About Us

A Little History

The Refuse District is a rare example of regional cooperation providing a needed municipal service: solid waste disposal and a wide range of recycling programs. The District was formed in 1979 with the signing of an Inter-Municipal Agreement amongst the towns of Acushnet, Dartmouth and Fairhaven with the City of New Bedford. Acushnet and Fairhaven soon dropped out, but Dartmouth had land available for a landfill, and New Bedford was willing to put up 80% of the design, engineering and construction costs to start a 70 acre landfill.

Crapo Hill Landfill opened for business in January 1995. It accepts 300 tons per day. The District is governed by a District Committee, three members from New Bedford and three members from Dartmouth.

The Crapo Hill Landfill is now in its 15th year of operation. It has been a remarkable financial success:

  • Very low disposal costs for Dartmouth and New Bedford
  • Favorable rates for commercial waste under contract
  • At least 50% longer life expected (30 years)
  • SWANA national awards 2010:  Gold Landfill Management Excellence Award
  •                                               Silver Landfill Gas Utilization Award
  • Innovative capture of landfill gases
  • Generation of 3.4 megawatts of electricity sold to the grid

The District is run by a staff of (14) fourteen, (8) eight at the Landfill, (4) four in Administration, and (2) two in Recycling. The landfill staff is all cross-trained, and handles many construction projects in-house in a very cost-effective manner. Please call Virginia Valiela, Executive Director and Hank Van Laarhoven, Director of Operations at (508)-763-5924 for additional information.

Recycling and Composting

ComposterA key component of waste management is the diversion of as much tonnage as possible into the recycling or composting streams. The District sells the New Age Composter, made entirely from recycled plastic, at half price: 24 cubic feet ($26) and 30 cubic feet ($30). The Composter can be assembled in ten minutes without any tools. All types of leaf and plant material can be composted. The District provides instructional fliers and advice.

More than half of normal household “trash” is readily recyclable. Information on a wide variety of recycling programs can be found on the Dartmouth and New Bedford pages. Thank you for doing your part to improve the environment.

 

Did You Know? 
Almost every piece of paper is recyclable, unless it is dirty or wax coated. Recycling takes a little bit of effort, but it makes a BIG difference.