Board continues Valley Recycling expansion hearing

Board of Health · Meeting of September 17, 2026

Northampton's Board of Health voted 5-0 to continue a hearing on Valley Recycling's request to raise its daily solid waste limit by 150 to 200 tons, after South Street residents said truck traffic shakes their homes. Resident Robert Steward, of 316 South Street, called the noise "unbearable," while owner Rich Pitts said the facility supports "30 people that are local folks" and that road conditions, not his trucks, cause the vibration. Commissioner Meredith O'Leary relayed DPW plans to repave sections of South Street this fall and spring, but members including Dr.

Cynthia Suopis said patching utility cuts is "not the same as repaving." The board, uncertain whether its authority under the state "noisome trade" statute covers truck noise on public roads, voted to resume the hearing Oct. 15 and invited a Massachusetts Association of Health Boards representative and DPW staff to attend. Members also heard a Public Health Nursing update on fall flu and COVID-19 vaccine clinics and approved June 18 minutes 5-0.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
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Source: the Board of Health meeting of September 17, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.