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RiverCOG staff recommend proceeding with study to form a regional waste authority
Summary
RiverCOG staff reported they reached a decision point on a regional waste authority study funded to respond to the dissolution of a statewide authority and recommended proceeding with legal and organizational work; participation by towns would remain voluntary.
Sam Gold, RiverCOG staff, told the committee the regional waste authorities project — funded after the dissolution of the statewide authority — has reached a decision point and the study team’s recommendation is to proceed with steps to create a regional waste authority. Gold said the legal work is funded and that creating such an authority would not obligate towns to participate in future services; rather, it would create an entity towns could opt into if benefits materialize.
"The recommendation from our study right now is to proceed," Gold said, noting potential benefits including better negotiation leverage for disposal and recycling contracts, shared equipment, and expanded diversion services like organics collection. Members were told the authority could initially focus on services RiverCOG already runs, such as household hazardous waste and paper‑shredding events.
No formal vote was taken; staff said further legal and organizational steps will be completed in the coming months and that participating towns would be asked to consider opt‑in agreements if the project moves forward.
