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 solid waste management fee," Catania said, explaining staff's recommendation to apply the 25% fee rather than the prior full waiver.

Representatives for Myers urged the board to retain the waiver. "This is a great use in the landfill. It reduces the amount of mined [material]," said Dave Auger, who spoke with Joe Seraga for Myers. Auger said Myers had used shingles on roadway shoulders in the past and that placing whole shingles in landfill road base likewise reduces virgin material needs.

Commissioners pressed Myers and staff on operational details. Ken (last name on record: Spencer) asked whether Myers still separates and grinds shingles and whether that work requires extra staff; Auger said Myers still sorts and screens loads and that the process requires added effort and truck trips. Commissioners also questioned whether Casella, which operates the Coventry landfill, reimburses Myers; Myers representatives said Casella does not reimburse Myers for the sorting costs.

Board members raised legal and policy questions about classification. Paul Stabler, chair, summarized staff's view: the district's ordinance treats material that ultimately remains in a landfill as disposal but allows a fee reduction when it is used for beneficial infrastructure. "Because of the innovation and the process that is in place ... we think that the 75% reduction in the fee should apply to this," he said during discussion of the recommended 25% fee.

After the failed motion to apply the ADC rate, a separate motion to continue waiving the solid waste management fee on shingles used for landfill road construction in Coventry through Dec. 31, 2026, passed on a roll call vote (24 yes, 8 no). The board directed staff to continue market research and signaled interest in revisiting ordinance language to clarify definitions for "recycling," "repurposing," and ADC materials.

The record shows the state previously waived its franchise fee for this material and that state staff view the use of shingles in landfill road base as a form of recycling because it replaces virgin material, an interpretation some commissioners said warranted further coordination between the district and the state.

The board asked staff to return with clearer ordinance language and market analysis during the waiver period so the board could reassess the policy before the waiver expiration.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to implement the solid waste management fee for asphalt shingles at the ADC rate (25% of full fee, $7.50/ton): moved by Kynesbury; seconded by Huntington; result: failed, 16 yes, 17 no.

- Motion to waive the solid waste management fee on asphalt shingles used for landfill road base in Coventry through Dec. 31, 2026: maker not explicitly recorded in roll call transcript; seconded by Jericho; result: passed, 24 yes, 8 no.

Why it matters

The decision preserves a no-fee pathway for material that Myers collects and prepares for use as landfill infrastructure, a practice the district and the state have previously supported to divert material from disposal and reduce virgin aggregate use. Commissioners signaled the board intends to clarify ordinance language and test market resilience during the two-year waiver.

What's next

Staff will continue market research, follow up with state officials on the recycling definition, and bring proposed ordinance clarifications back to the board for consideration before the waiver expires.