Newtown has a garbage problem, and its efforts to solve them have been met with varying degrees of success. With the Save As You Throw program nearing implementation (formerly called “Pay As You Throw”), and scraps recycling pickup a longtime topic of discussion, we are seeing important developments on this long-standing item.

While the Board of Selectmen did vote to re-add curbside recycling pickup back into the budget prior to its review by the Board of Finance and the Legislative Council, this seems a wise move to allow those two groups to weigh in, particularly since members of both of those bodies are part of the Recycling Ad Hoc committee, which specifically recommended against its removal from the proposed 2025-26 budget at a recent meeting. Plans of possibly funding the program for only half of the upcoming fiscal year, which would give town agencies a year to decide and prepare for a possible replacement, were rejected due to concerns of what would happen if a final decision was not made by then, essentially forcibly ending curbside recycling pickup with no replacement.

It is always best to measure twice and cut once, as they say in construction. Taking the time to do it right, or at least giving other fiscal bodies the chance to weigh in, seems the best move rather than cut it out off the bat. Since the BOF and the council cannot add to the selectmen’s budget, adding it in now and letting the other bodies have the option to keep it or cut it seems the fairest option.

According to the minutes of the January 8 Recycling Ad Hoc Committee meeting, HRRA Executive Director Jennifer Heaton-Jones, explained to the committee that by state law, garbage haulers have to provide recycling as well. There is a town ordinance regarding recycling and the pickup by the town. An option she suggested was to go out for an RFP for both garbage and recycling. The town maintains control of the flow and cost to residents. There was concern regarding the tight timeline. The ordinance would have to be changed by July 1 to make any changes. Heaton-Jones also explained that there are grants to improve curbside recycling.

Meanwhile, Newtown has switched from its original orange bag program instituted last year and moved on to the new Save As You Throw plan.

The Save As You Throw plan would move from the $100 per year permit fee that grants 104 orange bags, that would have slowly increased to $108 per year by 2029, to a plan where there is no permit fee but transfer station users instead pay $1.05 per 13-gallon bag thrown, $2.60 per 32-gallon bag thrown, and $4.40 per 55-gallon bag thrown. The costs would be paid up-front when the bags are purchased, so as to not delay residents throwing away trash during busy times at the Transfer Station.

Heaton-Jones noted that a number of other towns are already on pay-as-you-throw programs, including Bethel, Danbury, New Fairfield, and New Milford.

A household throwing away two bags of garbage per week, a household throwing away one bag per week, a household throwing away three bags per week, and a household throwing out one bag every other week all pay the same $100 fee currently. However, under pay as you throw, the first household with two bags would pay slightly more at $108 per year; the one-bag household would only pay $54 per year, the three-bag household would pay $165 per year; and the household throwing out one bag every other week would only pay $27 per year.

The previous fee and the pay-as-you-throw pricing structure are both designed to ensure that the town can pay its current tipping fees of $101 per ton, increasing to $108 per ton under the current contract. There would be some upfront costs for the town in terms of purchasing the bags to then sell to residents, but overall the program is cost neutral for the town so will have little, if any, budgetary impact beyond the initial outlay that will be reimbursed in fees. The town is also receiving grants towards these programs from HRRA, and HRRA needs to see that the town is committed to the program with a line item in next year’s budget so that Newtown can be eligible for the next round of grants.

For additional information, see our front page story, “Selectmen Do Not Cut Recycling Pickup, Approve Higher Bottom Line,” and our page A-4 story, “Save-As-You-Throw Coming To Newtown Transfer Station July 1.”