TO THE EDITOR: THE NORTHFIELD NEWS ON JANUARY 13th, the Board of Supervisors of the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District made the difficult decision to close its 6 drop-off depots in our region. These facilities are located in Barre Town, Hardwick, Calais, Northfield, Cabot and Bradford. The depots will close on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the end of the regular weekend hours at each site.

Talk of their closure has given rise to many misunderstandings, and this letter is intended to help set the record straight.

The CVSWMD is not going “out of business.” We will continue to offer all our other services to member communities. Beginning July 1, 2010, we will increase direct service to all member communities by adding a series of special collection events, outreach to communities, technical assistance, and local recycling of hard-to-recycle items.

Several communities and some members of the public assume that the per capita membership fee entitles a community to a recycling depot. This is not true. In fact, we have 22 member communities and only 6 have had depots that are operated by the District, while all communities pay the same per capita rate.

Recycling will not stop in central Vermont. The CVSWMD has a mandatory recycling ordinance that requires all haulers to collect and divert specific items to recycling.

Residents will continue to have options for disposal and recycling. There are 43 haulers licensed to collect materials in the District. In addition, the communities that have hosted District depots are now considering operating those sites through contract with private haulers.

The District is not going bankrupt. We anticipate a tight financial situation through June 30, 2010 and have developed an FY 2011 budgetary approach that establishes a firm financial foundation and begins to rebuild our programming.

Our Web site – www.cvswmd.org – provides information on District programs and opportunities for reducing, reusing, and diverting materials. We are also posting information about the depot closure situation as it becomes available—see WHAT’S NEW on our home page.

DONNA BARLOW CASEY Executive Director, CVSWMD