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Solid Waste Committee for Trenton, Maine
Town of Trenton Solid Waste
Committee
Agenda for March 4, 2009 meeting
1.
Attendees:
2. Administrative:
-Vote to accept minutes from February
4, 2009 meeting
New and Old Business
by category:
3. Separation of waste materials
Bulk of separables:
Cardboard & Paper
dumpsters
–
Tarps have been replaced by Mike
Gilmartin. Continue discussion of
eventual dumpster move and shelter.
Tom to present cardboard and
paper summary amounts for September through January?
Plastic & metal containers
dumpster
– is being used regularly.
Consistency of bagging contents is improving. Change things so bagging is no longer
required?
Glass containers dumpster – discuss
replacing dumpster with a different container which is easier to reach the
bottom of and also less expensive (Dotty?)
Fruit/vegetable/plant composting – time
to address compost bins…
Minority: (nothing to
discuss)
Bulky
Construction Debris
Metal
Hazardous (batteries, mercury
bulbs, computers)
Remaining MSW – nothing
to discuss
4. Bypassing ‘middleman’
Possible curbside pickup and
take directly to PERC? On hold for
now?
5. Communication:
Website – Status quo. Nothing to discuss
Mailing – no current mailing
plans
Town TV – nothing to discuss
Radio Public Service
announcements – nothing to discuss
Newspaper Public Service or town
section notice – Peter?
Education (schools, etc.) –
Peter “trash fair” update?
6. Other old or new business:
-letter(s) for Town Report
-status of Eastern Maine Recycling
(EMR) contract & discussions with Ellsworth
7. Identified Action Items:
8. Adjourn meeting
Next
meeting is Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 7PM in the town office.
Meeting minutes for March 4, 2009
Attendees: Tom Sproule, Dotty Young, Chuck Starr,
Mike Gilmartin, Peter Rees
Administrative
-Voted to accept minutes from February,
2009 meeting - 4 Yes, 0 No, 1 abstention
Dumpsters
and shelter
The
Committee discussed the pros and cons of building a shelter for the
recycling dumpsters. It was pointed
out that weather (mostly rain and snow) is a serious concern regarding (1) possible
contamination of recycling materials (possibly making them ‘unrecyclable’)
and (2) interference with dumping operations. This is aggravated by human factors: Sometimes the recycle truck operator does
not replace the tarps when he is done dumping paper or cardboard, and
sometimes residents leave the lids of dumpsters open (It is also possible
that wind is occasionally opening the lids). Currently, we are fairly dependent on
volunteer labor to police the dumpster, closing lids and refastening tarps
when necessary, and also shoveling snow from around and from the tops of
dumpsters. We do not think it wise
to depend on volunteer labor in the long term, and although a shelter would
be costly, it is a justifiable expense which is more than paid for by our recycling
(saving money that would be spent if those materials were placed in MSW).
An identified issue is that the
dumpsters would need to be in their permanent location before a structure
was built, and that a zoning setback ordinance may be a problem requiring a
time consuming request for a variance.
The Committee has tentatively agreed that it would be good to have
the dumpsters sheltered by the start of next winter. Action
item: Tom to discuss move to
Salty Sand Way, shelter and setback issues with the Selectmen at their next
meeting. Chuck will discuss the same with the Planning Board.
Committee members also suggested
exploring possible grants to fund the cost of the shelter. Action
item: Dotty will look into
this. [Follow up: Dotty provided to Tom the website address
for the Maine Community Foundation (www.mainecf.org)
which may provide grants to towns.]
Effect of
our recycling program
Tom reported that we still seem to
be on track to approximately double our recycling this year (July 2008 to
June 2009) compared to our average for the preceding three years, based on a
review of tonnage data (from 5.7% of combined recycling plus MSW weights to
~11%).
Replacing
glass dumpster
Dotty Young discussed costs for
replacing current 3-yard dumpster with new wooden container for easier
operations. Estimates for pressure-treated
materials were $302.05 (Lowes), $208.26 (EBS) and one bid from a contractor
submitted for $240 labor plus materials.
The Committee agreed to seek approval from the Selectmen to spend
$200-400 to build the container, and then will seek volunteers from within
the SWC to purchase materials and build the unit. Action
item: Tom will ask the Selectmen
to approve the expenditure at their next meeting (March 10).
Exploring
recycling in Ellsworth
Tom reported the results of his
on-going conversations (mostly by email) with Leann Beal of Ellsworth. She has been the contact person for the
city of Ellsworth concerning the possibility of Trenton disposing of MSW
and/or recyclables at their transfer station since we started discussions
last November. Tom reported that
Leann sent to him a draft
agreement on February 10 to be a starting point for continued discussions on recyclables only. Highlights of the draft were that Trenton
would pay Ellsworth $12,000 per year to handle our recyclables and
Ellsworth would reimburse Trenton for 25% of whatever revenue they receive
from selling Trenton’s recyclables (bundled with their own). Tom expressed his disappointment at this
draft, having understood from the November meeting that we should have been
able to take our recyclables to Ellsworth at no charge. Tom passed on Leann’s clarification that
this was only a draft, and subject to negotiation, but Tom was skeptical about
the chances that Ellsworth might revert back to the ‘no charge’ scenario
originally envisioned. On further
questioning, Leann reported to Tom that the $12,000/year figure was based
on Ellsworth anticipating that they would need to hire a half-time worker
to handle the increase in recycling workload that Trenton would represent. Tom also pointed out that the current
contract with EMR technically does not allow the Town of Trenton to send
its MSW or recycling (or any other materials) anywhere other than to EMR
(Jurisdiction and Exclusive Rights Provision). Trenton would need to end its contract
with EMR or replace it with a new contract which does not include that
provision before we could enter into an agreement with anyone else. The Committee agreed to discontinue
active pursuit of the Ellsworth option at least until contract issues with
EMR are resolved.
Recycling of
plastic, tin and glass at EMR
The Committee continued its
discussion of the benefits if EMR were to accommodate bulk dumping of
plastic/tin and possibly glass. It would simplify drop-off for the Gott’s
driver. It would allow us to stop
bagging plastic and tin (and possibly glass). And it might allow us to co-mingle glass
with the plastic and tin at our Town Office site. However, opportunities to persuade EMR to
accommodate us seem unlikely while contract negotiations are in limbo. Peter reported that Lee Worcester of EMR
was at a recent ADD meeting, and that ADD representatives expressed
dissatisfaction with the current state of contract negotiations. Perhaps progress will be made soon, and
may help us with the bulk dumping issue…
Composting
The
Committee has had significant conversations about how to encourage resident
composting, including possibly arranging a Town sponsored sale of compost
bins. At this meeting, we decided
that we would not attempt our own sale of compost bins this spring. Instead, we will identify already
available sources of compost bins, and work on communicating to town
residents where they could purchase them and the ease and benefits of their
use.
Communication
SWC input
into 2009 Trenton Town Report was discussed. The Committee agreed that it would be
good to submit a letter from the SWC for inclusion in the Town Report. Since Janet requires that Report
materials be submitted by early April, it was decided that we would prepare
a letter for submission before our next meeting (April 1), rather than
bringing a draft for discussion at that meeting. Action
item: Tom will write the first
draft of the letter, and send it by email to other SWC members for comments. Based on comments received, Tom will
modify the letter and send around additional drafts as needed, until
Committee members seem to be satisfied, and will then send the final letter
by email to Janet. The Committee
also agreed to forward to Janet a letter from the Acadia Disposal District
(ADD) written by Tony Smith. [Follow
up: Tom sent the first draft letter
to SWC members on March 7, and only received comments back from Peter and
Chuck. Tom made revisions in
consultation with Peter and Chuck, and submitted the SWC and ADD letters
for the Town Report to Janet on March 17.]
Peter reported that he met on
March 4, 2009 with TES teachers to determine trash fair date and possible
Earth Day (Wed, Apr 22) or Arbor Day (Fri, Apr 24) significance.
Chuck presented Maine Municipal
Association event schedule with reference to MMA Recycling and Waste
Conference in Bar Harbor on May 4-5 (Mon-Tues). All committee members present showed
interest in attending.
The
meeting was adjourned at 8:00PM. The
next meeting is
Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 7PM in the town office.
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