Pay to take out the trash

The past year-and-a-half has been a rough time for most Americans, and certainly for many living in the Northwest Corner, because of the recession and its repercussions. Money is tight, and not really getting much looser. Between people losing their jobs, or getting hours and salaries cut back, or frozen, as costs continue to rise, there has not been much relief for either area households or businesses.

All of this cannot be seen in a vacuum; it makes a difference in the way people accept change and risk right now. So it is with some trepidation that residents of Salisbury and Sharon are considering the prospect of a change in the way they pay to dispose of their trash. Right now, with the annual fee being set at $70 per household in these towns, residents can predict their costs and budget for them. Facing the proposed change from an annual fee to a per-bag cost, Pay As You Throw (PAYT), as described in articles on open town meeting discussions by Patrick Sullivan in this newspaper last week and Shaw Israel Izikson this issue, residents are understandably apprehensive about the effects on their wallets. A loss of control in any part of one’s household finances is unwelcome at any time, but now, after the struggles associated with the recession, it is particularly so.

The act of disposing of trash is one that is under the control of individual residents only to a point. Many residents in the two towns are committed to recycling. However, there are limitations right now. For instance, only plastics with the numbers one and two can be recycled at the transfer station. Until the new facility, planned for the acreage Salisbury bought on Route 44 near the New York border, is complete, this will remain the case.

The town officials who are responsible for creating and maintaining the system of trash collection and disposal, and the way in which it is paid for, should remember the unsure economy their constituents have been coping with in recent months. PAYT has, as noted by the representative of WasteZero in a presentation to the Salisbury Board of Selectmen last week, been embraced by and apparently successful in 270 towns using the WasteZero program up to now. However, the uncertainty of the change in individual household costs and the anxiety it may cause for some of the towns’ residents needs to be considered by these officials. They should take nothing for granted and be extremely careful in their assessment of the financial structure of the PAYT system, and should be just as diligent in communicating their findings to all the citizens of both Sharon and Salisbury.

It is also incumbent upon residents of the towns to keep their town officials accountable, and to be sure that they are fulfilling their responsibilities in serving the public interest. Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand emphasizes that the town is trying to save money by taking steps toward using the PAYT system, and that is commendable, but the theory must be tested and proven before implementation. There should be no surprises when it comes to any possible increase in municipal service costs, especially after the kind of debilitating recession economy with which all have been struggling.