Solid Waste Committee Meeting ~ May 13, 2024

2024-05-13 · Solid Waste Committee · 1:54:15 · watch on YouTube →

The Solid Waste Committee's early working meeting, spent sorting the six options the select board handed it into an order it could act on. Most of the session was a walk through waste reduction programmes by Curtis (?), a member who works at Yarmouth's transfer facility, covering free product stewardship schemes for textiles, paint, mercury lamps and batteries, and a paid food waste service through Agri-Cycle. The committee agreed to start with the things that cost nothing, chiefly getting recycling information onto the town website and into the weekly news blast, then take a specific written proposal for the free programmes to the select board, possibly on 28 May. It also agreed to draft a short resident survey, fixed its meeting for the second Monday of the month, and noted that the larger questions, a transfer facility, town-run collection or ending roadside service, are tied to a contract with about five years to run and would probably need a consultant before any cost-benefit answer is possible.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 4:37
   Setting a regular meeting time

   Juliet had emailed asking for a fixed meeting time, and the committee settled on the second Monday of the month, checking it against the Fourth of July and Labor Day. Members noted the room is the only one available at the moment, with the select board also meeting there.

2. 4:37
   The six goals set by the select board

   The committee's bylaws direct it to work to goals set by the select board: maintain the status quo under the existing contract, look at a transfer facility, look at partnering with a neighbouring community, consider the town collecting trash as a division of public works, consider residents hiring their own roadside service, and look at incentives for reducing tonnage through recycling or composting. The chair proposed putting them in an order that reflects what is actually achievable, noting the status quo option really means renewing the contract when it ends in about five years.

3. 10:06
   Reducing tonnage first, starting with food

   Members agreed reducing tonnage is the quickest thing to act on and that food waste is the heaviest material to remove. They asked whether other towns nearby run composting operations and recalled that Durham once belonged to a regional waste organisation but dropped out at a town meeting, though nobody could remember why.

4. 10:06
   Confusion over which bylaws people held

   Members found they were working from different documents, one dated September 2023 that had been cut and pasted from another committee, against a version updated on 21 March 2024.

5. 10:06
   Advertising and the recycling app

   The chair said the town has a website he has not yet been through, and that most product stewardship programmes are free and supply their own pamphlets. He handed round material including ecomaine's Recyclopedia app, which lets a resident look up more than 700 common waste items and says what to do with each.

6. 16:12
   Whether an ecomaine app helps a Casella town

   Durham does not use ecomaine, and Curtis (?) had a call in to find out whether Casella's recycling is the same or similar, since which plastics get recycled follows the market. He argued the app is still a useful tool: if it says something is not recyclable, it almost certainly is not recyclable here either, and people are throwing away material they do not realise can be recycled.

7. 16:12
   Apparel Impact for textiles

   A veteran-owned company called Apparel Impact collects textiles at no cost, like the Salvation Army. In rural communities it supplies a small shed rather than open containers, so people have to physically open a door, which cuts down on rubbish being thrown in; the town would need select board permission and a hard surface to set it on.

8. 21:54
   Free product stewardship programmes

   Members went through mercury lamps and thermostats, PaintCare for waste paint, rechargeable batteries and cell phones, and electronics, which are not entirely free. Each needs somewhere for people to drop material off and a time when they can do it, and the chair said all of it is going into the trash now.

9. 21:54
   Lewiston's household hazardous waste day

   Lewiston runs a household hazardous waste collection once a month for about nine months of the year that is open to anyone, with a fee depending on what is brought. Members said Durham could join in and advertise it, and that most residents are simply unaware it exists.

10. 21:54
    Running the town's own compost facility

    Setting up a town composting area would make it a composting facility requiring a licence, a set of rules to follow and DEP inspections. Curtis (?) described it as a fairly simple process but a real commitment.

11. 27:22
    How the Agri-Cycle food waste service works

    The town would have a few bins under a roof structure and residents would drop food waste in, in a bag, a paper sack or a bucket. Almost anything edible is accepted, including unopened cans that go in whole, because a depackaging machine separates them; the only thing excluded is glass, since one output of the process is animal bedding.

12. 27:22
    What Yarmouth recovered

    Curtis (?) said Yarmouth took about 44 to 45 tons of food waste out of its trash in the first year of its programme and 94.8 tons in 2023, and expects to reach around 200 tons. He noted some of that weight is packaging, so it is not an exact figure.

13. 27:22
    Kerbside food waste and where bins would go

    Kerbside food waste collection exists but works badly in winter, when the ploughs come by and residents either lose the bin or stockpile the waste. Members discussed siting bins at public works, the fire station or the town hall for their central location, with a caution that public works has trucks reversing and equipment turning; odour is limited because the bins are emptied weekly and kept covered.

14. 32:28
    Whether a drop-off has to be staffed

    Curtis (?) said the bins are plastic totes that do not smell unless left open, and that a food waste drop-off does not have to be supervised, pointing to unstaffed sites in other towns. It only needs someone to notice if a lid has blown open.

15. 32:28
    Where the food waste actually goes

    The totes are wheeled onto a truck with a special rig, tipped in and taken to ecomaine, from where Agri-Cycle hauls the material to a digester in Exeter. The town would be collecting rather than making compost; making its own would need land and a supply of leaves and grass to mix in, otherwise it smells and attracts vermin.

16. 38:18
    Agri-Cycle terms and cost

    Using the company's totes avoids a separate tote fee and they replace broken ones, and there are rules about how long food waste can sit before collection. The price discussed was about $350 a month for two totes, or $4,200 a year, with members noting it will grow as more people use it, because power cuts and freezer clear-outs will drive volume.

17. 38:18
    Who authorises the spending

    Members were unsure whether $4,200 needs a town vote or whether the select board can start the programme, and treated that as a question for the board. They noted Casella reviews the town's annual tonnage and adjusts the fee even within the contract, so a reduction should eventually show up as a saving.

18. 43:27
    What Durham currently pays

    Nobody in the room knew Durham's cost per ton. Curtis (?) said he was meeting Jerry the next day to get the 2023 numbers and an idea of what the contract will cost going forward.

19. 43:27
    Order of priorities

    The committee agreed the immediate goal is getting waste out of the trash, and that whether the town keeps kerbside pickup, builds a transfer facility or does something else is a five-year decision tied to the contract. Members also noted new packaging legislation is coming that the town has not yet seen the detail of.

20. 43:27
    Managing unsupervised drop-offs

    Members said the only real cost of the free programmes is siting them and managing what turns up. If someone leaves a can of gasoline the collector will not take it and it becomes the town's problem and expense, so there is a management piece, though Curtis (?) said that with enough advertising residents start policing the sites themselves.

21. 48:37
    Waste oil at public works

    Waste oil is taken by appointment because unsupervised drop-off would produce anything at all, and the town was penalised once for not locking up its waste oil. Members said residents get to know about it by word of mouth and it should be advertised on a schedule, perhaps every six months and permanently on the website; gasoline is not accepted, and the last lot had to be taken to Portland at a cost.

22. 48:37
    How much textile waste there is

    Curtis (?) described Yarmouth going from one Salvation Army bin to four and still being overrun, then switching to Apparel Impact and filling six bins. Each container holds four yards and is often full to the doors, and all of it would otherwise be in the trash.

23. 54:25
    Weights and what the food waste programme actually saves

    A 64 gallon tote holds about 250 pounds, so two full totes a week comes to roughly 13 tons a year. Members concluded the food waste programme is more a tradeoff than a saving until the volumes get large, and that it is really about convenience and environmental stewardship, whereas the free textile programme is a straightforward win.

24. 54:25
    Why glass is excluded

    Metal can be pulled out of the food waste stream with magnets but there is no way to retrieve glass, and it would end up in the animal bedding. The process produces animal bedding, compost and electricity through the digester.

25. 59:54
    Yard waste already leaves the trash stream

    Yarmouth composts leaves, grass and yard waste but not food, on a pad roughly 1,000 feet by 250 feet with drainage and a site inspection. Durham's yard waste goes to a local operation that turns it into erosion control mix, so it is not in the Casella stream, but members were unsure residents know they can take leaves and brush there instead of paying by the bag.

26. 1:05:26
    The thirty day rule

    Most waste programmes allow material to be held for a maximum of 30 days unless the site is licensed, so PaintCare and similar schemes need a regular collection schedule rather than an open-ended arrangement. Somebody would also have to be the named contact and supply town information to set each programme up.

27. 1:05:26
    Whether the brush site would take residents

    Members wondered whether the operation that takes the town's branches and leaves would accept residents' cars as well as town dump trucks, and thought it would not want that traffic among its landscape equipment. They agreed to ask directly, and floated a Saturday arrangement, noting how much brush is down on the roads.

28. 1:05:26
    Using the weekly news blast

    Members said the Friday news blast, which Kimberly publishes from content supplied by department heads, would reach people more actively than waiting for them to visit the website. A recycling tab on the website was suggested so residents can click through and see where to take things.

29. 1:11:25
    Anything new needs a plan for the select board

    Members agreed they cannot simply ask the board to start a programme; each proposal needs a specific plan for where it goes and how it is run, and then the board can judge whether it is worth it. Programmes that need monitoring, such as PaintCare, would need an advertised day, and a regular pickup schedule so nothing sits past 30 days.

30. 1:11:25
    What a transfer facility would involve

    A transfer facility does not have to be licensed, but an unlicensed one cannot hold material more than 30 days. A licensed one needs DEP permitting, an assessment and study of the land, and decisions about how many days a week it opens; the DEP contact had been Eric Hamlin, who has since moved on, and the chapter governing transfer facilities and solid waste was given on the recording as chapter 402.

31. 1:11:25
    Whether a consultant is needed

    Members thought the town would probably have to hire a consultant before it could answer the question at all, since it may not even have a suitable site. Soil type and how much material sits on gravel matter, because everything leaches.

32. 1:16:33
    Sequencing the easy items

    The committee set out stages: get the recycling app onto the website and the news blast first, since that needs no approval, then put together a document for the select board on Apparel Impact as the next simplest free programme. Members noted the app they had been shown is ecomaine's and Durham uses Casella, but that the information is generic.

33. 1:16:33
    Casella's own app

    Members realised Casella advertises an app at the bottom of the town's weekly email blast, with a collection calendar and a searchable A to Z waste tool, and that none of them had ever opened it because they did not know what it was. They agreed the committee could recommend residents download it.

34. 1:22:15
    Making the message land

    Members said simply putting a link up had already failed once, and the material needs to answer why a resident should care rather than just announce itself. The case they wanted to make was the size of the tonnage reduction available using resources the town already has.

35. 1:22:15
    Public works collecting the trash

    Turning to the select board's bullets, members were sceptical that the town should buy a trash truck and collect roadside, pointing out Casella (?) moved to automated trucks partly because of workers' compensation costs. They accepted they still have to work out what a truck, disposal, staffing and insurance would cost, because the board wants every option at least entertained.

36. 1:22:15
    Ending roadside service altogether

    The option of the town no longer providing roadside collection was raised. Members said in towns without it people simply do not take care of their trash, it piles up and becomes an enforcement problem, and cited places where every yard has its own dumpster.

37. 1:27:25
    Private roads and automated trucks

    Members noted Casella will not collect on private roads and that automated trucks need roughly six feet between bins, so a subdivision with a dozen houses putting bins out together will not work. The planning board is asking the same question, and members expected it to end in a shared dumpster.

38. 1:27:25
    What kerbside costs the town

    The figure discussed for kerbside pickup was close to $400,000 a year, against roughly 2,000 homes and about 4,000 residents, with members saying it will keep rising as Casella's insurance and other costs rise. Durham's trash was put at about 13 tons a week.

39. 1:27:25
    Whether residents would accept losing kerbside

    Members said that having got everyone used to kerbside service it would be hard to take away unless a better option were offered, and suggested a survey to find out what residents actually think. They agreed the free reduction programmes are worth starting either way, because they stand alone from whatever the town decides later.

40. 1:33:06
    Drafting a resident survey

    The committee agreed to develop a survey for the town website with simple questions rather than open-ended ones that produce long essays, and to leave the board to decide how and when to publish it. Members recalled the conservation commission had run a survey on the site a couple of years earlier.

41. 1:33:06
    Making the arithmetic concrete

    Curtis (?) put the case in round numbers: with about 2,000 homes, if every household took one pound of material out of its trash that is a ton, worth roughly $150 at the rate quoted. A gallon of leftover paint alone is eight pounds.

42. 1:38:30
    Cat litter

    Asked whether there is a solution for cat litter, Curtis (?) said it is compostable but nobody would want the resulting compost on a garden, and a Yarmouth pilot has not started. He noted litter absorbs urine and can triple in weight, so a bucket that starts at 25 pounds can go out at 50 to 75.

43. 1:38:30
    Next steps with the town manager and the select board

    Curtis (?) said he would speak to Kimberly about setting up the website changes and ask the town manager the next morning whether he needs authorisation. The select board's agenda for the following night was already full, so the committee looked at getting on the 28 May agenda with the free programmes, with Agri-Cycle needing a more specific group proposal because it has a cost.

44. 1:43:44
    Battery and cell phone recycling

    Call2Recycle can be run anywhere, including the town hall: material goes into a plastic bag in a box, and every 30 days UPS or FedEx collects it. What batteries are accepted has just changed, and Yarmouth separates cell phones out to make the processor's job easier.

45. 1:43:44
    Every drop-off still needs managing

    Members accepted that even the simplest programme has to be checked on, because if somebody leaves a mattress in front of it the town has to deal with it. Without an enclosed facility, vandalism and misuse cannot be prevented outright, only deterred.

46. 1:43:44
    What a transfer station would cost to equip

    Curtis (?) put single sort recycling equipment at $25,000 to $30,000 plus hauling, 50 yard bulky waste cans at $8,000 to $10,000 each, and hauls at anywhere from $130 to $150 depending who does them. Durham would run about 12 to 13 tons of trash a week, with recycling cans averaging seven to eight tons, and the site would have to be staffed to oversee it and direct people.

47. 1:49:01
    How Yarmouth's kerbside is billed

    In Yarmouth residents contract with Casella and pay the company directly while the town pays the tipping fee, at a rate one member put at about $75 per pickup. Residents can instead take bags to the transfer station for a sticker and a per-bag charge, and once that was explained a lot of kerbside customers switched.

48. 1:49:01
    Bylaw typos and housekeeping

    Members went through typographical errors in the rewritten bylaws, including three marked passages and two numbering mistakes, to be passed to Jerry. They agreed to have Jessica put the second Monday on the calendar so the room problem does not recur, and to use town email addresses so everyone gets the same information, though some members were unsure whether they still have one.

49. 1:49:01
    End of the meeting

    The meeting ended with members asking how to adjourn and someone switching off the camera, rather than with a formal motion.

What was decided

• 4:37
  Meet on the second Monday of each month, checked against the Fourth of July and Labor Day. Agreed by consensus rather than by a vote.passed
• 1:16:33
  Work through the select board's options in order of what costs nothing first: put the recycling app and related information on the town website and into the weekly news blast, then bring the select board a written proposal on the free Apparel Impact textile collection, with paid options such as Agri-Cycle food waste coming later. Agreed by consensus.passed
• 1:22:15
  Still work through every one of the six options the select board set, including having public works collect the trash, even though members expect it to prove cost-prohibitive, because the board wants them all considered. Agreed by consensus.passed
• 1:33:06
  Develop a short survey for the town website to find out what residents want, with simple questions rather than open-ended ones, leaving the select board to decide how and when to publish it. Agreed by consensus.passed
• 1:38:30
  Curtis (?) to speak to Kimberly about the website changes and to ask the town manager the following morning whether authorisation is needed before making them. Agreed by consensus.passed
• 1:38:30
  Aim to get on the select board's 28 May agenda with a specific proposal for the free programmes, particularly PaintCare and the battery and cell phone collection, rather than the following night's meeting whose agenda was already full. Agri-Cycle food waste to be taken to the board separately, as a group, with specifics, because it carries a cost.passed
• 1:49:01
  Pass the typographical corrections in the rewritten committee bylaws, being three marked passages and two numbering errors, to Jerry, and have Jessica put the second Monday of the month on the calendar as a standing booking. Agreed by consensus.passed
• 1:49:01
  Whether every committee member has and should use a town email address was left unresolved: members were told town email is what the town wants used, but several were unsure whether they still have an account.outcome unclear
• 1:49:01
  The meeting closed without a motion to adjourn; members asked how to adjourn and the recording ends with the camera being switched off.outcome unclear

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Worth knowing

• 1:27:25
  Kerbside trash collection was put at close to $400,000 a year, spread across roughly 2,000 homes, and members expected it to keep rising with Casella's insurance and other costs. Durham's trash runs at about 13 tons a week.
• 27:22
  Yarmouth, where one committee member works, took about 44 to 45 tons of food waste out of its trash in the first year of its programme and 94.8 tons in 2023, and expects to reach around 200 tons.
• 38:18
  The food waste option priced at the meeting, through Agri-Cycle, came to about $350 a month for two totes, or $4,200 a year, and members expected the cost to grow as use grew. They treated it as a tradeoff rather than a clear saving until the volumes get large, unlike the free textile collection.
• 1:11:25
  A transfer facility would need DEP permitting and a study of the land, and an unlicensed one could not hold any material for more than 30 days. Members thought the town would probably have to hire a consultant before it could answer the question at all, and that with about five years left on the contract the work should start sooner rather than later.

Elsewhere

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