By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

Single-sort was thought to be the answer to reducing Bridgton’s trash disposal problem.

It hasn’t quite worked out as well as one hoped.

Recycling numbers continue to miss local targets, and the cost to dispose of waste continues to rise.

So, the Bridgton Recycling Committee (BRC) feels it is time to look at another approach.

It’s an old idea, but one that might make more financial sense now than it has in the past — Pay as You Throw.

Taxpayers have rejected pay-per-bag at the polls a few times by large margins, but BRC members feel with a solid public awareness campaign that points out cost savings and a greater push to recycle (save more, pay less), pay-per-bag might pass voter muster at next June’s annual town meeting.

Selectmen seem to agree.

Board Chairman Lee Eastman and Selectman Bear Zaidman gained new perspectives after touring the ecomaine facility. Selectwoman Carmen Lone suggested to BRC members that they must hit on every point — from projected cost savings to where residents can purchase required trash bags, which are usually capable of holding more waste since people will try to compact as much debris as possible (she suggested the bags be sold locally at Food City, Hannaford and Renys) — regarding a Pay as You Throw program for it to succeed.

Town Manager Robert Peabody said selectmen usually set the fee per bag, somewhere between $1 to $3. If a person shows up at the Transfer Station with regular trash bags, he or she would be charged a certain rate.

Lone said a change to Pay as You Throw and multi-sort recycling (which the town collects certain recyclables and then sells to certain buyers) would require new procedures at the Transfer Station, which again, would need to be well-advertised to residents, and an additional fulltime employee.

“Education is very important. It can’t be this big mystery,” she said.

She also raised the question as to how commercial haulers would be dealt with?

According to the town website, the Recycling Committee is charged with the efforts to improve Bridgton’s recycling rate while reducing the disposal costs associated with the waste stream…Working with the (Transfer) Station Manager, town staff and ecomaine, as well as the community, the committee shall recommend to the Select Board those policies, practices and procedures that might assist the Town in reducing its disposal costs. The committee shall recommend any ordinance changes necessary to support the reduction of solid waste disposal costs, improve recycling opportunities and rates and provide other recommendations for consideration by the Select Board.

The committee includes: Maureen McDevitt (chairman), Kate Fitzcharles, Bob Fitzcharles, Sally Chappell and Therese Johnson. All were in attendance at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Why would Pay as You Throw be a good idea? A fact sheet created by the committee outlined seven points:

• Creates equity among residents. Cost is based on individual use.

• Helps eliminate the cost of trash.

• Offsets Transfer Station operational costs.

• Increases recycling rates.

• Bridgton saves money by increasing recycling rates.

• Encourages personal responsibility.

• Benefits the environment.

Does Pay as You Throw work?

BRC cites the case of Eliot, Maine. In the program’s first two years, there was a 56% decrease in solid waste tonnage; $47,000 in disposal savings; $140,000 decrease in transfer station annual operating budget.

BRC did a projection for the Town of Bridgton. Based on a 44% reduction rate, Bridgton’s projected annual trash diversion would be 2,336 tons down to 1,308 tons (reduction of 1,028 tons), which would realize a tipping fee savings of $75,000 annually. Recycling would increase from 535 tons to 946 tons — a rate of 19% (currently) to 42%.

Using the WasteZero Trash Metering program, BRC projects a $2.7 million in benefits and savings over the next 10 years. Zaidman noted that money saved on the solid waste disposal budget line could benefit other town infrastructure improvements, such as paving.

One objection may be, “It is double taxation!”

BRC’s response, “It is really unfair taxation for the people who recycle and have low trash output. Our taxes fund the operation of the transfer station. The people have control over the amount of trash they generate and bear responsibility for their share just as we are responsible for our utility usage.”

To drive home that point, Bob Fitzcharles told selectmen a true story he heard from a neighboring Transfer Station manager: One day, a man arrived at the station, opened his vehicle’s trunk and pulled out seven bags of trash to dispose of. When he was told it would cost $7, the man was stunned. His wife gave him $15 for spending. “That’s half of it,” the man said. The next week, the man returned and had just five bags. “I saved $2,” he told the manager. On the third week, he had just three bags, saving $4. He noted, “That’s a six pack of beer I didn’t get for three weeks.”

Peabody and BRC members will work together to develop prices and a plan to propose the Pay as You Throw option for town meeting 2020 consideration.