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John Pitroff, Founder & Owner of Second Chance Composting, Wins 2023 MassRecycle Individual Award John Pitroff, founder and owner of Second Chance Composting, was awarded the 2023 Massachusetts MassRecycle Individual Award. The award is presented to an individual who deserves special recognition for contributing to recycling, reuse and/or waste reduction in Massachusetts through leadership, sharing knowledge with others, or other avenues. The 28th annual award also recognizes outstanding achievements in and contributions towards recycling, reuse, and waste reduction in Massachusetts. The award will be presented at MassRecycle’s convention on September 27th at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. “I am honored to be recognized in this way.” Pitroff said. “When we started our business in early 2022, we believed that composting was something that people cared about locally. We felt fortunate that we were the ones to be able to provide this service to the community. It wasn’t long before the idea became greater than us, and it has been a pleasure to see it grow into its own palpable entity. I can’t thank all of our partners, customers, and community members enough.” “Our drop off, pickup and hauling service offered to both residential and commercial customers has grown tremendously. Initially, we were hauling the material to and processing it at our location in Stamford, VT, which we quickly grew out of. We then partnered with Holiday Brook Farm, with an owner and operation we respect and admire. Time and expense of hauling became significant at those sites, so we worked on plans to develop a convenient and accessible site here in The Berkshires of our own.
In May 2023, Pitroff was approved by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to start composting at an industrially zoned site on Rt. 8 in Cheshire, which is currently open and in further development. He also recently received a grant which provided consulting services from RecyclingWorks, a state funded program to expand composting infrastructure in Massachusetts.
“RecyclingWorks provided the services of Bob Spencer, a composting consultant with extensive experience operating composting facilities, and he and I developed a plan for the layout and operation of my Cheshire facility,” he said.
Pitroff has completed compost operator certification programs in Vermont and Massachusetts and is the alternate commissioner for the Town of Adams Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District. Within the first year of operation, he purchased totes, a dump truck to collect food scraps and other organic matter, and a loader to mix food scraps with leaves and wood chips.
You can learn more about Second Chance Composting by visiting www.secondchancecomposting.com
Culinary Arts Program Partnership with McCann Tech The Northern Berkshire Adult Education Program of North Adams Public Schools is pleased to continue the partnership with McCann Technical High School to offer two MassSTEP Culinary Arts cohorts during the 2023-2024 year. The first cohort will begin the week of September 25th. A second cohort will be held in the winter.
This 16-week Culinary Arts program will allow participants, seeking their GED/HiSET to graduate from the program with an OSHA-10 certification, ServSafe Food Handler Certification, as well as ServSafe Allergen training. Students will have two nights of hands-on culinary training and one evening of adult education class, with workforce readiness and digital literacy skills as part of the program.
To enroll, call Annie Pecor, Program Director at 413-412-1118. Space is limited, so call today to join the first cohort of students.
For more information about the Northern Berkshire Adult Education Program: https://www.napsk12.org/page/adult-education The mission of Northern Berkshire Adult Education (NBAE) is to assist the residents of Berkshire County to achieve their academic and career goals. All of our programs and services are free of charge; funded by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
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