Board urges haulers to file quarterly tonnage reports; regional trash plan debated

At the Feb. 25 meeting the Board of Health discussed compliance by municipal trash haulers with state tonnage reporting requirements and considered a regional hauling proposal previously circulated by a local coordinator.

The board agreed to send an annual/quarterly reminder in March asking each permitted hauler to supply the number of households served and the tonnage of trash and recycling collected for the preceding quarter. Members noted the state requires tonnage reporting and said only one hauler (Harvey) had regularly submitted reports; staff was asked to remind others and warn that failure to report could lead to referral to the state for enforcement.

Board members reviewed a proposal its regional coordinator had provided that would implement a “regional” centralized hauling contracting model: the regional plan would require bundled service offering both trash and recycling, fix prices for a multi-year contract (the board recalled a three-year pricing window in previous discussions), and create a part-time complaints officer in a lead town to handle billing disputes. Supporters said a larger customer base could stabilize prices and reduce truck traffic; critics said regional scheduling can become rigid, would require merging local regulations with the regional model, and could reduce flexibility for residents who now select individualized pickup frequency.

The board did not reach a final decision on joining a regional hauling contract; instead members asked staff to include tonnage and service-level information in the reminder letter to haulers and to return any received operational details to the board for future discussion. The board also agreed to keep encouraging haulers to standardize invoicing so customers can see itemized recycling charges under bundled services.