Foster council authorizes president to sign Resource Recovery agreement under cap-share program

The Foster Town Council on May 8 voted to authorize Council President Steve Plouffe to sign a solid waste and recycling service agreement between the town and the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation that will use the agency’s cap-share program.

Council discussion addressed leaf and yard-waste handling and whether Foster receives anything in return under past arrangements. A town staff member explained the cap-share program allows Resource Recovery to allocate yard waste among municipalities and noted some towns do not receive reciprocal material in return. "So it's not just unique to Foster... we're using the cap share program," the staff member said, describing the arrangement that can send material to Coventry and other towns with capacity.

Councilmembers agreed the authorization was primarily administrative; a motion to authorize the council president to sign the agreement was moved, seconded and passed by voice vote. The council record indicates the existing cap-share policy is the mechanism by which Foster’s yard waste will be handled under the agreement.

The meeting transcript and the motion reference the agreement title as the "Solid Waste and Recycling Service Agreement between Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation and the town of Foster." The council noted that because the cap-share policy covers the allocation, no separate vote to move material to Coventry was required, but the president’s signature is needed to finalize the agreement.

No numeric roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript; approval was recorded by voice as "Aye."