Chittenden Solid Waste District debate preserves no-fee waiver for asphalt shingles through 2026

The Chittenden Solid Waste District board voted on Feb. 26 to continue waiving the district's solid waste management fee for asphalt shingles used as road base at the Coventry landfill through Dec. 31, 2026, following a lengthy discussion with district staff and representatives of Myers, the local construction and demolition (C&D) processor.

Board members and staff spent more than an hour questioning whether shingles used as road base at the landfill should be treated as recycling, reused material or simply disposal that should be charged the full fee. The board first considered a motion to apply the ordinance's alternative daily cover (ADC) rate (25% of the full fee, $7.50 per ton) but that measure failed on a 16-17 vote.

Joey Catania, CSWD compliance and safety manager, told the board the district's ordinance allows a 75% reduction when solid waste material is put to infrastructural use and ultimately remains in the landfill. "Our ordinance is written so that when ... infrastructural improvements are used with solid waste material that's ultimately ending up in the landfill ... that material gets a 75% reduction in the…