​Andover • Athens • Baltimore • Cavendish • Chester • Grafton • Ludlow • Plymouth
​Reading • Rockingham • ​Springfield • Weathersfield • West Windsor • Windsor
Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District
is a union municipal district dedicated to providing solid waste management authority, services, and planning to its member towns. The District was chartered in 1981 and currently serves fourteen Vermont towns. The District is managed by the Mount Ascutney Regional Commission, Thomas J. Kennedy, District Manager.

Our Household Hazardous Waste Depot is open for the 2026 season.
We are open for five months, Tuesday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon through September.
We will also be open on Saturday morning, September 19, Wednesday evening, September 23, and Thursday mornings in August and September if there is interest.
Residents must make an appointment to bring their HHW to the Depot. The Depot is located at 1050 Charlestown Road in Springfield. Please click on button below.
Picture
If you need to dispose of household hazardous waste when the HHW Depot is closed for the season, visit www.rcswd.com and make an appointment to bring your material over to the Rutland facility, or go to the Environmental Depot in South Burlington.













You can drop off waste paint for free at these local retailers:
  • Bibens Ace Hardware (Springfield)
  • Sherwin-Williams (Springfield)
  • Aubuchon Ace Hardware (Ludlow and Windsor)
Cans must have labels and not be leaky or rusty - up to five gallons/visit.


The PaintCare program in Vermont:
  • Established in May 2014
  • 82 year-round drop-off sites
  • 1.2 million gallons collected (estimate)

Did you know?  76% of the latex paint collected in Vermont in 2024 was recycled back into usable paint.

What Can You Do With Your Food Scraps?

We're all out of composters, BUT...

Picture
We still have Sure-Close food scrap pails. If you would like to buy a pail, download and print out the order form and mail it in with a check. If you can't print out the form, contact us at 802-674-9235 or [email protected] - we will mail you one.

But what about bears?!
Bears can be a nuisance when they are attracted to the food scraps in a backyard composter. The Agency of Natural Resources has developed a short, helpful  management guide.
​Click here to read.
Clean Wood, Leaf and yard debris are banned from the landfill as of July 1, 2016. Read more...

Battery Recycling:

Drop off your used batteries for special recycling and save our one-and-only landfill!
Have you been throwing the used batteries from your remote controls, flashlights or toys into the trash? Stop! That hasn't been acceptable for years - since Jan. 1, 2016, when Vermont added alkaline batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9v, etc.) to the list of batteries that can be recycled for FREE.  Read more...

Member Towns:

Click on a town below to get recycling, food scrap diversion, and trash information specific to that town.

Next District Meeting:


​Thursday, October 22, 2026
​at 1:00 p.m.

​This will be a hybrid meeting. The Zoom link will be on the agenda when it is published. 
The public is welcome to attend.

Latest District News:

The Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District has received approval from the State for its recently adopted Solid Waste Implementation Plan (SWIP) 2026 - 2031.

The SWIP is a mandatory, five-year local/regional plan that guides solid waste districts on how to meet the State's requirements... [continue reading]

The Sewing Peace Project

In September 2025, thirty-four sewing machines from the District joined the Vermont shipment that made its way to New Jersey.  From there, the boxed machines will be shipped to partnering organizations overseas.  A sewing machine is considered a "job in a box." We've been recycling sewing machines since 2018! We contributed...
  • 47 in 2024
  • 56 in 2023
  • 55 in 2022
  • 70 in 2021
  • 48 in 2020
  • 43 in 2019
  • 36 in 2018
If you have a no-longer-used but working sewing machine, please consider donating it to the Sewing Peace Project. Just bring it to your local transfer station (Ludlow, Rockingham, or Springfield) and let the folks there know that you want to donate it to Sewing Peace. Thank you!

Quick Links:
Vermont's Universal Recycling Law: Vermont has solid waste legislation that focuses on recyclables and organics. It will lead to more consistent services throughout the state. To read more about this law, click here. If you would like to look at and/or use the new universal recycling symbols for recycling, food, and trash, click here.  Download the Universal Recycling timeline and/or a summary of the law.