Georgetown committee asks town attorney how to rewrite transfer-station rules to reduce congestion and deter commercial hauling

The Georgetown Solid Waste Management Committee on Feb. 20, 2025, met with Town Attorney Kristin Collins to review possible amendments to the town’s Solid Waste Ordinance intended to address crowding and traffic at the municipal transfer station.

David Polito, a committee member, summarized the core concern: the transfer station is small and limited in physical space, so while overall tonnage has fallen, vehicle traffic and congestion have increased, particularly in summer months. "The facility cannot handle a dumping trailer or a dump truck," Alison Freeman said, noting neighboring facilities use separate gatehouses and weight stations to control access.

Why it matters: committee members said traffic delays at the transfer station can block other users from offloading, create safety concerns, and erode the facility’s ability to serve residents efficiently. The committee sought guidance from the town attorney on what ordinance language would be legally enforceable to address those problems.

Options discussed included vehicle-size restrictions, limits on the number of visits per vehicle, time-of-day or day-of-week windows for trailers, stickers or pay-per-bag systems to discourage commercial hauling, and clearer enforcement authority for attendants.

Kristin Collins, the town attorney, told the committee it would be reasonable to prohibit "dump trucks" from the transfer station and that time restrictions tied to traffic control and safety would be legally defensible. She also said pay-per-bag systems can be used to reduce abuses by commercial haulers and that requiring a sticker on the vehicle is administratively feasible. "If stickers are required, and if so, how does a STR get in without a sticker?" she asked, adding that the town could hold landlords, rather than renters, responsible for trash disposal in short-term rental situations.

Alison Freeman noted state Department of Environmental Protection guidance: hauling trash from more than five households typically qualifies the transporter for DEP licensing as a "Solid Waste Transporter," and she said most transfer stations exclude commercial haulers. Committee members said they were less focused on defining the commercial-vs.-individual status and more interested in limiting vehicle size or the operational impacts that cause congestion.

On trip limits the committee was divided. David Polito said he favored codifying the informal practice of limiting the number of trips per day to create consistent enforcement. Kristin Collins cautioned that limiting trips per vehicle could be difficult to enforce in some legitimate circumstances — for example, a resident cleaning out a barn who may need multiple trips — and said any trip limit would need consistent application across users.

The committee also discussed short-term rentals (STRs). Bronwen Tudor reported the planning board is conducting a survey of STRs; committee members agreed it is hard to prove STRs produce more trash than conventional residences and that treating STRs differently would require a clear, objective basis. Kristin Collins suggested requiring vehicle stickers and assigning responsibility to landlords for tenant-generated trash if the town wants to regulate STR-related disposal.

On enforcement, Collins explained the town’s current practice is to report suspected violations to the Select Board for a determination. She said the town could charge a resident for the actual cost of disposing of illegally dropped items and that attendants could be given stronger enforcement authority if the ordinance explicitly grants it. The committee agreed any new enforcement powers should be codified in ordinance language to ensure consistent application.

No ordinance amendments were adopted at the meeting. The committee set its next regular meeting for March 13, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. David Polito moved to adjourn the Feb. 20 meeting; Ole Jaeger seconded and the motion passed unanimously.