Springfield tries to grapple with too much trash

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Let’s all recycle
And it looks like people are doing just that. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation just released the first Universal Recycling Status Report, summarizing recycling, composting, and food bank donations across the state.

www.vermontjournal.com     dec.vermont.gov

Springfield tries to grapple with too much trash Rutland Herald | January 17, 2017 By SUSAN SMALLHEER STAFF WRITER SPRINGFIELD — Springfield is eyeing a sticker system to cut down on out-of-town use of its recycling center. The problem, said Jeff Strong, Springfield Public Works director, is that there’s no money in recyclables. He said Monday a sticker system is only one potential solution the town is considering. “Right now, there are ideas out there. Most of the other recycling centers have a sticker system to limit it to residents,” he said. “Here in Springfield, our recycling center is open to anyone.” Chester pays about $25,000 a year so its residents can use the recycling center and also the transfer station for bagged garbage. “The idea was floated out there to try and do a sticker system to reduce the volume of material coming in. We don’t make much on recycling,” he said. The volume of recycling is so great right now, he said, that the town is on the verge of needing to buy another baler to handle it. But rather than buy a baler for the plastic materials, he said, cutting down on the amount might be a better solution. Residents and nonresidents buy trash tickets at Springfield Town Hall and are able to use the weigh-in dumpsters at the center. Strong said the biggest problem was with textiles, and he said there was just no market for any textiles. “You can’t even get people to come pick them up,” he said. The entire recycling market has dropped, he added. Strong said he didn’t know where the out- of- town users were coming from, and a plan by the regional planning commission to install a counter at the transfer station had been put off for better weather. But anecdotally, one Select Board member attested that out-of-towners are out in force. Collecting signatures on petitions is a challenge at the recycling center, Select Board member Walter Martone said, because so many people he runs into aren’t Springfield residents. Strong said the town is holding off on buying another baler until a decision is made on the sticker system. And, he said, the cost of throwing away garbage will likely go up as well for Springfield residents. The town hasn’t increased its disposal fees for at least six years, he said. Springfield residents pay by the pound to get rid of garbage, while most towns have a bag fee. “ It might even be 10 years,” he said of the last cost increase.