GREENFIELD — Eager to engage the public in talking about the future of recycling in the community, Greening Greenfield hosted a discussion Monday night about the $2 million recycling grant that was recently awarded to the city.

“Meaningful involvement … is part of what Greening Greenfield feels hasn’t happened to date,” said Peg Hall, reading from the description of the Environmental Protection Agency grant.

In September, the city announced its plans to undergo a complete transformation of its recycling management system over the next three years — transitioning from a dual-stream, manual collection system to a single-stream, fully automated system. As part of that process, residents will receive a new collection bin, free of charge, in one of two sizes: 96 gallons or 35 gallons. The transition would be funded in part by a $2.04 million Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grant, with a $880,000 match required from the city, a portion of which will be contributed through in-kind services.

Some of the concerns raised Monday evening included the lack of a public process to date; where the materials would be hauled, given that the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility does not accept single-stream; and the size and accessibility challenges associated with larger bins, particularly for seniors and people with disabilities.

“We’re not out to sabotage this grant,” Hall clarified, noting her main concern was about involving the public. “We need this grant. … Public Works is in charge of water main breaks, paving, sewers and recycling, and [Public Works Director Marlo Warner II] told me that what keeps him up at night is the age of these recycling trucks and how often they break down.”

Warner, who attended the meeting at The LAVA Center on Monday evening, emphasized that “the clock starts” when the city signs and accepts the grant, thus committing to the match. At that point, the city can begin planning to solicit public input.

“I think that’s the important piece,” Warner said. “We haven’t signed off on the grant with the EPA, because there are a lot of things being talked about tonight that we want to talk to them about. We have many questions ourselves, even though we wrote the grant.”

Acknowledging that the goal of the new trucks was to cut down on idling time and be more fuel-efficient, Hall had concerns about the trade-off of needing to haul materials to locations farther than Springfield. Other possibilities include Westborough (78.3 miles), Auburn (80.8 miles) and Billerica (80.8 miles).

Hall and others considered whether dual-stream automated collection was a way of achieving the “best of both worlds.”

“I like this best-of-both-worlds idea,” said resident John Garrett, who is running for one of two vacancies as an at-large city councilor. “Has anyone talked to the EPA about whether they are flexible enough with the grant to switch over to this idea of having dual-stream?”

Warner said the city has not yet met with the EPA. The plan is for that process to begin after the new year.

“The DPW is always open to public comment,” he said. “Absolutely we’re going to have a discussion with the EPA. I can’t tell anyone in this room how much wiggle room we have or don’t have. … It’s a brand new grant, I’d like to go out on a limb they’ll work with us.”

Greenfield’s Grant Writer Athena Bradley, however, cautioned that automated dual-stream trucks are more expensive and less readily available. She added that 80% of the country uses single-stream, calling it “the future.”

According to city officials, the first year of the grant will include hiring a project assistant who will work on education and outreach. The position, which will be funded for three years, will not need to be funded further, Warner said, as the city has a recycling coordinator who could carry on elements of the role. The DPW will begin the procurement process that same year for a new fleet of automated collection vehicles and new collection bins for residents.

In the following two years, the rollout process will begin.

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.