Council discusses pay-as-you-throw system

BERLIN – The city council Monday night listened to a presentation on instituting a pay-as-you-throw program for residential solid waste but the body expressed reservations about moving to such a system in Berlin.
Charged with looking at ways to increase the city’s dismal 10 percent recycling rate, Public Works Director Michael Perreault invited Sarah Nichols, a solid waste management specialist with ReCap Solutions to describe the pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) system. ReCap is a non-profit community development corporation based in Gardner, Mass.
Nichols explained that PAYT charges residents a small fee for each trash bag of solid waste they generate. Usually, that is accomplished by charging a fee for the bags themselves and requiring residents to use the bags.
The goal is to provide a financial inventive for households to generate less waste and recycle more. Those households who generate less waste, pay less. It is also viewed, she said, as a more fair way to distribute the costs of solid waste management.
Nichols noted there is a financial motive for the city to increase recycling. Berlin currently pays $67 a ton to dispose of solid waste at the Mount Carberry landfill. In 2010, the city generated 4,000 tons of solid waste, which cost $268,000 in tipping fees. In addition, residents generated 465 tons of recyclables that otherwise would have cost the city $31,155 in tipping fees.  
Nichols said the city’s ten percent recycling rate compares to 34 percent countywide and 22 percent for the entire state.
She reported that communities that implement a PAYT system generally see an approximately 40 percent reduction in solid waste in the first year. If Berlin were able to achieve that level, Nichols said it would save $119,662 in tipping fees. At the same time the city would realize a $414,027 profit from the sale of the bags. The result would be a reduction from $898,980 to $365,291, in the city’s total solid waste budget, which includes salaries and benefits for workers, transportation and hauling costs, and transfer station costs as well as tipping fees.
At a 25 percent reduction level, the city would see a $74,789 reduction in tipping fees and realize a $517,534 profit from the trash bags.
While households would pay for bags, Nichols said total costs would be less with PAYT as long as residents reuse, reduce, and recycle. She reminded the council that households currently pay for waste disposal through taxes. Under a PAYT system, families that recycle more would pay less for solid waste disposal. The system would also reduce waste going into the Mount Carberry landfill, increasing its lifespan and/or allowing the solid waste to accept more waste from outside communities at higher fees to the district which includes Berlin.
Councilor Roland Theberge noted that composting is one of the activities recommended as a means of reducing solid waste. He said backyard compost piles tend to attract bears and other wildlife.
Perreault said some communities sell special composting containers to avoid that problem.
Mayor Paul Grenier said he was not convinced PAYT was an ideal solution for Berlin. He said he believes the average family in the city does recycle but feels there are elements that do not participate.
Nichols said PAYT allows people to control their cost and distributes the burden more fairly. She said some communities have mandatory recycling.
Grenier asked about people who refuse to participate and won’t use the PAYT bags. Nichols said generally there is a transition period and after that there is a fine for people who do not participate. She said non-compliance has not been a problem in other communities that use PAYT. After the system is implemented, she said residents generally like it.
“More and more towns are doing this,” she said.
Councilor Lucie Remillard said the city is looking at all options available to increase recycling. She said she did not know if PAYT is the answer.
Grenier said he viewed PAYT as an option to consider after the city has exhausted all other avenues to increase recycling. He said he has heard from a lot of residents that Public Works employees have been throwing newspapers in with solid waste instead of handling them with the recyclables. He said he believes there is some internal educating to do and suggested setting up a subcommittee with employees.
Perreault said he has addressed the issue that arose over the handling of newspapers. He said there had been a decline in solid waste tonnage for a couple of years and there were fears among employees that would lead to lay-offs. He said employees have been assured that is not the case.
Nichols said the council could look at rewarding people who recycle as an alternative to a PAYT system. She said she is available as a resource to the council.
Grenier said 10 percent recycling is an unacceptable number and stressed that said he wants to reduce the tonnage that goes to Mount Carberry. He said the city also has some internal housekeeping to do.
The council thanked Nichols for her presentation and the written material she provided.