The Scarborough Town Council wants to take its time reviewing a set of recommendations from the Energy Committee, which suggest that encouraging residents to compost and recycle more is a better alternative to decreasing the town’s cost to dispose of household waste than implementing a pay-to-throw system.
The committee gave its report at a workshop last week during which councilors said they wish to go into further detail before developing any type of action plan.
The Energy Committee was asked to review alternatives to pay-to-throw after the council rejected imposing such a system of trash disposal when approving the current fiscal year budget last year.
In its report the committee made several recommendations, including increasing education and outreach efforts in terms of encouraging residents to compost and recycle more, as well as hiring a part-time sustainability coordinator.
The report said 40 percent of municipal solid waste is compostable and another 19 percent could be recycled.
In the initial discussion on the Energy Committee’s recommendations, councilors noted that focusing on increased composting could have the most significant impact in reducing the total amount of household waste produced annually.
While the committee focused on composting, in particular, it also acknowledged that a pay-to-throw program is another viable way to cut down on the amount of waste produced in Scarborough each year.
The Energy Committee told the council that implementing pay-to-throw could take between six and nine months, though, with much of that time focused on outreach to residents about the benefits of such a system of trash disposal.
In terms of compost, the committee said the town could offer curbside pickup, as it does now for trash and recyclables. Other options, according to the committee, would be the establishment of compost drop-off locations around town and holding backyard composting workshops for residents.
Scarborough’s Energy Committee is recommending that the town encourage residents to compost as a way of reducing the amount of household trash produced each year.
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