Increased Transfer Station Fees Proposed In Chatham

CHATHAM – In an attempt to dig out from an increasing stack of bills from recycling companies, Chatham is looking to increase a number of transfer station fees. 

The biggest increase will be for mixed recyclables brought in by local commercial haulers.  

DPW Director Tom Temple said there are certain item at the top of the list.  “Now, our big issues are mattresses, glass, and we have some issues at times with the co-mingled paper,” he said. 

At this point, commercial haulers pay nothing for the disposal of co-mingled recyclables.  The lack of a fee was put into effect several years ago to boost recycling in town.  The proposal is to charge them $90 per ton.  

Temple recently informed selectmen that the town’s cost for disposing single-stream recyclables has jumped from $32 to $62 a ton in a short period of time and that, without a rate change, the town would pay around $155,000 annually in subsidies given to trash haulers.  

That does not include the cost of trucking the recyclables to the nearest facilities that will accept them, which are in Bourne and Westborough.  To avoid the proposed $90 per ton fee, haulers have the option of bringing their loads to Bourne themselves and pay $62 a ton.   

There are many other fee increases including the per-ton fee for commercial garbage  going from $80 to $100, as well as landscapers and commercial haulers bringing in grass and leaves  paying $60 per ton rather than $40. 

For commercial and residential users, many per-item disposal fees would increase between $2 and $15 . 

Although the new fee schedule does not have an increase in transfer or combination beach and transfer station stickers, recycling-only stickers will rise from $5 to $10. 

There are other escalations, and Temple says the public will be given plenty of warning about all of the changes. 

“We’ll put the word out on the website, at the transfer station, handouts, and our message boards.  Let people know that these changes are coming.” 

The town is also considering the installation of credit card machines at the transfer station.