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Home My WebLink About1992-12-09 Solid Waste Advisory Committee Minutes c' Solid Waste Advisory Committee s ICS's 9 December 1992 This meeting was not posted, so no votes could be taken; it consisted of discussion uiuy. Present at the meeting were committee members Bob Brown, Linda King, Anne Mari, and Sadly Sabo; Board of Selectmen liaison George Hines; and guest (from RRP) Indira Balkissoon Bob reported that PTI America took the plastics that had been collected in October and iVovem*,. PTI accepts all but #4 plastics. Donations at the November collection were $385. Thedriver noted that Reading had the best sorting and storage area that he'd seen for plastics. At its last meeting Reading Recycles Plastics members discussed the trash and recycling contract They would like to make a presentation to the SWAC about the RFP for this :contract. Linda noted that Sharon Iovanni had written an extensive article in the Suburban News about the bulk mail reduction project. Getting the data base of vendor names typed and organized has been a bigger job than anticipated, but is underway. (Residents have turned in labels for catalogues from about 500 different vendors.) The first batch of labels will be sent to vendors after Christmas. Concerning newspaper articles: Trish has turned in an article about trash reduction. Anne mentioned the National Kidney Foundation's programs for collecting refrigerators/freezers/air conditioners, used vehicles, and furs and suggested writing a short notice about them. Sally reported that she had given her presentation at Town Meeting to update members on solid waste issues: the fact that the trash/recycling contracts are up for renewal and that the committee will be making recommendations concerning the RFP; the status of the North Shore materials recovery facility (MRF) project; and the committee's continuing interest in per-bag fees for trash collection. The per-capita entry fee for Reading to join the MRF consortium was not brought up at Town Meeting; FinCom had not recommended it, suggesting that it could wait until the spring. The committee members talked with Board of Selectmen liaison George Hines to gota sense of how the selectmen view certain solid waste issues, how the i c6 ittee can best adv se`the Board, and how communication between the committee: and the Board can be enhanced.,,.george indicated that the committee can certainly take the initiative in talking with the Board even about issues they .haven't asked about and suggested that the committee should have time on the B'oard's agenda at least twice a year (preferably quarterly). He feels that privatization of the trash system, is still a viable option, but the Board hasn't discussed it recently. He also feels that the Boar f.supports.the MRF concept. He will lodk`into the current RESCO situation and repo -to the committee about it. His sense is that fundamentally the Board members support the idea of a user-based fee for trash, because it is fair (generators of small-amounts of trash don't subsidize generators of large amounts) and supports recycling. Reasons for not laving been able to institute such a fee include resistance;. to change, public opinion, and the other side of the fairness issue (under a user-based sytem, larger, families would probably see their fees go up). George mentioned several questionsthe Board would probably want to address in considering user-based rates again. What has the acceptance level been in other communities that have instituted user-based fees? Has there been illegal dumping? ;Has the system been circumvented, and if so, how? Does the system'~pa~ for itself? To overcome adverse public. opniion and resistance to change, George noted that public education on user-based trash fee =.W,'d fi~ e useful in advance of any BOS discussion or vote -it;was suggested at d *llzi . public forum (with panelists pro and con) be held, perhaps iz~ ?e context of a BOS t&ting. Committee members were enthusiastic about this idea & discussed pusuing.it. . r T ~ ✓ AUESTIONAIR FOR VENDORS ;the Co,T,pa,;y fer residentiai tra3 if W pickup(1 to `s;,ily unitsYes 1,3,5,6 No 4 idential recycling ser:icas? Yes 1,3,4,5 No What material does the ComF,any collect for recycling? Yes Yes Curbside Drop-off Paper Glass Newspaper 1,3,4,5 1,3,6 Clear Magazines 1 Brown Corragated I 1,5,6 Green Paperboard White ;aver i,4 1 Plastic Coc.;:ater pager 1,4 1 Narrow-neck Aluminum bottles Cans 1,3,4,5 1,3,6 Tubs and Jars Tinfoil, pie What &s? plates, etc. 3 SteEi(tin) Cans 1,3,4,5 1,3,6 Other Other types of steel(tin) con- tainers such as CLOVE tins 1,3,4 "she company does not pick up one of the ab :e itz s f:r recycling, would it filling t=~ :.;vestigate doing so' Yes Does the company ::ollect :-ufbside recyclables weekly? every other wee 1,3,4,5 If the company collects recyclables curbside, what sort of container ,,,ust U2y 1,30.,5 Bin, Commingled Multiple bins, sortad by households: Bag. Commingled Does the comppany have a program for picki:.y up and disposing of white goods (including remov_: of CFCs according to state regulations)? Nv 1,5,6 Yes, curbside pickup 3 but CFCs must be removed Yes, Containerized collection at Drop-off site Does the company pick up bulk items (sofas, mattresses,etc.)? 1,3,5,6 ','e,, cu;13side pickup Yes, Containerized collection at Drop-off, site Does the company offer puplic education programs (for adults and/or students) or materials for ;promoting the recycling program. 1,5,6 Du any of the company's customers have a per-bag fee for collection of trash and/or recyclables? Yes 1,3 No 5,6 Curbside Drop-off 1, 4,J 1,6 1,4,5 1 1,4,5 1,6 1,4,5 1 1&2 Communities » The communities surveyed were Acton, Brookline, Swampscott, Weymouth, Bedford, Belmont, Chelmsford, Cambridge, Framingham, Dedham, Newton (plus four towns that Sally talked to); » RFPs or other materials are available from Chelmsford, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Cambridge, Framingham, Belmont, Brookline, and Bedford. (I believe Susan Cohen has turned the last two in to Ted separately.) » The major finding was that of these 11 towns, 10 have plastics collected curbside. Some collect #1,2 bottles only; others collect all #1,2 plastics. Chelmsford collects only certain types of #2. Laidlaw, BFI, Waste Mgt. all collect plastics curbside. (Sally reported this to be the major finding from her survey of four additional towns, as well.) Brookline/Laidlaw/# 1,2 Weymouth/Laidlaw/#1,2 bottles Swampscott/Waste Mgt./#1,2 bottles Belmont/Laidlaw/#1,2 bottles Cambridge/Laidlaw/# 1,2 Dedham/Laidlaw/#1,2 Bedford/BFI/#1,2 Chelmsford/Waste Mgt. /#2 milk, water, detergent Framingham/BFI/#1,2 Newton/Laidlaw/#1,2 » With respect to different kinds of paper • Five of these communities have magazines collected curbside. Brookline/Laidlaw Weymouth/Laidlaw Bedford/BFI Cambridge/Laidlaw Newton/Laidlaw Three communities have corrugated collected curbside. Weymouth/Laidlaw Bedford/BFI Newton/Laidlaw (starting in spring 1993) • All types of paper (newspaper, magazines, corrugated, paperboard, white, computer) are collected in Weymouth by Laidlaw. • All types of paper except paperboard are collected in Bedford by BFI. • All types of paper except white and computer will be collected in Newton by Laidlaw starting in spring 1993. • Laidlaw has a program of collecting corrugated and paperboard with compostable yard wastes. With respect to white goods • Swampscott: collected through Turner Salvage, which also deals with removal of toxics • Weymouth: collected through BFI, which also deals with removal of toxics • Bedford: once/week curbside pickup (apparently through Laidlaw); also have containerized pickup at dropoff location • Chelmsford: householders must contract privately for pickup; Waste Management will pick up by appointment • Cambridge: has own pickup of white goods (residents must buy a sticker--$15 except $10 for senior citizens--and make appointment for pickup). White goods are trucked to Waste Management yard and they dispose of them by contract. Refrigerators/freezers/ air conditioners must go in a separate truck with no compacting unit and be deposited in a special area in the yard. • Framingham: has own pickup on regular schedule. Householders must buy tags: $12 large item, $6 small item ($20 maximum). Exceptions: air conditioners are $25, refrigerators/freezers $30 because they are sent to a certified recycler for removal of freon. • Dedham: has a major appliance collection clause in its trash collection contract. Major appliances are collected every 3 months. Refrigerators are picked up and handled separately. • Newton: appliances are picked up curbside by contract between junk hauler and town (separate from trash hauling contract) Susan Cohen strongly recommends talking with Bedford to get perspective on whether recyclables should be sorted at curb (as they used to do) or at recycling facility/MRF (as they now do). She says the person she talked to has an excellent understanding of how to work with vendors and get the best price. (She believes the person she talked to was the contact on our list: Richard Warrington, DPW Director, 275-1111.)