Woolwich voters to decide pay-per-bag proposal
Woolwich residents weighed in on a pay-per-bag proposal for non-recyclable trash at an informational hearing Wednesday night. The final say will come at the forthcoming May 13 town meeting, which will be held at the Woolwich Central School beginning at 6 p.m.
People who turned out at the town office, about 40 or so, filled the hearing room. They were told pay-per-bag will save the community money on its trash disposal fees. Not everyone agreed. Some saw it as simply shifting the costs.
The pay-per-bag plan, also known as “pay-as-you-throw,” is article 30 on the warrant. If the measure is approved, the board will enter into a contractual agreement with WasteZero to administer it, including supplying the trash bags required of the program.
Sarah Bernier, a field representative from WasteZero, told the audience the savings come from an anticipated reduction in “tipping fees” and the sale of disposal bags. The tipping fee is the amount per ton the town pays for disposal of its non-recyclable trash. If the measure is approved residential households can expect to be charged for their non-recyclable rubbish at the rate of $2 per 30-gallon bag, and $1 per 15-gallon bag.
WasteZero would furnish the bags, which would be available for residents to purchase from local vendors, such as Shaw’s Supermarket and Cumberland Farms. A percentage of the bag receipts would go to WasteZero. The company has a similar agreement with 41 other Maine communities, including Bath. All revenues the town receives from the trash bags sales will be used to reduce the cost of its tipping fees.
Under the proposed arrangement the town would continue its present relationship with Pine Tree Waste, Inc. They will continue providing the town with curbside trash and recycling pick-up.
“If people pay to dispose of their trash, they think more about what it’s costing them,” Bernier told the audience. She said other Maine communities who are members of WasteZero have realized waste reductions of up to 40 percent.
Some residents attending the meeting were skeptical. One resident asked what happens when people who don’t want to buy the bags start dumping their trash on the roadside? Another feared people might resort to burning their trash rather than paying for it to be picked up. One man suggested the town simply do away with the curbside service altogether leaving residents to hire a private company for their trash removal and recycling.
The pay-per-bag proposal was initiated by a petition circulated by residents.
The proposal is a four-part question beginning with the adoption of bag fees and authorizing the board to enter in a contractual agreement with WasteZero. Voters will consider raising $266,550 for weekly curbside trash collection, and bi-weekly curbside recycling collection for year three of a 3-year contract extension with Pine Tree Waste, Inc. (Last year’s appropriation was $262,870.)
First Selectman David King Sr. said if the pay-per-bag proposal passes, the board has pledged that any savings the town realizes in tipping fees will be put towards reducing property taxes.
According to the board, disposal costs account for about 17 percent of the town budget. The board estimates the saving in tipping fees largely depends on how successful the program is. WasteZero’s own prediction of a 40 percent trash reduction would result in an estimated $32,560 savings in tipping fees. Predicting how many, and what size trash bags would be sold is less certain. Monies generated from bag sales would also be earmarked for tipping fees and other waste disposal costs.
Article 31 would also authorize selectmen to take a sum not to exceed $25,000 from the town’s Undesignated Fund Balance account to use, if necessary for unanticipated solid waste disposal/recycling costs.
An additional $2,000 is sought to cover the cost of the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day. This is for the collection of such items as oil based paints, fuels, solvents, insecticides, etc. Residents are required to preregister for hazardous waste collection.
In other business, copies of the Woolwich annual town report are now available at the town office. This year’s town report is dedicated to Jason A. “Skippy” Simpson. A longtime member of the town’s fire department, Simpson died unexpectedly on Feb. 12.
Related:
Family, Woolwich firefighters remember Wiscasset’s Jason ‘Skippy’ Simpson
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