Comments on: Pay as You Throw Program (PAYT) Changes under Consideration

By: Kim

Kim — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:03:44 +0000

Ken: You might be pleased to know that your home improvement waste can be cut and bundled and put out with $10 bulk stickers. I use string or duct tape on the wood, carpet etc to create a manageable sized bundle, no more than 4′ long. The stickers can be purchased at Rocky’s the Stop and Shops where you buy the green trash bags.

For more information on the use of the bulk stickers, go to the town website> reports and documents link> recycling calendar.

By: Ken Roy

Ken Roy — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:37:41 +0000

It would seem to me that having an annual fee eliminates the benefit of having a PAYT program. My wife & I have one daughter. We are good about splitting our trash and recycle items. We only pay for the trash we get rid of. Larger families or people who throw away a lot of items pay more. Seems like a good plan. The Northboro trash bags are poorly made. They frequently rip at the top where the strings are. I agree it is a hassel to make sure there is always a supply of small and large bags available. It would be great to put recycle items out each week, rather than try to remember if this week is a recycle week or not. I think a way to increase revenue would be to have quarterly electronics drop off dates. Or hazardous items. You might also offer a construction or home improvement dumpster bag. It is always a challenge figuring out how many weeks it will take to get rid of project materials. By the way putting a contract out to bid keeps everybody honest. I can’t imagine how this would be viewed as negative. I’m not sure what the right answers might be, but I for one would like to keep the costs of this program as low as possible. I have no issue with paying for the trash I create. I’m not excited about the thought of an annual fee on top of the individual bag prices we already pay today.

By: NorthboroNews » Solid Waste Committee makes Recommendations

NorthboroNews » Solid Waste Committee makes Recommendations — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:45:14 +0000

[...] Link to prior post on the subject. [...]

By: Chris Woodcock

Chris Woodcock — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:45:47 +0000

I love the PAYT program in Northborough. It is a fee not a tax as some have proclaimed. As a true fee you use how much you want and pay based on the amount you use. If this is all tax (or any of it a fixed amount) the benefits and incentives of a fee disappear — you get charged no matter how much you use.

We use one small bag a week and have two recycle bins plus every other week. It really doesn’t take much to separate your trash, and recycled trash is free! This is a great program and unless you can’t be bothered to recycle, it is far cheaper than private trash haulers.

Have we looked into a franchise fee for the private haulers? They use our (Northborough’s) infrastucture to run their business. They need our roads and snow plowing. That costs all the residents in Town. I feel that my taxes are subsidizing the private haulers through our road maintenance, construction and repair.

By: Scott Mahoney

Scott Mahoney — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:40:05 +0000

Mr Fouracre:

You now state that “You were told by this rep he would be able to give your committee a firm figure per household if you would spec your needs for your trash service (i.e. bid it out).” But above you state “At the time this was proposed the cost would have been less than your new proposal to the residents with bag fees and a yearly fee.”
After investigation and a visit to the facility, It was my opinion that the single stream provider had given Holden a BELOW COST bid. Holden was the first town wide customer that they signed up. Holden was the first large single-stream customer that they had and recyclables were worth good money at that time. That is not the case now and the tide was changing when we had that meeting with them. And sir, I was present at that meeting.
Pellegrino Trucking is now paying that same facility $30/ton to handle the recyclables. Whereas a few years ago the facility was paying him to drop them off. Recyclables are a commodity and the price fluctuates daily. The Pellegrino contract expires on 6/31/2010.

By: John Fouracre

John Fouracre — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:07:16 +0000

Did you miss this SWAC open meeting (with residents in attendance) when the single stream rep discussed their system. I suggest you check the minutes of that meeting. The representative for that company compared Northborough to the town of Holden and stated a monthly fee for Holden residents was $15. per household. ($180. per year) If the average household in Northborough uses 1 small and 1 large bag a week that is $24. per month.($290. per year this includes a yearly fee) I see this difference of $110. as a savings for the town residents. There would be no trash bags and they would supply 2 trash bins. 1 for a weekly trash pick up(holds 3 large bags) and 1 for biweekly recyclables.(holds 5 large bags) You were told by this rep he would be able to give your committee a firm figure per household if you would spec your needs for your trash service (i.e. bid it out)

By: Scott Mahoney

Scott Mahoney — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:37:27 +0000

Mr Fouracre;
You have stated “At the time this was proposed (i.e. single stream) the cost would have been less than your new proposal to the residents with bag fees and a yearly fee.”
Please explain where the numbers are to support this statement and where you may have gotten them. The SWAC spoke with the staff of a single stream facility, but we never were given any numbers. So where do you get yours?

By: John Fouracre

John Fouracre — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:40:04 +0000

SO which is it, going out to bid or long contracts that will save the resident money?
Clarify for me:

Clarification
As chairman of the Board of Selectman and self appointed chairman of the study committee and you don’t know that when you bid, you are bidding for the contract to do the job. The bid could be for a set job or a contract to keep a job for a period of time ( 1, 2 , 3 or more years ). The specs can very. The single stream proposal to the study committee had up front cost if they had to bid on a 3 year contract. A longer contract would have eliminated those costs. There would be no trash bags and they would supply 2 trash bins. 1 for a weekly trash pick up and 1 for a biweekly recyclables. At the time this was proposed the cost would have been less than your new proposal to the residents with bag fees and a yearly fee. As for bidding, it could attract other companies that are more modernized and more efficient in their operation which could allow them to come in at a lower price than what we now pay. I believe it is called competition. To the residents of Northborough, I urge you to call your Board of Selectman and request them to put it out to bid.
At the very least, it could reduce the cost of trash pick up.

By: Fran Bakstran

Fran Bakstran — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:04:05 +0000

I would like to thank everyone who has posted comments on this subject. I appreciate differing views as it helps to formulate a solution.
We will never please everyone and the goal is to minimize the negative impact the change in the PAYT program will have on the majority of particpants.
thanks again.

By: Betty Tetreault

Betty Tetreault — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:43:56 +0000

Put out to Bid??? The town might be able to get a trash hauler that would be cheaper, but the level of service would not be the same. Would it be wise to sacrifice the level of service in an effort to save a few dollars? It can actually can cost MORE if a trash hauler does not “follow the rules” As a member of the Recycle Committee, I receive some of the complaint phone calls. A common one, right after Pellegrino took over our trash program was, “The trash man did not take all my trash…he only took what was in the green bag”The practice in that entire neighborhood was to fill a barrel, and put one small green bag on top. The previous trash hauler took it all!! Pellegrino puts out stickers for those who do not follow the rules that are written on the card that goes to all residents. He has trained people HOW to dispose of their recycles and trash properly. Is there really any reason that it should be ‘put out to Bid’? If it is not broken, dont fix it.