A fatal accident at the Cape Elizabeth transfer station in November 2014 led the town to review both immediate and long-term changes in terms of safety and more efficient trash disposal.

Now, at a public hearing scheduled for Jan. 4, the Cape Town Council is asking for comment on a 158-page report prepared by the Solid Waste and Recycling Long Term Planning Committee, which calls for various changes in how the transfer station operates.

The proposed recommendations would increase the annual costs by an estimated $13,800, however.

The major changes being suggested include installation of drive forward-only lanes, which would have their own recycling and outdoor trash compactor stations; constructing a bypass lane to allow more convenient access to services such as the Swap Shop and Bottle Shed; and repurposing the existing compactor building.

The full Solid Waste and Recycling Long Term Planning Committee report is available for review on the town website, found at www.capeelizabeth.com.

The five-person committee, which met 20 times, was appointed by the Town Council to “study all aspects of the current (transfer station) and to recommend long-term solutions for the handling of solid waste,” the report states.

Since the town dump was closed and the transfer station/recycling center took its place in 1978, many things have changed, the solid waste planning committee said.

That includes growth in the number of seniors in town, as well as an increase in the types of services offered.

In addition to household waste and recycling, the transfer station also accepts bulky waste and demolition materials, hazardous waste, universal waste and yard waste.

The Swap Shop and Bottle Shed, which town organizations use for fundraising, are also more popular, according to the solid waste planning committee report.

In its nearly yearlong review, the committee said it “took a hard look at safety, level of service, ease of use and costs,” in coming to its recommendations.

And while the committee’s proposals will increase the annual costs, overall, it said, “Not only will these changes best serve town residents now and in the years to come, but they will also prove to be a more efficient use of taxpayer dollars.”

The report adds, “The recommended redesign requires no expansion of the recycling center, no costly retaining walls and no new buildings, thus eliminating significant potential (capital) costs.”

The ultimate goal for the transfer station upgrades, the committee said, is to “provide substantial safety and service improvements over the next 25 to 30 years.”

Following the accident, which killed former public works director

Herbert Dennison last year, the town implemented a short-term safety solution, which requires residents to take turns driving their vehicles forward and then walking their trash into the compactor building.

The recommendations by the solid waste planning committee would replace that temporary system.

Following a public session this past spring, Peter Frye, vice chairman of the solid waste planning committee, told the Current that while, “the short-term traffic pattern is better and safer than the system it replaced, it’s not suitable for (the) longer term.”

The recommendations for changes at the transfer station have the support of Council Chairwoman Molly MacAuslan. However, she also said that the $1.3 million cost to implement them may not be acceptable to the majority of taxpayers.

A CLOSER LOOK

The Cape Elizabeth Town Council will hold a public hearing on proposed upgrades to the transfer station on Monday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m.

Trash carts await use by residents disposing of their household waste at the Cape Elizabeth transfer station.

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