MassDEP Enforcement Workshop 12/7/10
Mary Delahanty Billerica (all trash p/u Mon, weekly recy) , Chelmsford (5 days of trash), Tewksbury
(all trash Wed, biweekly recy)– grant position, 3 towns was too much for one individual
Billerica (lead community): unlimited trash, messy streets and setouts, low recy rates ~10%
Passed mandatory recycling bylaw 07. Need support from top down (willing to take heat), plus trash hauler
(willing to enforce limits and rules).
Enforcement = warnings, not fines. Stickers on recycling bins, letters, less impact than fine.
Met with hauler, theory better than practice. Haulers don’t want call backs. Town needs to be firm.
Multi-town challenges: 3 supervisors, 3 towns must choose, split schedule, lots of juggling. 24 hours not
enough. Bookkeeping, tracking was difficult (miles, hours, outreach costs). Too much, he went down to 2
towns.
Advantages: shared resources, printing, training, consistency.
MREC chooses a baseline area to make time comparisons. Observe, collect data, issue violations, follow up.
Count units of trash, units of recycling, be consistent. Survey at least 3 times. Exclude bulky.
Drive around, record data on spreadsheet. 1-2 min/house. Need to stay ahead of collection trucks. Some
people put out late, bring in after pickup, challenges for counting. Conversations take time, but good PR.
Need fluorescent vest, ID tag, safety and suspicion.
Morning observe, afternoon, enter data, mail out postcards/town info.
Violations: stickers on bins (only good in warm dry weather, then they stayed stuck), postcards, warning letter;
leave material at curb (hauler must be confident that they won’t be sent back by town- all town staff and
officials must be aware of process).
Results: Billerica went from 20K TPY rtrash to 13.5K. Recycling rate from 9.6% to 15.7%. Then limited trash, up
to 20.7%. Chelmsford rate stayed flat, but started out ahead. Total tonnage went down. Limit from 3 to 2 trash
barrels increased recycling from 22 to 25%.
Participation rates increased in all towns, setouts also increased.
Automated trash made a big difference in B and T. Trash limits made a big difference.
Lorna Cerbonne, Saugus SW Coordinator
Started inspections in 2001, to recuce tonnage, increase recycling, figure out what was going on in street. Big
awakening. Complaints led to trucks being sent back, about an hour a day. First inspector in 2005. Second one
in 2008, both PT retired, not political, residents. Difficult dealing with own community residents.
FY06, couldn’t pass PAYT, mandatory (politics). Went to Waste Ban enforcement, blame the State. Had to get
all politicians on board. All decisions referred to one dept. “Committed to upholding all State regulations and
waste bans”. Informed through census, water bills, tax bills.
Hired SW Enforcement Officer. 2 PT out 3 hours/morning, drive entire route. $16/hour plus gas allowance (use
own vehicles). Have duct tape, bins, information in truck. Inspectors have now made friends, now see benefits.
Streets cleaner, recycling better, more positive than negative.
FY06, trash down 5%, saved $31K on disposal net of EO cost. (avoided disp $44K, EO $14K), savings funded
teaching positions, well publicized.
FY07 increased EO hours to 30, net savings $50K. 5 barrel limit enforced.
FY08 second inspector hired. Have a daily route log, sent to main inspectinal svcs office by 10 am daily, used to
address complaints as they come in. Won’t send truck back if on log. Daily logs are huge. Must remind hauler
that they are working for Lorna, the Town of Saugus.
Press has been helpful regarding waste ban enforcement. Burden off politicians. No bending rules for anyone.
Don’t force people to recycle, but won’t pick up trash that has recycling in it.
People were angry first couple of years, didn’t fine, used education. Persistent violators got BOH violations.
From 04-09, trash down from 11.2K tpy to 8.4K tpy, not big increase in recycling. Junk collectors perhaps. Costs
down $212K/year.