Select Board approves three-year solid waste contract; managers outline recycling, compost and equipment plans

The Town of Swansea Select Board voted by voice to authorize the solid waste manager to enter a three-year contract with Waste Management under the revised offer, and heard a detailed operations briefing on recycling, construction-and-demolition (C&D) disposal and potential capital investments.

The vote, taken by voice, produced unanimous “ayes” with no roll-call tally recorded during the meeting. The contract was discussed as a three-year agreement that would begin in August; staff said the town budgeted about $106 per ton and that the contract pricing of about $107 per ton lines up with that estimate. The solid waste manager recommended the revised offer and moved to authorize execution of the contract; a board member seconded the motion and the voice vote carried.

The nut graf: Town staff said the contract approval will be paired with operational changes intended to reduce disposal volumes and increase revenue from recycled materials, including a pilot for food-waste collection, more aggressive plastics sorting, use of balers, and potential investments in a truck scale and a horizontal baler.

In the presentation, staff reviewed a roughly 10-year volume history and described year-to-year variability tied to construction activity and weather. “We did a lot of clean out this year,” the solid waste manager said, noting that construction debris and leftover materials drove higher C&D tonnage in the last fiscal year. Staff described efforts to reduce wasted container shipments by staggering container pickups during the week and targeting shipments to avoid partial loads.

Staff also outlined targeted recycling initiatives: expanding the types of plastics collected (noting recycling codes 1–7), separating high-value resin streams when economically feasible, and baling materials for shipment when full-trailer loads can be achieved. Staff reported examples of recent market prices they watch: full trailer loads of baled aluminum recently fetched about $0.75 per pound; cardboard loads returned approximately $1,500 per 42,000-pound load. Staff said those prices vary with market conditions and that they balance separation labor against revenue opportunities.

On organics, staff said a vendor-research pilot for food-waste hauling will begin as a shipping-only program to test cost savings; a later phase could be an on-site composting program for egg shells and vegetable scraps if the trial proves viable. “Ideally I’d like to start doing some on-site… but I want to see how this one would work,” the solid waste manager said.

Staff described planned equipment and site changes: repurposing some existing pads, reorganizing drop-off bays, installing a horizontal baler in the new waste building to dedicate bays to specific streams, and studying a vehicle scale (drive-on weigh scale) to capture accurate weights for billing and revenue calculations. The manager said a full weigh scale previously quoted in 2018 cost roughly $80,000; staff also noted certification and calibration requirements for any scale used for transactions.

Other fee and program notes included: the mattress disposal fee was raised from $10 to $20 and staff said the change has been working as intended; staff also said they are tracking electronics and other universal-waste streams separately. The manager said staff will continue to track diversion rate goals and aim to raise the town’s diversion rate from about 34% toward a target near 37% over the next year.

Ending: With the contract authorized, staff said they will continue operational changes and report back to the board on pilot results and any proposed capital expenditures for balers, scales or building modifications.