SNOW HILL — Solid waste has been a major financial loss for Worcester County for the past several years, but over the summer the County Commissioners voted to implement some new programs aimed at chipping away at the shortfall.
This week the commission received an update on the details of the new disposal options, which include a Pay As You Throw (PAYT) pilot program.
The county is hoping the recent changes to homeowner trash disposal permits as well as the experimental PAYT will help Worcester stem the bleeding when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of dollars lost every year on solid waste.
“If this is wildly successful, this will help with the money that we’re losing,” said Commissioner Judy Boggs Tuesday.
Of particular interest to Boggs is the PAYT program, which the county approved in June but won’t become effective until Jan. 1, 2015. PAYT is exactly what the name suggests: people will be able to pay a set fee for each 33-gallon trash bag that they dispose of at a county landfill. It’s an alternative to purchasing an annual disposal permit and should be cheaper for those who aren’t generating a significant amount of solid waste.
Public Works Director John Tustin revealed the exact details of how PAYT will work this week. The price to dispose of trash has been set at $1 per bag. Participants will have to buy “refuse tags” to place on each bag. The $1 tags come in sheets of five and have no expiration date.
For people who don’t generate much trash, PAYT could represent significant savings.
“I think that $1 per bag, when you have just one or two people in a household, would be very beneficial,” said Boggs. “And they don’t expire. If you buy say, $100 worth of them, that’ll last you two years.”
An added benefit is that the price and convenience of PAYT could encourage low-trash producing households to participate directly instead of simply finding a neighbor with a household disposal permit and pooling their trash. The county has acknowledged that such cases have been a serious issue and responsible for significant revenue loss over the years.
As far as homeowner permits go, they will still be available and likely remain the most popular method for county residents to deal with their garbage. Pricing was changed over the summer, however, and now the first two permits for any one household will cost $100 with a third permit purchasable for an additional $100. The new permits will also become effective Jan. 1.
Both PAYT and the newly-priced homeowner permits are meant only for individual households.
“Businesses, even home-based such as farms, cleaning or maintenance, daycares, etc. and churches and nonprofits, are required to contract with a commercial hauler on their own or bring trash to the Central Landfill to be weighed and pay tipping fees,” ” reads the new Solid Waste Division rules and conditions. “We will not sell Refuse Tags to businesses or nonprofits. We will not accept payments or checks from businesses.”
Driving home the difference between households and business solid waste uses will be a major goal for the county this year. Educating people about PAYT will also require an effort.
“The biggest thing we’ll need to stress is that you can’t bring your yard waste for the $1 per bag,” said county attorney Sonny Bloxom. “There are going to be some people confused by that.”
PAYT doesn’t require any type of application beforehand as the program is designed to be a simple, convenient option for people looking to dispose of a small amount of trash quickly. However, PAYT will be monitored closely in its first year and if the county feels that the system is being abused in any way the commission could require proof of residency in Worcester before making a sale of refuse tags.