Portsmouth council adopts exclusive curbside-hauler ordinance after lengthy public hearing

The Portsmouth Town Council on Nov. 12 approved an ordinance that creates a townwide curbside collection program and affirms the town's exclusive contract with MTG Disposal, voting 5–1 to adopt the ordinance as amended.

Town Administrator Raney told the meeting the ordinance is the final step to make enforceable a single-hauler contract the council awarded in May. Raney said the program was developed after a 2022 council directive, a 2023 white paper and an RFP process, and that the town selected MTG Disposal to provide curbside collection. "There is legal precedent that an exclusive waste-hauling ordinance does not constitute an unconstitutional taking," Raney said, noting First Circuit case law the town reviewed.

The ordinance as drafted requires residential properties under five units to use the town's curbside contractor rather than multiple subscription haulers. Councilors amended the prohibited-acts language during the meeting to remove the phrase that had been worded in a way that could be read as penalizing residents; the revised text makes commercial haulers who violate the ordinance the primary target for enforcement and fines.

Raney and the council presented the program's financial assumptions at the hearing: the town estimates about 6,700 eligible households, is using a working assumption of approximately 4,000 subscribers for initial pricing, and plans to amortize the one-time bin purchase across the enterprise fund over five years. Raney said the up-front cost to supply standard bins to participating households is roughly $1 million and that the town's current estimate for the annual curbside sticker fee under those assumptions is about $442 per household. He said detailed pricing for both the curbside program and the transfer station options will be presented at the Dec. 9 council meeting.

Residents raised multiple concerns during the public hearing: lack of clarity on final prices, whether all roads (including private or narrow roads) would be served, the impact on residents who currently have low-cost private contracts, and whether an exclusive municipal contract would prevent households from switching providers if prices later rise. Several residents said they fear losing the ability to negotiate individually with private haulers.

In response, Raney and Director Woodhead said the awardee surveyed roads and would identify which streets require smaller equipment or will need residents to move bins to a service point; Raney also said fines in the ordinance are intended to be levied against violators (the hauler that unlawfully collects), not against homeowners. The town also said it is pursuing a grant to offset the initial cost of bins; Raney said such a grant would apply to the bin purchase only and not to ongoing operational costs.

Several councilors who supported the ordinance said the single-hauler model is intended to deliver economies of scale, reduce truck traffic and lower costs townwide; others said they regretted the timing and emphasized the need to revisit the ordinance if the program underperforms. The council recorded a 5–1 vote to adopt the ordinance as amended; the motion did not identify individual roll-call votes in the meeting transcript.

The council directed staff to return Dec. 9 with final price scenarios (including alternative bin-size mixes and transfer-station options) and additional implementation details. The ordinance will take effect according to the town's standard ordinance schedule unless the council later amends it.

Why it matters: The ordinance changes how most Portsmouth households will obtain curbside trash and recycling service, centralizes procurement, and shifts operational and implementation risk into a town-run enterprise fund. The decision could affect prices for hundreds to thousands of households, service patterns in neighborhoods and the future viability of Portsmouth's transfer station.

What happens next: Staff will present final pricing and operational scenarios at the Dec. 9 council meeting; sign-ups are planned to begin in January with a target program start date of July 1, 2025.