Herald News Staff Reporter Posted Jul. 30, 2014 @ 9:45 pmUpdated Jul 30, 2014 at 9:51 PM FALL RIVER — Just a week before the city is set to roll out a controversial pay-as-you-throw waste disposal program, private trash haulers were informed Monday the city will be implementing some significant fees and regulations associated with city clients who won’t be involved in the new solid waste initiative.It’s a measure that has local city and business leaders, and the affected companies themselves, protesting the move.“The cost associated with these new city regulations come out on the 11th hour. The haulers should have been told earlier,” City Councilor Raymond Mitchell said.The new solid waste program begins Monday.The new trash hauling regulations will be implemented through the Department of Health and Human Services, said Kenneth Pacheco, director of community maintenance.The proposed regulations stem from criteria established by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in a $200,000 grant awarded to the city. The grant will fund five positions to help the city enforce the pay-as-you-throw program.The administration met with several trash haulers on Monday to outline the city’s planned regulations and fees, Pacheco said.Under the proposed plan, which must be approved by the Board of Health, the city wants to require trash haulers doing business in the city limits to pay a $100 annual fee per trash truck, and the equipment will have to be registered with the city’s health department.The city also wants to implement an annual $25-per-Dumpster fee to Dumpster owners in Fall River.Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Sousa, who has been involved in creating the new solid waste regulations, said the city initially planned to charge $100, but the trash haulers protested the cost as being cost prohibitive.“So we lowered the fee. We heard them loud and clear,” Sousa said.For customers who opt out of the pay-as-you-throw program, the city will now force the private haulers to only offer service that bundles both trash and recycling.Initially, the proposed bundling of services would have precluded residents from using private trash haulers to be eligible to have the city pick up their recyclables.Sousa explained it is up to residents to choose to contract with a private hauler.“They could choose to stay with the city. It’s their choice,” Sousa said. “We are not forcing anyone to participate with pay-as-you-throw.”Mayor Will Flanagan also contacted The Herald News to discuss the proposed regulations. He said he wanted to clarify the bundling issue.While contracts must still bundle both trash and recycling services, if a resident wanted the city to continue the city recyclables service, they would still be eligible.Committee to Recall Mayor William Flanagan shared a link. July 31Here are the grant requirements and right off the top, the city does not qualify. They do not have recycling bins, receptacles in every municipal building. They have a program, but no receptacles. Where the hell are they in Government Center. They have 30 days from award date which has not yet been awarded. While the grant provisions to make a point of balancing or evening the playing field. In discussions with DEP nothing was supposed to be punitive. Read them in detail.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 00:14:35 +0000
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