Georgia, Vermont, March 14, 2023 — Northwest Vermont Solid Waste District (NWSWD), a municipal agency charged with overseeing waste management and reduction for member communities., received a grant of $47,035.06 from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. The grant is awarded annually as part of a solid waste assistance fund designed to help towns uphold the statewide ban on the disposal of household hazardous waste and organic waste in landfills. NWSWD will use the grant to help fund its household hazardous waste (HHW) management program, as well as its organic waste management program. The operating cost of these programs is expected to exceed $155,000.00 this year.

The grant will partially fund household hazardous waste collection and disposal for member communities in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties. The HHW program provides safe and proper management of more than 120,000 pounds of hazardous waste each year. The program allows households and businesses of District towns to drop off their hazardous waste year-round to the District’s HazWaste Depot located at the Georgia Recycling Facility. The program also includes the HHW collection events, which lets residents bring their hazardous waste to locations in District towns for recycling and disposal.

A portion of the funds will also be used to finance organic waste diversion for the District’s 19 member towns. The organic waste program collects food scraps from over 380 residential customers and 87 commercial accounts, such as schools, restaurants, healthcare facilities, and grocery stores. It also allows residents to bring their food scraps to any of our 6 drop-off sites, located across the counties. These food scraps are delivered to Hudak Farms, where they are combined with brush and leaves for composting. The program successfully diverts over 700 tons of food waste every year from landfill.