Hampshire County government was abolished in 1999, so no county collects trash. Each community runs its own: Northampton offers curbside pay-as-you-throw, Amherst residents subscribe to private haulers, and Belchertown and Ware use sticker transfer stations.
There is no county collection anywhere in Hampshire County; the county government was abolished in 1999 and Massachusetts counties hold no waste authority. Northampton's DPW runs curbside pickup on a fixed weekly route using the city's official pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) bags set out by 7:00 AM. Amherst provides no municipal pickup at all, so residents contract a private hauler directly. Easthampton and South Hadley operate their own curbside programs. Belchertown and Ware instead run transfer stations that require an annual sticker. Local boards of health license haulers and set collection rules under MGL c.111 §31.
Setting out trash with no contracted hauler, or dumping instead of using a licensed service or transfer station, draws a board of health citation. State sanitary code fines reach $500 per day.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Belchertown, MA
Belchertown requires an open-burning permit from the Fire Department during the state-authorized window of January 15 to May 1. Permits cost $20 for the seas...
Hampshire County, MA
No Hampshire County or state law limits holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays. Towns rarely regulate seasonal decorations, and where a bylaw touches ...
Hampshire County, MA
No Hampshire County rule governs garage-sale signs; towns handle them through local sign bylaws. A sign on your own lawn is generally fine, but one staked in...
Hampshire County, MA
Towns, not Hampshire County, regulate signs through zoning bylaws under MGL c.40A. Since Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015), a bylaw must stay content-neutral: N...
Hampshire County, MA
Rental registration is a town power, not a county one, and Hampshire County has no government. Amherst requires every landlord to hold an annual rental permi...
Hampshire County, MA
Massachusetts has no just-cause eviction law, and no Hampshire County town can add one. But the state is strongly tenant-protective: a security deposit is ca...
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