Public Comment: Hopes For Adopting A Revised Solid Waste Bylaw in 2024

The following public comment was submitted in writing to the Town Services and Outreach Committee (TSO) for their meeting on December 7, 2023 and to the Amherst Town Council.

My name is Darcy DuMont and I am commenting on behalf of Zero Waste Amherst regarding the Waste Hauler Bylaw materials included in the TSO carryover memo.

We are gratified that three haulers have responded to the town’s Request for Information and that DPW has assigned an intern to obtain the haulers’ contracts with other towns. We urge the town and new sponsors to take the time needed to evaluate all of the  responses which will provide valuable information about prospects for reforming our waste hauling system so that it will significantly reduce waste. 

Both the sponsors of the bylaw and ZWA have requested to see the responses and accompanying documentation and continue to look forward to receiving those materials.

Since the topic of the hauler bylaw proposal is not on the TSO agenda today and since TSO has not made any decisions or recommendations one way or the other on the elements of the proposal, we request that TSO: 

1. include the August 2022 Waste Hauler Bylaw proposal in the attached materials accompanying the proposal to be carried over in addition to any other materials;

2. recommend continued evaluation of the elements of the August 2022 Waste Hauler Bylaw proposal, starting with the RFI responses and documentation provided;

3. recommend adding to the 2024 Town Manager goals

1. reestablishment of a Waste Reduction Committee 
2. seeking a grant to fund a waste reduction coordinator
3. provision of line staff to complete a cost analysis for implementing the elements of the August 2022 waste hauler proposal, including the estimated cost of the hauler contract and the cost of providing billing, using a Pay As You Throw (PAYT) fee structure, and providing contract compliance. 

We endorse in concept Councilor Bahl-Milne’s memo and thank her for her passion for the issue and for including ZWA’s positions on the elements of the proposal, as community sponsor. ZWA cannot, however, endorse attaching an alternate bylaw when there is so much detail added that hasn’t been discussed. These are the basic problems that we see in the alternate proposal:

1. Timing of Implementation and Enforcement of Separation
It is unclear how the requirement of “separation” would work during the three year period of non-enforcement. It would make more sense to simply have a date of enforcement preceded by a period of education and outreach. We believe this element could have negative unintended consequences on resident buy-in to the program.

2. Status of Transfer Station
A strong recommendation has been made to include universal resident and business membership in the transfer station for a small annual fee in order to provide town-wide access to the Transfer Station as a center for hard-to-recycle materials and other waste reduction services. We agree with our DEP Municipal Assistance Coordinator that not including the Transfer Station as part of a larger town-wide program (rather than as a simple alternative to the program) could have negative unintended consequences on the viability of the Transfer Station going forward.

3. Giving the Impression That the Problem Can Be Solved through Licensing Changes
We already have a requirement that haulers provide a unit-based PAYT fee structure in our Board of Health (BoH) regulations, but this regulation is not enforced. PAYT will only work with a contract. Also, the licensing regulations would apply to all haulers, of which we have many (serving the apartment complexes), and there are no regulations about how PAYT would work with dumpsters. It would be good to add the suggested language to the BoH regulations, but the specifics would require much more discussion.The addition of this provision gives the impression that the problem can be solved through licensing rather than needing a contract accomplished through a competitive bidding process.

4. We Support the Simple Elements of the Original Proposal as Follows: (bullets added)

Starting in January of 2024, the Town shall 

• either provide directly or through a contract with one or more waste hauler(s), universal curbside pick-up of trash, recyclable and compostable materials, and other waste reduction services, with the goal of meeting the Town’s Climate Action, Adaptation and Resilience Plan, June 2021 and Zero Waste goals. 
  
• Such services shall be provided by way of a pay-as-you-throw fee structure and 
  
• shall include local compostable materials processing and reuse. 
  
• The program may be phased in over a period of three years, starting with single family and 2-4 family residences and, within three years, including apartment complexes, homeowners’ associations, businesses, and institutions.

We thank the councilor sponsors in this term, especially Councilor Bahl-Milne, and look forward to working with the councilors to whom the baton is passed in 2024.