Swampscott Divided Over New Trash Rules

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — A Swampscott resident said in an email she had "never been happier" after reading about Swampscott's new rules for trash collection that go in effect next month. She said she lives across from a condo complex where tenants take advantage of the town's current rules.

"They throw everything out except the kitchen sink sometimes," she said in an email to Patch. "Glad to see there will be some rules applied and I hope they make them adhere to the rules also. It is not fair that just because they live over there they get away with this."

The new rules cut the amount of trash Swampscott residents can throw out each week to 35gallons from one 60-gallon or two 35-gallon containers. They also increase the price of overflow trash bags for people who exceed that amount to $3 from $2. Swampscott officials made the change after a 10.9 percent jump in annual, solid waste disposal costs.

In the fiscal year that began Tuesday, Swampscott is projecting trash hauling costs to rise between 26 and 46 percent, to somewhere between $95 and $105 from $75 per ton. The town said it conducted a trash audit and found that 45 percent of Swampscott households were throwing out one barrel or less of trash per week.

Under the new rules, Swampscott residents are permitted unlimited curbside recycling service under the new program. The town is also expanding weekly metal drop off and a new simple recycling program. A complete overview of the new program is available on the town's Website.

"I personally feel that the pay-as-you-throw model is more equitable to the large percent of Swampscott residents using only one barrel – many of whom are seniors or low-occupant homes," Selectman Chairman Peter Spelios said in an email response to a resident who wrote to complain about the new policy. "My family uses more than one barrel and, therefore, we will either need to reduce our trash or pay for additional bags under the new policy. I wish the facts and circumstances were different, but the cost of solid waste is skyrocketing here and everywhere."

Sylvia Perez, the resident who contacted Spelios, said she was upset that the new rules were put in place without resident input. She worried about senior citizens who may have trouble getting the overflow bags, as well as the timing of the new implementation of the new rules. More people are working from home, meaning they are generating more trash.

"It seems to me that if the budget is under such stress there should be a hiring freeze in lieu of reducing town services," Perez said. "Those of us without children in the school system get very little in town services in return for our real estate taxes."

Dave Copeland covers Swampscott and other North Shore communities for Patch. He can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).