Selectmen Mull 'Pay As You Throw' Program
Proponents say the new trash collection system could save the town an estimated $2 million per year reduce and reduce waste emission by 25 percent.
As the Board of Selectmen prepares the official questions for the override vote set for June 7, residents and town officials are looking into a new trash collection system, which could enable the town to save money and be more environmentally friendly.
How It Works
The “Pay As You Throw” (PAYT) program implements a residential fee for trash collection based upon household size and usage. The current waste management system is funded through a flat tax all town residents pay, regardless of how much or how little trash they actually produce.
“Unlike the present system where you put out as much as you want and pay the same, this system is about equity,” proponents of the system relayed to the Board of Selectmen at Monday night’s meeting.
The PAYT program still allows for unlimited recycling and the same rules apply for yard waste and regular trash pickup. But instead of putting trash outside their homes in barrels, the PAYT plan requires residents to put waste in different size bags that they purchase themselves at local stores. The committee behind PAYT is proposing the town use 33 and 15-gallon bags to measure residents’ waste; residents would then pay for waste collection services depending on how many bags they use.
Dollars and Sense
By eliminating trash barrels, decreasing service fees and lowering disposal costs, the program could save the town between $1.8-3.2 million per year. Supporters say the plan provides a price incentive for residents to emit less waste and encourages people recycle more.
The committee behind PAYT say the program could reduce town waste emissions by 25 percent or more, which could provide additional savings to the town by reducing waste disposal costs.
Other area towns such as Malden have already implemented the program and reduced waste emissions by as much as 50 percent.
Next Steps
The PAYT program could be part of the override package, as town officials determine the official questions for the June 7 ballot. At Monday night’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Town Manager Brian Sullivan estimated that a three-year override would break down to $320,000 per year with the PAYT option and $425,000 per year without it.
These numbers are likely to change as the Board of Selectmen researchs override options and gathers public opinion on the issue. Though town officials by and large are in favor of the measure, the Board decided to table the PAYT discussion until its next meeting. Next week the Board of Selectmen will decide whether or not to include the PAYT program with the override or to put it on the ballot as its own separate question.
"It's important to bring those two into line," said Town Manager Brian Sullivan in regards to the PAYT program and the override. "We have to put into context that part of this will not be free to residents. We need to give people the opportunity to respond to this."
Emily
9:45 am on Thursday, April 7, 2011
PAYT in theory is a great idea for all the reasons outlined in this article. When my husband and I lived in Malden we did significantly reduce our trash output. We started composting and recycled more and only put a small bag of garbage every other week, but we also saw a lot of problems with the system. Malden saw a waste reduction because residents all over the neighborhood were either piling/storing up their trash in their yards or garages, or piling it up in trucks and hauling who knows where, or like our own next door neighbor dumping it in the woods behind their house (really nice). You can imagine all the problems that these scenarios invite--rodents, bugs, etc. I'm not sure if people did not comply with PAYT because they could not afford it, or because the PAYT bags were more difficult to get which they were, or because not enough information on how PAYT works was available, or because the Malden residents never had a chance to vote on it...but there were problems. I think if Arlington does vote to go with PAYT they should offer free compost bins (or very affordable) with free classes and literature on how to compost and pick up recycling EVERY week.
Josephine Chupal
9:16 pm on Thursday, April 7, 2011
PAYT? It'll produce less waste? How? Waste is waste. We don't create it, industry does-in packaging,products, etc. There'll never be less waste unless we go to those who literally create it. I agree with Emily-people just put it elsewhere. Are we going to have Trash Police? Government control! Taxpayers already pay for Trash Removal-why should be pay twice?! Double taxation! Next? A fee for each time we flush the toilet? or pull out of our driveways? or every time use our streets? or sidewalks? I "get" it's no easy task "running a town" but must the solution always be taking more $$$ from us? AS WITH A PROP 2 1/2 OVERRIDE, VOTE NO ON PAYT Taking more money from us doesn't solve the problem of having officials not being fiscally responsible. Hope that there are no plans to build any new schools. East Arlington/Mass Ave Project-how much will that cost us-considering that all Govt. entities from Federal-Local are in the RED. Job creation? Any jobs are temporary & restricted to a small group of job fields. Stop spending money. Don't ask an already-overburdened property taxpayer to pay more. Ever go to the Supermarket, the person ahead of you-with 8 items, counts their money & has to remove 3 of the items. Home ownership for the majority of owners is: "House rich, Money poor." PLEASE, Don't contribute to the pushing of people into poverty. In this economy, it's more common that you may think or may even want to admit. Listen to the news. NO OVERRIDE$. NO PAYT!
David
9:33 pm on Friday, April 8, 2011
PAYT can be used to generate more revenue for local government as well as reduce the burden on taxpayers. It depends on how it is implemented. In all waste businesses, the need for waste is paramount to the survival of the company. Some local governments operate waste collection and processing facilities and also employ staffs in waste management jobs. In short, the more the waste there is, the better as it helps the local government to generate more revenue. There is always an added factor in the equation to include a profit before arriving on the price of each bags that taxpayers need to pay.
However, for residents who are really in to eliminate waste, it is a good way to save money that you would likely be throwing out with your waste. I use a product call NatureBin and it compost not only green waste but also meat, cheese and in fact every organic waste (including bones) from the kitchen. This product totally eliminates the collection of kitchen waste and immediately saved me money! As for garden waste, I don't compost them as the process takes too long, I use them as mulch around my garden. Mulching save me on my water bill. With both the NatureBin and mulching, I generate zero organic waste from my household. In fact, I hardly need to buy the PAYT bag at all. All other waste are recyclable which I need not pay to have them collected. So take advantage of PAYT and pay no more by doing the right thing. Don't dump your waste.
David
9:35 pm on Friday, April 8, 2011
So please don't dump your waste. The consequence of dumping will catch up with you at a later stage such as increase pests, germs and bacteria, odour, cost on health issue, greenhouse gases, fines, bad example to children and many more. Lets work together for a better environment and start saving!
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Anne
4:57 pm on Monday, April 11, 2011
There are so many better ways to achieve the twin goals of revenue generation and waste reduction. This PAYT is far too much of a project - buying special trash bags at certain stores? Really? What a hassle - and an approach that leaves the door wide open for fraud and corruption. Presumably vendors will ask to keep a cut of every bag sold - that will be money that WON'T go into town coffers. It's also an affront to the idea of a free marketplace in which we are entitled to shop with the vendors of our choosing. Furthermore, this program shifts the entire financial burden of trash collection from property owners to renters, and in this sense it is a decidedly regressive tax that will disproportionately affect the town residents with the most modest incomes. The goals are laudable but this is a terrible idea whose implementation should be scrapped for any number of better approaches.