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Portsmouth reviews curbside rollout after first-month problems; transfer-station and sticker rules clarified
Summary
Town administrators and staff briefed the council on early operational problems and usage figures for the new curbside collection program and changes at the transfer station; officials said most issues are temporary and will be addressed by vendor training and resident education.
Portsmouth town officials on Aug. 25 described early operational problems and user counts for the new curbside trash-and-recycling program and said they are working with vendors and residents to reduce service issues.
The town administrator, Joe Rainer, told the council that 3,160 households had signed up for curbside collection, 1,990 households had purchased Headley Street transfer-station stickers and 89 had purchased Prudence Island transfer-station stickers. "We've directed drivers to empty all Portsmouth logo bins regardless of whether there's a sticker attached or not," Rainer said, adding that stickers will become the primary indicator of paid accounts in the program's second year.
Rainer and staff outlined common, fixable problems recorded during the first month: delayed bin deliveries, leftover barrels from prior haulers, lids and carts tipping when emptied by automated arms, and a small number of households with outstanding balances. "As of this morning, it's 34," Rainer said of accounts with a balance due; those households were given until Sept. 15 to comply or have their carts retrieved.
Town staff described outreach and operational steps. The waste diversion manager has been contacting households with past-due balances and the town will continue vendor reminders and driver training to reduce tipping and rough handling. Rainer said recycling volumes have increased substantially: recycling tonnage rose by "almost 100 tons," and initial recycling rates for the new reporting were about 29% to 30.6 percent, which town staff expect to improve as the program stabilizes.
Council members raised service-quality concerns observed in neighborhoods, including carts being ejected or dropped so forcefully that lids fly open and bins fall on roadways. Councilor Miguel said she witnessed cans being ejected and expressed concern about premature wear on barrels. Public works staff and the town's waste manager said they will press vendors to adopt gentler handling where possible and will continue education about proper bin placement to reduce tipping.
Officials discussed how curbside changes affect the town's contract with Rhode Island Resource Recovery (RIRRC). Rainer said RIRRC plans to begin identifying curbside loads at the scale house starting Sept. 1 and will issue separate monthly reports for curbside and transfer-station volumes. That separation will change how the town monitors its tonnage cap at RIRRC; town staff said the only cap that previously required budget adjustments was for yard waste and that they do not expect to exceed caps based on current forecasts, but confirmed they will monitor volumes over the first year to verify trends.
No formal council action was taken. Town staff said they will continue outreach, retrieve carts from households that fail to pay by the Sept. 15 deadline and refine operations.
The town will continue to report program metrics to the council as curbside operations and vendor reporting stabilize.
