RUMFORD — Rumford is one step closer to overhauling its trash collection, after the selectboard discussed proposed new regulations for waste disposal on Thursday.
For residents, the system means every household will receive new trash and recycling bins, with limits on the amount of waste that can be put out each week.
If approved, Archie’s Inc of Mexico, the town’s current waste service contractor, will implement the new system beginning in November.
Town Manager George O’Keefe told Monitor Local that Archie’s brought the proposed new system to the town. The town is pleased with the plan as a way to help control costs of collection and improve sanitation by better regulating household trash collection.
Some other towns in Maine already use a version of this system, including Lewiston and Auburn, where it is implemented by contractor Casella Waste Systems. An Archie’s representative told Monitor Local that it will begin using the new system in Hartford next week.
Although officials did not discuss specific amounts at the meeting, O’Keefe said the primary driver for the proposed change is cost savings for Archie’s and for the town.
Currently, residents put waste out for collection in their own containers of various sizes and shapes. This requires multiple employees to collect waste from mismatched containers. Archie’s trucks each have three employees, a driver and two collectors at the back.
In the new system, every household will receive a 65-gallon trash container and an 18-gallon recycling container. The town will limit waste collection to whatever fits in those bins.
There are currently no limits on the amount of waste each household can put out for collection each week, with exceptions for hazards to public health or other specific reasons.
The labor savings for Archie’s are substantial, said O’Keefe. Because containers will be uniform, trucks equipped with mechanical arms can pick up and dump the bins into the truck. Because the driver operates the mechanical arm, each truck requires only one worker instead of three.
With the new system, the town can hold trash collection costs at the current rate or cap them at standard inflation increase, O’Keefe said.
O’Keefe also said the system allows better enforcement, citing evidence of some households setting out “wildly inappropriate” amounts of trash. O’Keefe said the new containers would limit the amount of trash going out each week. Multiple bags can fit into a 65-gallon bin, but crews will not collect bags left outside a bin.
Excessive waste has been a source of citizen complaints and board concern for years, O’Keefe said.
He said another benefit of the new system is that everyone gets better trash cans.
If the board of selectpersons approves the new regulations, Archie’s would procure the new trash and recycling containers. The bins would then need to be accepted by the board as town property.
Residents will pay no fee for the bins or their delivery. As town property, the bins would be used by residents but would remain at that location when residents move.
Some selectpersons commented that having uniform containers and no bagged trash at the roadside would improve the town’s appearance on trash days.
Selectperson Kevin Capponi asked if a household could request more than one bin. Audience member Jason Wing suggested repealing curb-time restrictions under an existing ordinance so that residents traveling out of town can set their bins out early.
O’Keefe explained that the board does not have the power to repeal an ordinance. “But it’s a fair point,” he acknowledged.
O’Keefe said that one container should be enough for a household. Rare exceptions to the limit could be made, but in the case of a resident missing trash day, he suggested they arrange to have someone put their container out for collection to avoid having trash build up.
Another potential concern is yard waste, which some households bag and set out for pickup as trash. This practice could exceed the capacity of the new bins. O’Keefe told reporters that he anticipated this would be a concern for residents, but it was not raised at the meeting.
The board will leave time for public comment during the next meeting of the Rumford Board of Selectpersons on Oct. 15.
If the board votes to approve the proposed rules at the next meeting, the new system would go into effect on Nov. 15.
The new regulations will also require landlords operating buildings with seven or more units to provide dumpster service. O’Keefe reported that an inventory of multifamily units found that most such buildings already have dumpsters. The town will send letters to all multifamily building owners to let them know about the proposed new regulation.
Marna Miller is a Community Reporting Fellow receiving training through the Journalism New England Career Lab to do civic reporting that provides people in towns across New England with the information they need to be engaged in their community.
