In Sanford, Maine, trash is down 50% in the first month of PAYT.
According to one national blog, "the 50% decrease in garbage tonnage far exceeded the town manager’s expectations. If projections hold true, this town of 21,000 in southwest Maine can save about $250,000 in garbage tipping fees, crucial as the city will face a 20% price increase in the service after the new year."
Authored by: pjmelton on Tuesday, August 24 2010 @ 04:48 PM GMT+4
While DThomas did not make a direct connection, this general topic was of intense local interest until very recently, and may be again in a few months.
Personally, though, I think the first month of a program does not tell you whether it was actually successful. But also, I've been to Sanford, Maine, and it is a very different place from Brattleboro, Vermont. It would certainly have been a more enlightening story if some parallels had been drawn between "them" and "us."
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"The whole shadow of Man is only as big as his hat. " -- Elizabeth Bishop
Authored by: Maus Anon E on Tuesday, August 24 2010 @ 06:27 PM GMT+4
I wonder how well it's working for people in the surrounding rural communities that suddenly have an illegal dumping problem.
You'll notice they don't tell you how much the collection of recyclables increased. I'd say that's because the numbers don't add up. Anyone who thinks the town really reduced its waste by 50% in one month needs a reality check. The stuff went somewhere, and not all of it went into the recycling bins.
Frankly some of us were a little skeptical about some of the statements.
Specifically, " After one month, the 50% decrease in garbage tonnage far exceeded the town manager’s expectations."
What we were wondering is, by what amount did the weight of collected recyclables increase?
It seems more likely to some of us that the amount of illegal dumping, or burning of trash increased, than that a 50% waste reduction was acheived in one month's time.
Thanks for any clarification or correction of our thoughts that you can give us.
