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Town officials report fewer rejected recycling loads, plan camera and enforcement steps to curb illegal dumping
Summary
Town Administrator Phil Gould said rejected recycling loads spiked in August but have fallen to zero for five months; the town will deploy cameras, work with a new zoning officer and pursue fines and community‑service enforcement to cut illegal dumping and offset costs.
Town Administrator Phil Gould told the Budget Board that rejected recycling loads at the regional recycling facility spiked in August (about 20 rejected loads that month) but have since fallen to three or fewer in subsequent months and zero in the most recent five months of data reviewed by staff.
Gould and staff described a multi‑part approach to illegal dumping: deploy additional cameras at problem sites (including Higgins Avenue/Industrial Highway areas), work with the new zoning official to pursue enforcement and municipal court actions, and partner with a Waste Management driver in town who places door‑hanger warnings on visibly contaminated or overloaded recycling bins. Gould said municipal court fines and community‑service sentencing help offset the manpower and tipping‑fee costs of cleanup; he suggested the town could quantify man‑hours and tipping fees recovered from fines.
Officials also discussed resident education about proper recycling (dry cardboard, empty and unload bags) and that wet or contaminated loads cause equipment problems at the regional facility. Gould said the town is distributing information via social media and stickers on bins and will move spare cameras from other park locations to monitor problem dumping hotspots.
Ending: Staff said they will provide the board with cleaner data on rejected loads and enforcement revenue, continue camera deployments and coordinate with the police and zoning officer to pursue municipal court cases where appropriate.
