issues. NOTE: Do not dispose of the materials in plastic bags, unless they are certified compostable).
    • Why compost graphic
    • Composting has multiple benefits to those who do it and to the planet. It's easy - you can even do it indoors - and there are tons of resources available to help you get started and become proficient. Here are a few links tha are reliable - pick one (or a couple) and get started (if you have a question you can't find the answer to, just contact Peter - pdhofman12@gmail.com, Valerie - valerie4748@gmail.com, or Katherine Miller - kosmiccook@gmail.com.
      • from the Center for EcoTechnology - on home composting and vermicomposting (which uses worms and naturally present microorganisms to transform your kitchen and yard waste into compost and you can do it INSIDE!)
      • from the NE Waste Management Officials Association (NEWMOA) - a home composting guide 
      • from the US Envirtonmental Protection Agency (EPA) - composting at home 
      • and from Cornell University Cooperative Extension - composting resources
    • Lee residents may purchase compost bins and pails at a discount - THE BINS ARE LESS THAN HALF PRICE! 
  • Do you have questions about recycling? Here are some useful links from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (some items might vary by location):
  • More tips and resources for recycling properly
    • Here are the most recent links we've added:
    • Inkject printer cartridges can be recycled and reused. Here's information on how to do it.
    • This recently created list from a like-minded advocate in Sheffield, MASS has valuable information on hard-to-recycle items and much, much more - check it out....
    • Despite all the negative publicity over the past year, recycling still works, it's important, and worth the effort. Here's the story.
    • You should NEVER put recyclables in plastic bags - print and post this as a reminder.
    • You can recycle unused medications at the Lee Police Department.
    • You can recycle cell phones and rechargeable batteries weighing less than 11 pounds at the Tri-Town Health Department.

Who we Are and When we Meet

As set forth in our mission statement the Greener Gateway Committee carries out a wide range of activities - on its own and with others - to help make Lee attractive and sustainable for residents and visitors. We hope our efforts will strengthen Lee's position as the Gateway to the Berkshires and help our economy. We seek new members and volunteers to help us succeed and look forward to serving and working with you to make Lee a Greener Gateway. To learn more about us, please refer to this flyer.

The committee holds regular meetings at 3:30 on the second Monday of the month in the conference room of the Tri-Town Health Department on Railroad Street (across from the Post office). We also hold special meetings as needed. All meetings are posted in accordance with Open Meeting Law requirements.

For the first time in 3 years Lee celebrated Founders Weekend in September: collaboration and cooperation helped us divert 75-80% of the waste to recycling and composting!

Maybe it's never forgetting how to ride a bike once you learn how: our zero-waste effort for the weekend picked up where we left off in 2019. More food vendors used compostable wares, and many people remembered how to properly dispose of their waste. The amount of trash generated (including from out-of-town vendors) was less than both the recyclables and compostables we collected. Downtown was clean, trash bins weren't overflowing, and for the first time we contained all the trash and recyclables in rolling carts (we needed a roll-off in prior years).

Why is this effort important? Special events like Founders Weekend generate A LOT of waste. Massachusetts can't handle all the waste it generates, so we have to send it out of state to have it processed and disposed of. This situation isn't sustainable. We HAVE to cut down on trash, the sooner the better. Individuals can do so as part of their normal lives (follow the 10 R's listed above). Special efforts are needed to minimize - and ideally eliminate - trash generated by special events. We've shown that these efforts can make a difference and we're willing to share what we've learned with anyone who's interested.  

Our success stemmed from the cooperation of food vendors, the efforts of our many volunteers, and the key role played by other local supporters. We’re extremely grateful to everyone who contributed to this year’s effort. The Lee Chamber of Commerce and the Tri-Town Health Department again spread the word about the waste-reduction effort. Key to our success were Meadow Farm for providing a roll-off and handling at no charge the compostable items we collected, and Casella, which provided 22 bins for 11 stations we set up along Main Street and in the Church Park at no charge.

Committee members and our invaluable volunteers staffed recycling-composting-trash stations during Friday’s Taste of Lee and Saturday’s events in the Park and the Lee Athletic Field. In the process they educated people about what items can be recycled and composted. Members also monitored public trash bins.

A key goal for Founders Weekend is to accommodate thousands of people downtown while keeping the streets and sidewalks clean. In addition to the stations we set up and staffed, Committee members picked up litter downtown in advance, and Lee’s Department of Public Works staff cleaned up before and during the weekend. These efforts worked.

We’ve already identified key changes that would help us get closer to our zero-waste goal. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to promote waste reduction, composting, and recycling throughout the year, as well as sponsor our monthly and annual cleanups. To volunteer or get more information about our activities, please contact Committee Chair, Peter Hofman (pdhofman12@gmail.com) or Valerie Bluhm, Committee Vice Chair (valerie4748@gmail.com).

We again sincerely thank everyone who contributed to this year’s success.

Our 6th Annual Roadside Cleanup a Success Thanks to Widespread Support

More than 60 people young and old volunteered Saturday April 30th for the 6th Annual Lee Greener Gateway Cleanup. They removed 65 bags of trash, 45 bags of recyclables, an unbelievable 965 nip bottles, tires, and even golf clubs! The event ended with volunteers receiving a “thank you” bag. The Cleanup was registered with the Keep Massachusetts Beautiful organization’s annual Great Massachusetts Cleanup campaign.  

Cleanup organizer the Lee Greener Gateway Committee assigned small groups to 14 through roads around the town that typically have the most litter. Volunteers also cleaned up the Lee Athletic Field.

We greatly appreciate all the cleanup volunteers, who included Select Board candidate Gordon Bailey and other individual residents, as well as students and advisors from the Lee Middle School Junior Honor Society, students and staff advisor from the College Internship Program, members of Kiwanis, employees from Canna Provisions and Oak ‘n Spruce; and Berkshire Environmental Action Team Executive Director Jane Winn.

We are grateful to Klara’s Cookies, the Big Y, and Lisa Sloane for donations to the thank-you snacks, to Casella for providing a roll-off and large dumpster and processing what we collected, and the Chamber of Commerce and Lee Public Library for promotional help.   

To keep Lee’s roads cleaner year-round, the committee holds cleanups the last Saturday of each month from 9 to 11 am May through October and 11 to 1 pm (NEW TIME) November through March. We post Information in advance about each cleanup as an announcement on the Home page of the Town’s website. 

Our continuing efforts to help KEEP LEE CLEAN

Roadside litter is a problem throughout Lee. The litter detracts from one of the most popular recreational activities in town - walking along our roads. It can also adversely affect the environment - from soil quality to animal health. The litter also gives the impression that Lee residents and businesses don't care about our town, which just isn't true, but sometimes it looks like it. While probably a small minority of people litter, it affects the rest of us. WE NEED PEOPLE THROUGHOUT TOWN TO ACT IN ORDER TO KEEP LEE CLEAN!

As part of our mission to help Lee be a Greener Gateway to the Bershires, we organize annual and monthly roadside cleanups (weather permitting). From July 2018 through June 2019 we've had more volunteers than ever before participate in our roadside cleanups, and received more local business support. Despite all the previous cleanups we've hosted, volunteers still collected close to 200 large bags of trash and recyclables - plus a wide range of odds and ends that never should be discarded along our roads. Due to COVID-19 we put our cleanups on hold for several months in 2020 and did limited cleanups after that until our annual cleanup in April 2021. Despite COVID, weather, and only one annual cleanup during the period, we managed to collect 350 large bags of trash and recyclables during 2020 and 2021.

How you can help - get involved: Many of Lee's 55 miles of roadways have stretches with no houses - areas that are most frequently littered. We've cleaned up along the same roads month after month, but the litter keeps coming. Our small committee can't do it all. We need all the help we can get. Here's what you can do:

  • don't litter
  • speak up when we see other people littering
  • pick up litter in your neighborhood
  • participate in our annual and monthly cleanups

If people throughout town get involved, we can truly KEEP LEE CLEAN!

While our annual cleanups make a big difference, the ongoing litter problems make our monthly cleanups very important. We hold them the last Saturday of the month (weather permitting) - from 11 to 1 (NEW TIMES) YEAR ROUND! the rain date is the next day (Sunday) from 1 to 3 pm. We hold our annual cleanup in late April or early May from 9 to 11 (look for posters, newspaper calendar listings, and this website). We meet at the Quonset Hut (in back of the DPW-Tri-Town Health Department Building across the parking lot from the Post Office) for all our cleanups. We have gloves (you can bring your own), safety vests, bags, and some pickup tools, but everyone should dress tick smart. If you're interested in helping, please contact Valerie Bluhm (valerie4748@gmail.com) or Peter Hofman (pdhofman12@gmail.com) - or just show up. Thanks! 

The litter problem is illustrated by how much a small group of people can pick up in a short period of time. Here are links to shots from recent monthly cleanups (in months that are missing weather prevented us from holding the cleanups):

We're greateful to everyone who participates in our cleanups and to all those who pick up litter on their own! You're all making Lee a greener gateway to the Berkshires...and a more attractive place to live and visit!

Our butt collectors are helping to keep downtown cleaner

We find cigarette butts along many roads in town, but downtown roads are the worst. To help reduce the number of butts that end up as litter, we've installed several butt collectors. So far we've collected more than 1,000 cigarette butts, which we're going to recycle. Learn more about them HERE. Please share this information with anyone you know who smokes.

The Plastic Bag and Polystyrene Bylaws Went into Effect May 12, 2017

The bylaws regulate the use of thin-film plastic shopping bags and polystyrene drink and food containers. The Committee, along with the Tri-Town Health Department and others, will continue to support a smooth transition and will maintain on this site a wealth of resources for residents, visitors, and establishments.

The bylaws minimize impacts on citizens when shopping or getting drinks or food outside the home. Shoppers will be able to use whatever bags and containers you want, but will no longer receive free thin-film plastic bags or food or drinks in polystyrene containers. Some people reuse plastic shopping bags, so we've drafted a list of options to meet these varied needs and welcome other ideas we can add to the list. The compostable produce bags provided by Big Y can be backyard composted. Other compostable bags may be taken (along with other compostables) to the hopper at Meadow Farm (see write-up below).  

The bylaws require establishments not to use the regulated products. Many alternatives exist. To aid in the process we've developed some tips for establishments. Another section of the website contains a wide range of information, including the following:

  • The Bylaws: We posted a guide to the bylaws as well as a PowerPoint slide show - for consumers and establishments, a separate guide just for consumers, links to the full text, and Frequently Asked Questions.
  • List of Alternatives: As required in the bylaws, the Lee Board of Health approved a list of alternatives. Links to the full list and a summary appear in that section.  
  • Reusable Shopping Bags: One of the goals of the bag bylaws is to encourage the use of reusable bags,rather than having people switch to paper bags. Our Committee have used a portion of its budget and obtained two grants - one from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the other from the New England Grass Roots Environment Fund - to purchase almost all-natural cotton reusable bags. We provided more than 400 bags to four local organizations - the Lee Food Pantry, the Lee Council on Aging, the Literacy Network, and the Berkshire Immigrant Center - to distribute for free to their clients who can least afford to purchase bags (half the bags were donated by Blue Q in Pittsfield).  We are selling the bags for $4 (below cost) at special events and through downtown merchants, including Carr Hardware, Lee Hardware, and Paperdilly. The bags are also available at the Chamber of Commerce Information Booth (at the corder of the Church park). Other merchants who are interested in selling the bags should contact Committee Chair Peter Hofman. Each bag comes with an insert with tips on how to use the bag safely and to ensure it lasts for a long time. The insert is also available to entities in Lee that sell or give away reusable bags. 

If you have any questions, please contact Committee Chair, Peter Hofman (pdhofman12@gmail.com; 603.767.4250) or Jim Wilusz, Executive Director of the Tri-Town Health Department (jim@tritownhealth.org; 413.243.5540).

     

    COMMITTEE MEMBERS

    Name Title
    Valerie Bluhm Vice-Chair
    Peter Hofman Chair
    Monica Ryan Member Emeritus
    Joan Angelo
    Ann Sterlin Member Emeritus
    Trish Johnston
    Katherine Miller
    Linda Giancola Member Emeritus
    Ron Giancola Member Emeritus
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