Solid waste committee presents options
By Emily Devlin Contributing Writer

Northborough - Solid waste services could be reworked in the town of Northborough during the coming years.

On Sept. 29, the Solid Waste Advisory Committee presented the Board of Selectmen with an analysis and recommendations pertaining to the pick-up and disposal of solid waste in Northborough.

The committee was formed in September 2007, in response to a lag in recycling and curbside pick-up revenues. The current 20-year contract with Wheelabrator Millbury Inc., a wasteto energy facility in Millbury that incinerates the town's trash, became eff ective Jan. 1, 2008. With the option to terminate that contract in 2017, a report was deemed necessary to determine what some viable options for the future include.

The report recommends the town use totes for curbside pick-up, rather than the pay-asyou throw garbage bags that are now used.

According to the report, an estimated 70 percent of the cost of waste disposal in Northborough would be covered by bag fees, as residents have to purchase designated trash bags in order to use the town service. The remaining 30 percent would be funded through taxation.

However, complaints about the inconvenience of buying the bags, as well as their alleged poor quality, are likely responsible for a shift in where Northborough residents will send both their trash and recyclables.

Under the pay-as-you-throw system, the more trash a household generates, the more it costs the resident. Town officials view it as an incentive to increase recycling rates.

The amount of solid waste removed through the public system has decreased dramatically over the last five years, with about 5,124 tons removed in 2002, down to 2,321 tons so far in 2008.

With more and more residents deciding to use private trash removal companies, paying for the current contracts for publish trash removal are becoming problematic.

According to Diane Wackell, assistant to the town coordinator and Board of Selectmen, no action was taken at last week's meeting, although some options for making over the current system were ruled out, while others were reviewed favorably by the eight members of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee.

The elimination of a public trash removal system was deemed implausible because the majority of Northborough's 4,900 households still use it. And the costs and environmental concerns make the creation of a public landfill in Northborough "all but impossible," according to the report.

The committee also reported that it finds it appropriate to seek changes to the pay-as-youthrow system because of the concerns of some residents.

More favorable options include the construction of a new transfer station in Northborough and switching to the use of totes for curbside pick-up, rather than designated garbage bags.

Although the report concedes that Northborough would incur significant costs to build a transfer station, it also highlights the positive points involved in bringing one to town, including environmental impact and greater flexibility for residents when disposing trash.

The committee seemed to view totes, which are large trash barrels, as a more durable option for holding trash, which might make residents more likely to use the public system. The report uses the town of Holden as an example. Holden charges residents monthly for the use of totes, based on their size.

To read the Solid Waste Advisory Committee's full report, go to www.town.northborough. ma.us/.