HAMILTON — There was a time when recycling wasn't about saving the planet. It was about makin' bacon.

Local pig farmers used to patrol the streets once or even several times a week, collecting table scraps and other garbage they fed to their swine.

Pig herds are about as common locally as hens' teeth today, but a group of local environmentalists is looking to revive an old tradition and put organic waste to better use.

Gretel Clark, a member of Hamilton's Recycling Committee, met with selectmen recently to talk about the success of a pilot program the committee conducted this winter.

Seventy-four volunteer families collected all their organic waste each week in special pails, which were collected on trash day and hauled to Brick Ends Farm on Highland Street. There it was turned into organic compost and sold, or in some instances, given away.

Clark said it may be the first such pilot program in the state, and the committee would like to see it not only continued, but expanded. The volunteers were enthusiastic about the experience, she said, to the point they said they'd be willing to resume the program even if they had to pay for it.

"Some of the families said they were going through withdrawal symptoms when it was over," Clark said.

Each family got a 2-gallon container to hold daily waste. The list of acceptable items was extensive: kitchen scraps, coffee grounds and filter paper, meat, bones, dairy products, pastries, plants and soil, and cooked food, even dryer and vacuum lint.

"If it was organic, it went in," Clark said.

Most homeowners who have their own compost piles never put animal by-products in them because they take so long to decompose, but that's not a problem at Brick Ends Farm, Clark said.

"Those piles cook, and they cook just about anything."

When the small containers were full, they were emptied into 13-gallon, self-sealing, flip-top bins on wheels. Those were put out every week on residents' regular trash days.

No need to worry about attracting vermin with the bins, Clark said. "Nothing gets into those pails."

What's the advantage for the town?

It pays Hiltz Disposal a contracted fee to come into town every week and pick up trash. On top of that, it pays a $69.50 "tipping fee" for every ton of trash collected.

Clark said the average family in Hamilton generates 27 pounds of trash each week, and pilot program participants eliminated 10 pounds of that by having it composted, saving the town about 37 percent.

There was an added bonus for participants. Peter Britton, owner of Brick End Farms, offered them free compost. He also offers free compost to any local commercial farmer who asks for it.

David Carey, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, said the program sounds like a good idea, but will meet some resistance.

"I'm sure a lot of people don't want the hassle of it," he said.

Clark said the town would be the first in the state to adopt a composting policy, and the Department of Environmental Protection is "agog" over the possibility it might be broadened.

Ed Coletta, a spokesman for the DEP, said the agency is looking into any grants it might be able to provide to get a project running.

"We certainly support their effort," Coletta said.

The Recycling Committee has been around only a few years, but has already notched one victory. Since a new, tougher limit was placed on free weekly trash pickup a year ago, the town has saved $70,000 on tipping fees.

Staff writer Steve Landwehr can be reached at 978-338-2660 or by e-mail at slandwehr@salemnews.com.