The Solid Waste and Recycling Advisory Committee was established on 4 December 2000. The committee works with the Highway Department in developing a program for solid waste and recycling collection services through 2005. At the end of 2002, the committee received a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (Mass DEP) to hire a consultant to help complete a cost/benefit analysis of Pay as You Throw (PAYT) in Belmont. The cost/benefit analysis followed by a presentation to the Selectmen was the main focus of the committee in 2003.
In the beginning of 2003, the committee met with the DEP consultant (Carolyn Dann) in addition to DEP’s Municipal Recycling Liaison to come up with a plan on how to best use the grant. The committee also met with the Selectmen to tell them of the plan to perform a cost/benefit analysis of PAYT in Belmont. The main areas of study included the following:
· Provide help with assumptions on the amount and variability of trash per household.
· Determine how much trash is typically placed in a PAYT trash bag.
· Provide financial analysis before and after the current NESWC expires (25 September 2005).
· Calculate the presumed cost of an increase in recycling.
· Determine if there are any reduced costs for a decrease in solid waste.
· Help understand the difference between including one trash barrel as part of the property tax (with a fee for additional bags/barrels), vs. a fee for all trash collected.
· Understand the options for bulky items, white goods and CRTs.
· Understand the differences between using bags, stickers, or tagged barrels.
· Help put together a presentation for the Selectmen on the committee’s findings.
During the spring, the committee began reviewing some of the early findings from the consultant. The committee reviewed the PAYT programs in the Towns of Gloucester, Milton and North Attleboro, all of which have curbside recycling and populations similar in size to Belmont. On average the households put out 1 bag per week, with an average range of 22-39 pounds of trash per week. These towns charged a range of .50 cents to two dollars a bag mainly sold through local retailers.
The Committee had many lengthy discussions on the various PAYT options. Areas of contention included size of barrels and using tags/stickers vs. bags. The main focus was on how to make a program as simple as possible. There was a strong sentiment among the committee not use to special bags, since this would force some people to add additional trash to the waste stream. The opposing view was that using specially designed bags make enforcement and collection easier. During this time period, the Committee also met with the head of the recycling program in Concord to learn more about her PAYT program.
Another area of study involved manipulating a spreadsheet to do the financial analysis on the various options. One finding was that there was no significant cost difference before or after the NESWC contract expires. The marginal disposal cost is approximately $75/ton during NESWC and $65/ton after. Further the committee learned that the cost of recycling would increase by approximately 55,000 dollars with a PAYT program. This is due to the additional tons of recycled items that are collected when a PAYT program is implemented which could result in having some of the trucks fill up faster. Also, the hauler indicated that there would be no corresponding decrease in Solid Waste collection costs, since the hauler still has to visit every household. The committee realized the Selectmen and/or Town Meeting
would have to decide if a PAYT program should be revenue neutral or not. If a program generated revenue, the downside is that the PAYT fees could not be deducted from federal income tax.
The committee agreed to the following goals for a PAYT program:
· It should be equitable.
· The program should increase recycling.
· The program should not cost the Town additional money.
· The same level of services must be maintained.
· The program should be friendly to the environment.
The committee made an initial presentation to the Board of Selectmen in June about the above mentioned findings. At that time the Committee recommended a PAYT program for Belmont in which every household would have to pay a $1.50 to $2.00 fee for each bag/barrel of trash collected. This type of program would generate approximately 700-900 thousands of dollars from the tag fees. This figure includes the approximately $125,000 savings in disposal costs, and the additional costs for publicity, enforcement and a PAYT coordinator at about $95,000, plus another $55,000 for the increased recycling costs.
Over the summer, based on some negative feedback from the public, the committee revisited its recommendation and voted to support a PAYT program that included the collection of one barrel of trash per week per household paid for by taxes, with additional trash requiring a fee. The committee also recommended that there should be a fee for White Goods, CRTs and bulky items. The committee’s research indicated that this type of program would be revenue-neutral.
In the fall, the committee met with Will Brownsberger from the Board of Selectmen to review the committee’s progress on PAYT. At that meeting concerns were raised about adding additional fees when the residents are already faced with three ten percent tax increases in three years. The negative feedback from residents was brought up, in addition to general concerns about changing the current Solid Waste and Recycling program. Finally the Committee was asked to see if there were towns that had stable curbside recycling programs, and had implemented a PAYT program at the same time that an override was recently passed.
Other work completed by the committee over the year includes writing a weekly recycling tips column in the Belmont Citizen’s Herald, and participating in the selling of compost bins during Town Day.
Respectfully submitted,
Ken Siskind, Chairman
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