HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-02-14 Solid Waste Advisory Committee MinutesSOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
February 14, 1996 - Berger Room, Town Hall Annex
Present Members: Bob Brown, Kay Clark, Jean Krogh, Anne Mark, Martha Moore, Lynda Zarrow.
Associate Member: Carol Nelson. Staff: Ted McIntire, Ruth Clay.
The meeting was called to order by Bob Brown at 7:35 p.m. The January minutes were approved with
minor corrections.
Discussion of Unit Pricing:
Anne called our Select Board liaison, Camille Anthony, to let her know that the subcommittee is working
on unit pricing. Camille asked if there are towns not using unit pricing which, because of no town trash or
recycling collection, give tax breaks to apartment and condo owners. Anne was not able to get this
information from Jeff Beckwith at Mass Municipal because the information does not seem to be available.
However, Jeff wondered if such tax breaks might be illegal. To get this information directly from towns,
Ted suggested sending out a form questionnaire to town administrators; he offered his department's
services in calling the towns.
Would hauling from condos set a bad precedent? Would hauling from apartments, which are businesses,
prompt downtown businesses to ask for the same services?
There is no regulation in town mandating recycling. Ted doesn't think we can require recycling. A number
of communities are talking about making recycling mandatory, though enforcement is an issue. Unit
pricing would encourage more people to be in compliance with the state recycling mandate.
The committee consensus appears to be to go with stickers rather than bags. Anne spoke with Joe Lambert
about the state grant for stickers; Joe didn't know how much money would be available. Towns could go
directly to the sticker company the state has a contract with. Stickers would be placed on the top item in a
barrel or on a bag or on a single large item outside a bag or barrel.
There was lengthy discussion of the pros and cons of providing one free sticker per week per household.
Though this would make a lot of sense in some ways, in other ways it could cause complications, especially
in the case of two- or three-family houses.
Kay provided a detailed financial analysis of a pay-as-you-throw system in Reading, with an estimate of
savings to the town. The subcommittee, working with Kay's figures, came up with a tentative suggestion
of a $.65 -1.00 per sticker fee.
The Solid Waste Advisory Committee recognized the need for a great deal of education to town groups and
residents about the benefits of and need for unit pricing. We are scheduled to present our findings and
suggestions to the Board of Selectpeople on March 2e. At that time we will ask for the Board's approval
for our educating the town about unit pricing, and we will present unit pricing options to the Board.
Reports and Comments:
• Button batteries sold these days no longer need to be recycled. In another year or so, we will no longer
need to collect them.
• Anne attended the Earth Day conference on January 20'` and found it inspiring. Perhaps a group of
Reading residents outside SWAC could get excited about Earth Day and plan something. We could
use April to provide public education about unit pricing (provided the Board approves this). Six
months or so lead time could give residents time to get rid of excess stuff.
• Bob passed out materials for the library circulation box.
• The next NSRRC meeting is March 21S`
• Bob reported on the de-inking plant tour and noted that there was no chlorine odor.
• Upcoming tours and meetings were discussed.
Drop-off location for recyclables: What can apartment- and condo-dwellers do with their recyclables?
Ideas were suggested: a summer drop-off at the compost area; weekend drop-off at the DPW garage.
There would be recycling container rental costs as well as hauling costs. Trying to get a hauler to pick up
recyclables at condos and apartments would be cheaper than setting up a recycling center. SWAC made no
decisions on this issue; we will discuss it again at a future meeting. This may be a moot issue if the Board
of Selectpeople votes to include condos in town recycling collection.
Local recycling phone line: The committee suggested keeping this phone line until the Board of
Selectpeople votes on unit pricing. The phone line would be useful for answering residents' questions if
unit pricing is implemented. If there will be no unit pricing at this time, we will discontinue the phone line,
as it gets little use and the message is old.
We also talked about the E-call statewide system and decided that a 90-second message would not be long
enough for our needs.
Disposal and Recycling Contracts: Ted showed figures comparing disposal costs for RESCO, Waste
Management, and Ogden Haverhill Assoc. Waste Management is currently hauling our trash because we
have no contract. The town is now seeking a contract with Waste Management. Their prices are better,
and their proposal is better than it was. There would be no extra charges for lowered tonnage or adding
condos. The recycling cost will change as we increase recycling rates. Waste Management will try to go to
a waste-to-energy facility rather than a landfill.
1996 Recycling Report Card: The committee discussed Ted's data for the report card. The report card
will probably come out in March.
Other old business: Lynda's response to Ann McGovern is in the library box.
Jean moved to adjourn the meeting; Lynda seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.
Submitted by Jean Krogh