Salem solid waste committee will search options

Salem Editor — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:56:00 GMT

BY DERRICK PERKINS

Engaging in a little trash talk over the next year could cut down on transfer station costs while providing a boost to the town’s recycling numbers, according to public works officials.

With selectmen preparing to appoint six residents to a new nine-member Municipal Solid Waste Committee in the next several months, Department of Public Works Director Rick Russell said the group will explore every alternative available to the town’s current waste and recycling programs.

“There are always people asking why don’t we have this or why don’t we do that, and we figured it’s time to start looking into the other options out there,” Russell said. “We’re going to look at everything.”

That could mean a shift from the town’s current waste program, which is funded directly by the town’s taxpayers, to another type of waste management program. Russell said that could include a “pay-as-you-go” program or an incentive-based program and could mean implementing a town-wide system of curbside trash pickup.

Under a pay-as-you-go program Russell said residents using the town’s transfer station to would be required to purchase special trash bags before disposing of their waste, also known as a “bag-and-tag” program. An incentive-based program would encourage residents to recycle more often, by offering coupons or other rewards to residents that meet a set monthly goal.

Either option could be put into place if the committee recommended turning to a townwide curbside pickup program, Russell said, but he stressed that there was any number of other variations the town could implement.

“The whole way it’s set up right now, it’s tax based. Everybody is paying for it. Some people don’t even use it and they’re paying for it,” he said.

“We’ll look at the operation that we have now and (see) how we can improve on it.”

Russell is also hopeful the committee will find a way to increase the town’s recycling numbers, which he said have settled in at roughly 15 percent after hitting a high of 18 percent in January. Officials saw a steady increase in recycling since September, when the town switched to the single- stream method, but Russell said the figure should be closer to 30 percent.

Not only does increasing recycling make sense for the environment, but it saves the town money in the long run, Russell said. Casella Waste Systems currently charges the town $81 for each ton of trash hauled from the transfer station.

By comparison, a ton of recyclables costs the town $26. Every ton of recyclable material removed from the trash stream saves the town $55, according to Russell.

“One of (my) goals is going to get the recycling up and that’s just me personally ... We’re recycling and there are savings and where there aresavings, you have got to put the extra effort into it,” Russell said. “We have got a lot of work to do ... there are different ways out there. What works with one community doesn’t work in another.”

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Salem solid waste committee will search options