The controversial pay-as-you-throw trash disposal program is on the back burner for the time being, as the New London, CT City Council considers alternatives. The council may pitch the idea of forming a special trash task force for an objective evaluation of recycling and waste management techniques “based on efficiencies and costs and what would be the best for the community,” said Councilor Martin Olsen, chairman of the council’s Public Works Committee. “A key component of this is … it is not an evaluation of one program,” Olsen said. “It’s got to be a program the community is going to support.”
Under the program, the city would mandate that homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits alike place municipal waste in special 33-gallon bags at a cost of $1 each. Households would be expected to use an average of one large bag per week. The city was considering converting its 90-gallon trash bins into containers for recyclables.
An analysis by Waste Zero, the company contracted by the state to hold informational meetings across the state, predicts the city could double its 18 percent recycling rate. Waste Zero is also the vendor for the trash bags and provided services to the city thanks to $52,000 in grants from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The projected increase in recycling would reduce the waste disposal cost. Savings of $265,000 in disposal costs coupled with $350,000 in bag revenue was included in the city’s approved budget. Inclusion of the program in the budget, however, was frequently cited as a reason people signed a successful petition calling for either a reduction of the budget or a citywide referendum.
The city’s solid waste and recycling division of the Public Works Department had an approved budget of about $2.5 million this year and includes $250,000 for the lease of five new trash-hauling vehicles. The division hauls trash and recyclables weekly for residents and twice a week for the downtown area and commercial customers.
“We’re going to do our diligence and investigate options beyond the PAYT program,” Council President Pro Tempore Don Venditto said.
Read the full story at https://www.theday.com/article/20180719/NWS01/180719307.