The Town of Hubbardston Board of Health voted on March 11 to tentatively accept a set of changes to its trash-hauler regulations, add a mandatory-recycling paragraph and revise permit-application and annual-renewal language, and to ask consultant Irene Cogden to investigate a possible three-town joint hauler model.

The changes are meant to bring local rules into alignment with state requirements including references in the draft to 310 CMR 19.01 and 310 CMR 19.017. Judy, a board member who presented the packet, said the edits would “bring it up to date with the current codes.” The board agreed that Nancy (staff) would work with Cogden on next steps and that the text would be finalized and returned for formal adoption at a future meeting.

In a series of motions, the board (1) tentatively approved moving forward with the revisions and asking Irene Cogden to continue developing the three-town draft; (2) approved adding the authority paragraph citing Massachusetts General Laws; (3) approved inserting a mandatory-recycling paragraph (to require separation of recyclables and annual notification to generators); and (4) approved replacing an outdated permit-application sentence with a fuller permit-application description and creating a new annual-permit-renewal paragraph. Each motion was seconded and the board recorded “Aye” on the roll call for each action.

Board members and staff discussed where the newly inserted sections would be numbered in the regulations (under section 3.13 for mandatory recycling and reorganizing permit-related paragraphs under 3.24). Nancy will prepare the formal, word-for-word motions so the board can vote to adopt the final language at the next meeting.

The board noted the draft will also include an effective date that will match the date of final approval. No changes to fee schedules or enforcement language were adopted at this meeting; the board limited action to inserting the substantive paragraphs and directing staff to finish drafting the formal motions for the next meeting.