Braintree Officials Work on Waste Anxiety as Town Starts New Program

Jason Sentas and his wife Stephanie have four children and a long-term visiting student living in their home on Wyman Road.

The family regularly puts out two recycling barrels and one trash barrel, an example of the kind of recycling ethos that Braintree officials say if followed will help the environment and improve municipal finances.

But under Braintree's new waste automation program, Sentas will have to pay $50 for a second recycling barrel.

"This is a great idea, but why do we have to pay more?" he said.

Mayor Joseph Sullivan, during a public meeting on the program at Town Hall Tuesday night, said he is examining whether charging extra – including $100 for additional trash barrels – will be a one-time or annual cost for residents.

It was one of several issues that residents asked about Tuesday, and one that Sullivan said is an ongoing topic of discussion among his staff.

Automated pickup kicks off Sept. 30. Over the next two weeks, every household that has paid the annual trash fee will receive one 64-gallon trash barrel and one 64-gallon recycling barrel. The barrels will be placed in front of homes where they should be put every week, starting in East Braintree.

The town is currently collecting requests from residents who want smaller, 35-gallon barrels at no cost, and those who need extra 64-gallon containers. Several of the 70 or so residents at the meeting provided their information to town employees on hand collecting barrel requests.

Margaret Dunlea was among those who said the 64-gallon receptacles will be too large. She is not even 100 pounds, Dunlea said, and would not be able to move the bigger barrels around her home on Elmlawn Avenue.

Charging extra for the 64-gallon barrels, whether a one-time or annual fee, does not sit well with Town Council President Charles Kokoros.

"I oppose charging any household for a second barrel, period," Kokoros said.

The town is purchasing the trash barrels for $79 each. Sullivan said the $100 charge for extras will help cover the costs of extra tonnage, though "we need to think that [number] through a little more," he added after the meeting.

Trash costs more to dispose of than recycling, and charging $50 less for the recycling barrels is an incentive for residents to recycling more. The cost of additional tonnage is also why the town is considering charging the extra fees annually, even though the barrel purchases are a one-time cost, Sullivan said.

The initial shipment of barrels cost the town $755,000. Bonding will be supplemented by a $130,000 state grant and $20,000 from Sunrise. A supply of 35-gallon barrels have also been purchased.

Braintree's contract with Sunrise Scavenger replaces a deal with Capitol Waste that expired June 30. If Braintree had stayed with Capitol at the same rate, it would have spent $8 million over five years, according to data provided by the mayor’s office. With Sunrise, Braintree will spend $6.6 million over the same time period.

Those savings – approximately $1.4 million over five years – will be reduced by the cost of the barrels, but then also increased over time with reduced tipping fees.

The mayor said that expected savings from increased recycling rates will mean at least a further $10 reduction in the trash fee starting July 1, 2014. The rate was lowered during Sullivan's tenure to $160 from $170. Seniors pay a discounted rate of $105.

Braintree also stands to benefit environmentally, Sustainable Braintree President Cheryl Edgar said. The transition will be a challenge, but well worth it, she added.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for the community," Edgar said. "The more you recycle, the better for the environment."

The goal for Sunrise, Sullivan said, is to begin its rounds at 7 a.m. and finish by 2 p.m. Under the previous sharing agreement with Weymouth, Quincy and Capitol Waste, Braintree sometimes saw trucks still picking up waste in the late afternoon.

Households that have trouble following the automated program – Sunrise will only pick up approved barrels with handles facing toward the house – will see an orange notice placed on their barrels, waste coordinator Jeffrey Kunz said.

Two arms will reach out from Sunrise trucks and lift the barrels, dumping their contents into a bucket on the front of the trucks.

The Town Council will discuss automation again at its meeting next Tuesday, Sept.. 17. Sullivan said another public meeting will be held around the end of the year to check in on the program.

"We believe this program will work," Sullivan said. "There are going to be some growing pains."