News

Manchester converting to PAYT trash system

By Cameron Kittle
Staff Writer
Published: July 1, 2009

MANCHESTER — Manchester will join the growing number of North Shore communities where trash bags will replace transfer station stickers. All residents will dispose all of their trash in special, colored bags sold by the town.

Town Administrator Wayne Melville said the town is targeting a Sept. 7 — Labor Day — start date for the pay-as-you-throw program.

"Whether people have their trash picked up on the curb or taken to the transfer station, they'll do it in bags," Melville said. "The annual transfer station sticker is no more."

Pay-as-you-throw system is already in place in Gloucester, in Hamilton and Wenham, and is one of the options used by Rockport residents. And it has shown that it will save the town money and boost recycling figures.

In just the first two months of having the trash bag system in Gloucester, recycling was up 13 percent and 29 percent less trash was taken to the incinerator, statistics show.

Melville said Manchester hopes for similar results.

The trash bags will cost $2 each, a 75 cent increase compared to the current, individual transfer station stickers that cost $1.25 each, but the bags should accumulate more revenue for the town, help promote a more conscious mind to be less wasteful, Melville said.

Residents will be also allowed to throw out one bulky item per week, which they can place on their curb and have it picked up by trash disposal personnel. At present, there is no fee for the bulky items, but the town may consider charging for that option.

Manchester will get 35 cents back for every dollar it spends under the pay as you throw system, which is the same amount it receives for waste disposal under the current sticker system.

The idea is that residents will throw away less trash and recycle more with the bag system, Melville said, and that will save the town money because it won't necessitate as much service from Hiltz Waste Disposal of Gloucester or Wheelabrator Technologies in Haverhill, which handles trash incineration.

The bags will likely be sold in surrounding stores, such as Crosby's Market Place on Summer Street, but Melville said those details still need to be worked out.

A color for the bags has also not been chosen yet, but Melville confirmed that it will be a different hue from Gloucester's purple and Hamilton and Wenham's green.

"It'll help in a number of ways but I think they're all good," Melville said. "We're anxious to get started."

Cameron Kittle may be contacted at gt_reporter@gloucestertimes.com.