By Pat Desmond
Times Staff
7/9/09
Trash sticker revenue has been declining for the past four years. And reports of unstickered trash being picked up by the town’s contractor have led to the beginning of a crackdown.
Town Administrator Kevin Mearn told Selectmen July 6 that DPW crews spent four days last week traveling through the town looking for trash without the trash stickers on sidewalks. They found 638 violations at a total of 350 homes.
“In four days, at $3 a sticker, that means we are losing $1,900,” Mearn said.
Selectman Kathy Fagan pointed out the violations that were found did not include overweight trash – which is created by placing trash bags on top of a barrel.
Under the contract with Waste Management Inc., the trash collection company, the town has the right to collect $200 from the company for each violation. But this past week, the crews from Waste Management left about 600 bags of trash on the sidewalks with yellow stickers that declare the trash fee was not paid.
“This speaks volumes about the bags,” said Selectman Chairman John Shields. “The volume has been through the roof and we weren’t seeing the revenue.” He said that since the town pays for trash collection by weight, it is in the interest of the company to bring in as much as possible.
Mearn estimated the town lost $150,000 in the past fiscal year.
“The vast majority of people are complying,” he noted. He said the households that are complying are being shortchanged by those who fail to use the trash stickers. He promised to keep the board apprised of that issue’s progress.
Selectman Marion McEttrick said she hopes the crackdown will result in an increase in recycling.
“We need better enforcement,” she said.
The problem of unstickered trash is not confined in one section of town, according to Mearn, who said it appears to be spread through all the neighborhoods. He said the DPW crews took digital photos of the bags without trash stickers. The photos will be used as the town attempts to levy fines against Waste Management for any trash collected without stickers.
Fagan said it seems “suspicious” that Waste Management issued 600 rejection stickers last week “out of the blue” when they had been issuing about 10 a week.
She said she thinks being a trash collection driver is a difficult job, having heard stories about people chasing the truck down the street, trying to have unstickered trash collected.
Fagan added that the problem spreads when one neighbor sees another having trash collected without a sticker.
In recent weeks, the Selectmen had considered a new trash program that could have replaced the stickers with brightly colored, plastic trash bags. The board discarded the idea after talking over the finances.
There was some discussion as to whether residents forget to put stickers on their trash or choose not to spend the $3.
Householders are not fined if they fail to place a sticker on their trash. The burden is on Waste Management if the violation is documented.
Disposal of household trash on town property or in street receptacles is subject to a $100 fine.