Amherst Trash & Recycling Requirements

Local regulations require all residents, businesses, multifamily property owners, managers, or tenants in Amherst to maintain a method of both trash disposal and recycling.

Amherst Board of Health Regulations for Refuse Collection and Mandatory Recycling.

Massachusetts Waste Bans

Massachusetts currently bans several materials from disposal

: Waste Bans

Single Use Plastic Bag Ban

Amherst Town Meeting members passed a Single Use Plastic Bag Prohibition Bylaw on May 2, 2016 which went into effect on January 1, 2017. The ban prohibits restaurants and retail establishments from using thin film single-use plastic bags with a thickness of 3 mils (thousandths of an inch) or less in exchange for other recyclable or multiple use bags.  Town staff completed a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to assist business and restaurant owners with this transition.

​​Amherst Foam Ban

On November 19, 2012 the Town of Amherst Massachusetts passed a bylaw prohibiting food establishments and Town facility users from dispensing prepared foods to customers in disposable food service containers made from expanded polystyrene (EPS commonly referred to as Styrofoam®), effective January 1, 2014.   The by-law was proposed by the Town's Recycling and Refuse Management Committee, in collaboration with The Amherst League of Women Voters, and The Hitchcock Center for the Environment.  Copy of bylaw