By summer 2014, Alna could be paying less than half what it pays now to take its trash to the Wiscasset Transfer Station.

That's if the station goes pay-as-you-throw, Wiscasset Town Manager Laurie Smith told Alna selectmen May 2. The change would be in place January 2014, midway through the contract year, keeping the first-year’s savings to about $10,000 for Alna, Smith said.

Alna’s yearly tab of approximately $70,000 would decrease to about $60,000 for the contract year July 2013 to June 2014, Smith said. But the contract that starts July 2014 could come down to about $30,000, she said.

Wiscasset voters will consider pay-as-you-throw at the polls June 11. If the proposal fails, Alna’s next contract would be about flat with the one that ends next month, Smith said.

Selectmen and other residents had questions, but little criticism, regarding the proposed change.

First Selectman David Abbott said he had been concerned about the contract amount since residents would also have to pay for each bag of trash. But after listening to Smith and Transfer Station Superintendent Ron Lear, he could see how it made sense, he said.

It will encourage recycling, because people will want to reduce their trash, Abbott said.

It will also encourage roadside dumping, however, Alna Road Commissioner Jeff Verney said. “You’ll see probably a lot more trash in Alna, I think,” he said.

“There might be a slight increase in the beginning, but it’s not what people imagine,” Smith said about what other towns experience after going pay-as-you-throw.

Trash would go in Wiscasset's $2, 33-gallon bags or its $1.25, 15-gallon bags; Wiscasset will sell the bags in rolls of 10 that Alna residents could also buy in their own town, Wiscasset officials said.

Alna resident Roger Whitney pointed out that the town has no vote in the pay-as-you throw plan.

Alna has its say every year by deciding whether or not to approve the transfer station contract, Wiscasset officials said.

Pay-as-you-throw could help Wiscasset address its current budget crunch, from factors including taxes Mason Station owes the town, Smith said.

In addition, tipping fees may rise as the Penobscot Energy Recovery Company approaches the end of its contract with Bangor Hydro in 2018, Lear said.

“I think we're going to be looking at a huge jump in tipping fees … So I think we need to reduce what we're sending. Pay-as-you-throw will do that,” Lear said.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or sjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com.