Monday Morning Trash Talk

I do try to stay on top of the what goes on here in town, especially about things that I write about.  Sometimes things get by me when they change, and boy, do I feel silly.

I felt silly this past week.

I received an email from Linda Cocalis, of the Board of Health, and in the email she mentioned that the regulations concerning private trash haulers charging residents for picking up their households recyclables had changed, and that charging a fee for this service was now no longer allowed.

I let a "booyah", and a "whoops" slip out of my mouth at the same time I was reading the email.

I had no idea, and I had written about this conundrum in January 2010.  How'd I miss this?

Thank you for the update, Linda.

Now, this brings me to the current topic at the BOH, the Pay As You Throw (PAYT) trash program.  The program would charge $1.00 for a 33 gallon trash bag, and $ .50 for a 15 gallon trash bag.  Sudbury charges twice as much for a 30 gallon bag, and for a 15 gallon bag.  The money received would go directly to a fund to cap the last cell at the landfill when it is needed in the future.

Sounds like a great example of planning for the future.

If the program is accepted, users of Recycling Center will have to use the new trash bags in order to drop trash off at the Center.  An average size family will use one 33 gallon per week, since the incentive to recycle trash will be linked directly to saving money.

More trash recycled, the less trash in the bag.  Simple.

Two public meeting have been held by the BOH to explore the matter, and if needed, another meeting will be held in order to hear from as many residents as possible.  The BOH has made it clear that they do want feedback from the community.  If you would like to offer your own feelings about the Pay As You Throw Program, you can email Board of Health agent, Alyssa Rusiecki at arusiecki@town.sturbridge.ma.us.

Now, the next step is to incorporate this program to those of us that have curbside pickup. A little more work on our part, but could be a lot less costly, and the the benefits of recycling more waste would be great.  This one good take awhile, but we should start thinking seriously about setting a goal of including the entire town in the PAYT program.