Resident petition and town committees push Wells to study food‑waste diversion and a transfer‑station pilot

Mary Mara, a Wells resident and member of Wells Democracy in Action, told the selectboard she and 11 volunteers collected 514 signatures in favor of creating a centralized community food‑waste drop‑off site for residential scraps. Mara said the petition was delivered to town manager Mike Pardue and Steve Buckley, director of the Wells Department of Public Works, and that a pilot at the transfer station is expected to begin in August if feasible.

"Our 11 volunteers had conversations with hundreds of people … On that one day, we gathered 514 signatures," Mara said. She urged the board to support the pilot and thanked Buckley for willingness to run the program.

Board members and liaisons from the Energy Advisory Committee and Solid Waste Committee described past negotiations with haulers and technical constraints. A town representative recalled that Casella had previously proposed a cart‑and‑pickup model (six 48‑gallon totes, weekly pickup) but that quoted disposal costs were high — roughly $800 per ton under an earlier estimate — making the proposal expensive for the town and residents. The board discussed alternatives including vendor kiosks, outreach, home dehydrator products such as Lomi, and seeking additional vendors (for example, Mister Fox) to get competitive pricing.

Committee liaisons asked staff and volunteer committees to continue researching feasible models, including potential upfront vendor investments, biodegradable‑bag requirements and regulatory permits. The board gave the committees the board’s support to pursue further study and community education before any formal program adoption.

Next steps: committees will compile vendor options, cost estimates and regulatory requirements for a future meeting; the pilot model and any required budget allocations will return to the board for formal action.