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Portsmouth reviews curbside trash rollout as enrollment falls below early projection
Summary
Town Administrator Rayner told the Town Council the curbside collection program launched in July and that 3,103 households had signed up for curbside service; councilors raised concerns about enrollment, cost assumptions and the program's enterprise-fund status.
Town Administrator Rayner updated the Portsmouth Town Council on the town's new curbside waste collection program at the July 28 meeting, saying the rollout began in July and that the town and vendor MEGA are responding to missed pickups and scheduling problems.
"MEGA has been responsive and is proactively working with us to resolve outstanding issues," Town Administrator Rayner said, and staff are tracking customer calls and coordinating with DPW and prior vendors to collect old bins.
Why it matters: the program is structured as an enterprise fund intended to pay for itself. Councilors said enrollment shortfalls could raise future sticker prices for curbside service or the transfer station, because the program's revenue assumptions informed this year's pricing.
Rayner asked residents to place bins out the night before or by 6 a.m.; he said trucks are GPS-tracked and equipped with cameras, and many missed collections were traced to bins not set out on time. He also said staff are working with MEGA to collect and store old bins and to coordinate pick-up of bins left by previous vendors.
Rayner reported the program's enrollment totals: 3,103 Portsmouth households signed up for curbside collection, 1,918 households signed up for the Headley Street transfer station, and 81 households are enrolled at Prudence Island's transfer station. He said the town began selling stickers in March and will continue selling through March of the next fiscal year, at which point the next sticker price will be set.
Councilor Taish raised the program's original projection of 4,000 curbside customers and asked what would happen if fewer households enrolled. "Curbside is a self supporting enterprise fund like the transfer station and cannot be supported with taxpayer money," Taish said, noting that a shortfall would be reflected in future sticker pricing rather than in an immediate supplemental town bill.
Several councilors and residents praised DPW and town staff for responding to complaints. "Every single time I've asked for information or a follow-up, they've been handled pretty fast," Councilor Peo said.
Officials said MEGA is the exclusive contractor and that the town pays MEGA out of the general fund at first, with collection of revenues to occur later from sticker sales; town staff said they will continue to monitor enrollment, resolve service complaints, and report back to council if adjustments are required.
Ending: Rayner said the town will continue daily tracking of service issues and encouraged residents with missed collections to report problems so staff can route them through the resolution schedule.
