Public Works Director Allan Chwalek said he and Springfield's trash consultants favor Mayor Domenic Sarno's proposal for various size trash bins.
SPRINGFIELD – Representatives of a South Carolina company told city councilors Friday that its proposed system – in which homeowners would buy city-issued trash bags rather than pay a trash fee – is a proven way for the city to save money and increase recycling.
WasteZero, pitching the bag-purchase system known as “pay-as-you-throw,” said it has overcome skepticism in many communities once the homeowners are educated about the system.
WasteZero provides the bag program to more than 300 communities nationwide, 80 of which are in Massachusetts, including Longmeadow and East Longmeadow. The company’s bag program is slated to begin in July in South Hadley.
Springfield Department of Public Works Director Allan R. Chwalek shows the difference between the three sizes of trash barrels – a 65-gallon at left, a 95-gallon, which he is opening, and a smaller 35-gallon in front – the city hopes to offer residents.Public Works Director Allan R. Chwalek, however, said he and the city’s trash consultants favor a different program proposed by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, in which residents would pay a fee based on the size of their barrels.
Three different-sized barrels would be offered, costing less for smaller barrels, and also promoting recycling, he said.
Currently, the city charges a flat fee of $75 a year per bin, offering just one size, a 95-gallon barrel.
Under WasteZero’s proposal, homeowners in Springfield would buy city-issued plastic bags and place them inside the existing bins for continued automated pickup. The bags would be sold at stores throughout Springfield, offered in different sizes at prices not yet determined.
Chwalek said that comparing Springfield with other communities that use WasteZero, such as Worcester, is not an “apples to apples” comparison. Springfield has an automated collection system which involves trucks equipped with mechanical arms to pick up trash bins.
Only one of WasteZero’s customers, Middletown, R.I., places bags inside bins for automated pickup, he said.
In addition, Chwalek said the WasteZero program has challenges including how the city would monitor the bags being put inside bins, such as catching those who might try to “cheat.”
There is also the issue of determining if the owners or the tenants would be responsible for buying the bags, and how that would be enforced, he said.
WasteZero President Mark Dancy, meeting at City Hall, repeated a guarantee that his company’s proposal would carry a guaranteed savings of nearly $500,000 a year in Springfield compared with the mayor’s proposed “graduated bin system.”
The savings would result from reduced trash disposal and increased recycling, and the savings were confirmed by the city’s Finance Department, he said.
The bag program would especially benefit senior citizens and similar small households who would need just one bag or less a week, Dancy said. The bags might cost between 84 cents a bag to $1.75 a bag under different proposals and different sizes being offered.
The trash fee currently generates approximately $3 million annually, partially covering the cost of trash disposal. The trash fee is scheduled to expire June 30, unless extended by the council.
Councilor Timothy J. Rooke, who supports the WasteZero proposal, said Friday he will ask the council to solicit proposals for a bag purchase system. Companies including WasteZero could submit competitive bids for the citywide program, he said.
Arlene Miller, a representative of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the state fully supports a pay-as-you-throw program. Both the city’s graduated bin system and WasteZero’s program are samples of pay-as-you-throw programs, she said.
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