‘Pay as you throw’ may replace yearly sticker fee system

‘Pay as you throw’ may replace yearly sticker fee system

The committee that oversees the Salisbury-Sharon transfer station heard a pitch for a new fee schedule.

Jennifer Almquist

SALISBURY — Salisbury-Sharon transfer station manager Brian Bartram brought up replacing the current yearly sticker fee for a unit-based pricing system at the regular meeting of the Transfer Station Recycling Advisory Committee Wednesday, Feb. 19.

Bartram made it clear that he was bringing it up for discussion in the context of ongoing uncertainty over where Salisbury and Sharon will be able to ship municipal solid waste and single stream recycling in the future.

“This is not a hill I’m going to die on,” he said.

Bartram explained that unit-based pricing, also known as “Pay As You Throw,” replaces the yearly sticker fee with special garbage bags that residents must buy. Trash must be in one of these bags.

Bartram pointed out that households that generate small amounts of garbage pay the same as households that generate much more under the current system.

To make sure only Salisbury and Sharon residents — full- and part-time — use the transfer station, Bartram recommended using a camera that records the license plate of the vehicle, which is coordinated with town grand lists.

This eliminates another problem that arises when a household’s vehicle with the sticker is unavailable.

Bartram added that some residents dislike having a sticker on their windshield.

Asked if going to unit-based pricing would result in a reduction in overall trash tonnage, Bartram said it probably would, as residents make different choices regarding what they buy and how the items are packaged.

He cautioned any difference would not be enormous, as Salisbury and Sharon residents already “do a fantastic job” on separating solid waste from recycling and getting the overall tonnage down.

Latest News

Barbara Meyers DelPrete

LAKEVILLE — Barbara Meyers DelPrete, 84, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at her home. She was the beloved wife of George R. DelPrete for 62 years.

Mrs. DelPrete was born in Burlington, Iowa, on May 31, 1941, daughter of the late George and Judy Meyers. She lived in California for a time and had been a Lakeville resident for the past 55 years.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti

SHARON — Shirley Anne Wilbur Perotti, daughter of George and Mabel (Johnson) Wilbur, the first girl born into the Wilbur family in 65 years, passed away on Oct. 5, 2025, at Noble Horizons.

Shirley was born on Aug. 19, 1948 at Sharon Hospital.

Keep ReadingShow less
Veronica Lee Silvernale

MILLERTON — Veronica Lee “Ronnie” Silvernale, 78, a lifelong area resident died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Connecticut. Mrs. Silvernale had a long career at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, where she served as a respected team leader in housekeeping and laundry services for over eighteen years. She retired in 2012.

Born Oct. 19, 1946, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she was the daughter of the late Bradley C. and Sophie (Debrew) Hosier, Sr. Following her graduation from high school and attending college, she married Jack Gerard Silvernale on June 15, 1983 in Millerton, New York. Their marriage lasted thirty-five years until Jack’s passing on July 28, 2018.

Keep ReadingShow less
Crescendo launches 22nd season
Christine Gevert, artistic director of Crescendo
Steve Potter

Christine Gevert, Crescendo’s artistic director, is delighted to announce the start of this musical organization’s 22nd year of operation. The group’s first concert of the season will feature Latin American early chamber music, performed Oct. 18 and 19, on indigenous Andean instruments as well as the virginal, flute, viola and percussion. Gevert will perform at the keyboard, joined by Chilean musicians Gonzalo Cortes and Carlos Boltes on wind and stringed instruments.

This concert, the first in a series of nine, will be held on Oct. 18 at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, and Oct. 19 at Trinity Church in Lakeville.

Keep ReadingShow less