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

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.