Selectmen Get Final Pay As You Throw Report

By switching to a pay as you throw household trash and recycling collection program, Westborough "could probably save between $60,000 a year if it were a curbside pay as you throw program, up to maybe $400,000 a year if it was a drop off pay as you throw program," Town Manager Jim Malloy told selectmen Tuesday night.

But, “the majority of the savings” would come from shifting the cost of household waste collection from the property tax base and onto taxpayers through a fee-based system, Malloy said.

That shift is unnecessary "because we have excess levy capacity," he said.

"It first came up because when I was first hired, we were right up against the levy limit," Malloy said.

On top of that, there is "substantial community opposition" to switching to a pay as you throw program, he said.

However, the committee concluded that the pay as you throw concept "does appear to increase recycling rates and reduce solid waste," members said in their final report, which Malloy presented to selectmen Tuesday night.

Malloy said he will recommend on May 28 that the board vote to accept the report and disband the ad hoc committee.

Selectmen organized the committee on Oct. 23 at Malloy's suggestion.

The committee met with Grafton and Northborough officials in November. Both communities have pay as you throw programs.

Westborough does not offer curbside trash and recycling.

Rather, residents pay $120 for a sticker (and $60 for a second sticker) for access to a transfer station available through Westborough's contract with E.L. Harvey and Sons, according to the Westborough Board of Health website. Seniors pay half price for the stickers.