Selectmen Won't Completely Eliminate Commercial Trash Pickups

Hampton will continue efforts to improve the fairness and cost efficiency of its trash collection system, although selectmen have pulled one option off the table: stopping all curbside pickups at commercial properties. 

The board was working with the Hampton Public Works Department on three possible approaches, and that option was eliminated Monday after selectmen determined it would be in Hampton's best interests to instead either do nothing or propose a 2014 warrant article that calls for a more limited trash collection service at local businesses.

Selectman Phil Bean said it's too early to make any actual determination or plan because there isn't enough data to support any of the three options. That said, Bean made it clear he is "vehemently opposed" to completely stripping local business owners of a service they fund through taxes.

"When we start depriving taxpayers of this one service they get, what’s to prohibit them to, say, get a private ambulance service and a security guard, and why should they have to pay taxes at all in Hampton?" said Bean. "It seems to me that’s it’s a little narrow for us to go down this road when we can’t even establish costs."

Selectmen voted 4-1 on Monday to drop from the conversation the idea of ending all commercial pickups. The board also voted 4-1 to continue defining a path toward a warrant article, as voters would have the ultimate say on any trash collection services.

Recycling collection wouldn't be affected by any of the trash changes, selectmen have said.

Mary-Louise Woolsey voted against both of Monday's motions, stating the board is "kicking the can down the road" with an issue that has needed a solution for a long time. Woolsey said the board needs to "bite the bullet" and put out a warrant article because collecting trash at restaurants, hotels and stores is an everyday "business expense" that the town shouldn't be fronting.

"This has got to stop," said Woolsey, citing that it's a "fairness issue" that should be solved by requiring local businesses to arrange private trash pickups, possibly in partnership with other surrounding businesses to save them money.

Public Works Director Keith Noyes said "there's no doubt [there] would be a hefty charge" to businesses if all commercial collection was stopped. The issue is one Hampton has discussed for decades, especially in regard to Hampton Beach and the variables posed by the seasonal economy and the area's densely-populated narrow streets.

The town's switch to a new collection system and equipment a couple of years ago was an attempt to help bring more fairness, as were various changes since then to reduce the number of weekly runs and routes.

Selectmen Mike Pierce and Chairman Dick Nichols said commercial trash collection doesn't have to pay for itself, though, so the board will look at changes that recoup part of the cost to run the service instead of making business owners shoulder all of the bill.

"There’s nothing in this town that we’ve charged exactly what it costs to do," said Pierce. "Let's be practical here... There's a lot of things we have to massage here, so I think we have to go into this very carefully."