CHICOPEE, Mass. - Anthony LaPlant has seen the evidence of illegal dumping in Chicopee. 

It’s a big reason the City of Chicopee is starting its new Bulk Service program to help community members dispose of waste properly.

“Keep America clean,” LaPlant, a Chicopee resident, said. “You know, you got creatures like (squirrels) that I feed and there's tires and there's beds and there's this and there's that thrown into the park.”

The city had a bulk service program around a decade ago for seniors, but it was discontinued.

Superintendent of the Department of Public Works, Elizabette Batista, said Chicopee residents have struggled to get rid of bigger items like mattresses, refrigerators, and ovens since landfills closed a few years ago, and she's hoping the new online program will help keep the city clean.

“The system is web-based so you'll have the opportunity to go on there and set up an account, fill out the permit, pay for the items, schedule the items,” Batista said. “And then on the day that they're scheduled, residents will have to put them out and we'll have staff that will go pick up the items that day.” 

Batista says the bulk service program will be convenient and the cost people pay will be a lot less than the fines for illegal dumping.

It already appears there’s local interest.

"If it's a big item, if you don't have a truck or something you have to get somebody to get a truck and that runs into time and money also, so this will be a lot easier,” Chicopee resident Anita Wegrzyn said.

Registration is available on the city’s website, giving residents an opportunity to get a head start on the service before it launches next month.