Transfer Station gets grant for ‘pay as you throw’ garbage plan

The application estimates a UBP (unit-based pricing) model at the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station will lower waste yields by 25-40% in the two towns

SALISBURY/SHARON — The governor’s office announced on Oct. 29 that the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station will receive a state grant to implement a unit-based pricing system —known as UBP or “pay as you throw” — and expand its composting operations.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) awarded the transfer station $266,692 through its Sustainable Materials Management grant program. The funds will support a gradual, three-phase transition to a pay-per-bag model to replace the current $150 flat fee paid by households. Both the Salisbury and Sharon selectboards endorsed the application when it was submitted in June.

Under the new system, residents would pay based on the amount of trash they generate rather than a single flat rate. Smaller households, such as retirees or couples, would pay less, while larger families that produce more garbage would pay more.

Per the application, “the goal of the three-phase process is to gain as much support as possible for the program.”

On Oct. 30, Brian Bartram, manager of the transfer station, said efforts to switch to a UBP system began in 2000 when the proposition was met with community backlash. Another attempt to look into UBP was initiated in the early 2010s, but it didn’t go anywhere, said Bartram.

UBP is controversial because while it brings costs down for some, it will not benefit the larger households who have grown used to the flat rate. There is evidence, though, especially from nearby Massachusetts, that the system lowers overall residential and commercial waste production.

The application estimates a UBP model at the Salisbury/Sharon Transfer Station will lower waste yields by 25-40% in the two towns, as it has in other Connecticut towns like Woodbury and Guilford/Madison.

Part of the waste reduction comes from diverting food scraps out of the trash. The savings to the town with the program will help further develop the transfer station’s growing composting initiative. Cornwall was also awarded an SMM grant on Oct. 29 in the sum of $15,000 to build its own composting program.

Bartram said the purpose of the phased strategy is to allow for “parachutes” or “fire extinguishers” in case the system proves to be inappropriate for the towns or widely unpopular. In the immediate term, the selectmen have the right to decline the grant money, even though they signed on to the application in the early summer.

Bartram said if the two selectboards choose to accept, the first step will be to compile an advisory committee for the project with members on both sides of the UBP issue.

Once that team is assembled, the first phase will be “groundwork” and will begin with deliberating implementation specifics about pricing, bag distribution andpublic outreach efforts.

As of Monday, both first selectmen expressed enthusiasm at the transfer station’s success with its application and for beginning the initial process.

Following the groundwork stage is the “launch”phase in which the Committee will initiate widespread community engagement as the program kicks off for a mandatory 1-year run, which will have to be approved by both selectboards. The final phase outlined in the application is the “monitoring” phase where feedback and program results are reviewed and the system is streamlined for long term success.

Bartram said he was confident in the plan, but that he understands the difficulty in bringing an unfamiliar program to the transfer station. “I think it’s a good idea but there are so many nuances,” he said. He stated it will be the job of the committee to discern the best way to move forward with a program that could help the state mitigate its waste crisis.

Since the closure of the Materials Innovation and Recycling facility in Hartford in 2022, Connecticut has shipped more than 40% of its municipal and commercial waste to landfills across state borders, which is expensive to the state, towns and ultimately residents.