The Ad Hoc Landfill Closure Committee will try to figure out how the town will make up for $1.1 million in lost revenue.
GRANBY – Some people in Granby may not realize it, but one day they are going to wake up and discover that their landfill, which has been putting $1.1 million into the town coffers annually and letting residents use the dump for free, is closed.
In December 2012, everything will change.
The company that runs the Granby landfill, Waste Management, has been paying the town about $1.1 million a year for hosting the landfill.
How will Granby make that up once it’s no longer there? The Ad Hoc Landfill Closure Committee, which met last week, will try to figure out just that.
The money from Waste Management has allowed the town to charge its residents a measly $10 a year for trash disposal. That money has paid for registering vehicles, issuing stickers, paying the clerk who takes care of those chores, monitoring changes at the landfill, following up on complaints.
Obviously, residents will have to pay for other things after December 2012.
They have also been lulled into complacency because the landfill expected to reach its limit after 10 years. Instead, it’s been 12 years since the contract was signed, and it continues to accept trash for free from residents.
Companies like Waste Management make their money by charging hauling companies to dump their trash on their sites.
Waste Management gets about $65 for every ton of Granby trash they accept, and out of that, they give Granby about $13 for every ton. That’s how Granby arrives at the $1.1 million.
Now, as the prospect of losing the landfill looms, residents can expect big changes.
The Ad Hoc Landfill Closure Committee consists of Mary McDowell, Lisabeth Pare, George Cooke, Richard Bombardier and committee chair James Hartley.
The ideas came thick and fast when they met recently in the new Public Safety Complex. They talked about such options as upping annual fees (already they’ve gone up slightly, to $35) pro-rating, fines, the pay-as-you-throw option, the role of business owners, and charges for “white goods” like refrigerators. Some members started out at opposite ends of the spectrum, some wound up agreeing, others stood firm.
One thing they seemed to agree on is that people who create garbage should pay to dispose of it. The town should not use taxpayer money to pay for trash disposal.
The Ad Hoc Landfill Closure Committee agreed to make a recommendation at a meeting of the Selectboard later this year. As usual, the public will be invited to attend the meeting.
Town Manager Chris Martin said there are various solutions, but none of them involve being rescued by town government. “We do not have the available funds needed to subsidize the disposal of the municipal solid waste,” said Martin.