Danvers New Trash & Recyling Program: What Residents Need To Know

DANVERS, MA — Danvers residents who have questions about the new trash and recycling program set to begin next month are invited to a pair of public information sessions later this month as Town Manager Steve Bartha answered Select Board questions about when larger families might be able to purchase a second trash bin to go along with those being provided free from the town.

The first session is on Aug. 29 from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Danvers Senior Center on Stone Street with the second on Aug. 31 from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Town Hall Toomey Room on Sylvan Street.

Residents can see the new carts, learn more about what can be recycled and what cannot, learn tips to reduce trash, and why Danvers is making this change.

Registration is not necessary with residents invited to stay for part or full of the session.

Bartha told the Select Board on Tuesday night that postcards went out to residents reminding them of the change this week. He said the switchover is planned for mid-September.

"We're getting some questions from residents about: 'Why can't we buy a second barrel in advance that we know that we're going to need?'" Bartha said. "What we have learned from other communities that have gone through this transition is that oftentimes folks think they need a second barrel, then they start using this much larger (64-gallon) barrel, much larger (96-gallon) recycling bin, and then they realize they don't need the second bin."

Bartha said 15,600 trash and recycling bins will be distributed to the 7,800 homes in town.

"We wanted to get this new program in place and let people live with it — the thought was for several months, maybe it will be less than that — let the program get rolling before we redirect staff and consume administrative time to try to set up billing and accounting for these secondary barrels," Bartha said.

Bartha said that data shows the average household in a town like Danvers produces about 65 gallons of trash per week — essentially the size of one bin.

"We know that this can is going to work for the majority of residents," he said. "We also know from experience that people change their behaviors. Some people who produce more than that will produce less than that by recycling more and being more thoughtful about what they put in the waste stream.

"Clearly, that's not going to work for everyone. So the commitment from the spring stands that people will be able to buy a second barrel if they need a second barrel. But given the scale of the rollout — the logistics involved with getting each and every household their barrels — we want to make sure the system is up and running and that this is going to work, instead of at the same time that we are going to tackle getting people a second barrel — some of whom are calling to call back a month later and tell us that they don't need it and don't want to pay for it."

A vote of Danvers town meeting members in May backed the use of nearly $1 million in surplus funds — or so-called "free cash" — to pay for residents in single-family and multi-family homes to receive free trash and recycling barrels as part of the town's new collection agreement that began on July 1.

The vote came after some debate and over the objection of the Finance Committee — which recommended that the town look to recoup the $980,000 in costs of the new barrels by going back and charging residents for them.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)