Letter: Transfer station still much cheaper than curbside pickup

Posted 12/7/18

To the editor:

I am reaching out to every Portsmouth household regarding our transfer station. 

Trash collection this past year has been a challenge; the introduction of town PAYT bags …

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Letter: Transfer station still much cheaper than curbside pickup

Posted

To the editor:

I am reaching out to every Portsmouth household regarding our transfer station. 

Trash collection this past year has been a challenge; the introduction of town PAYT bags along with new management at the transfer station took us all a little while to adjust to, but the results have been remarkable! The transfer station, under conscientious management, is now a more organized facility. Long lines to enter the station have pretty much disappeared and the areas around the diversion containers are maintained daily and kept much cleaner than ever before. 

In 2017, Portsmouth was faced with skyrocketing costs to collect and dispose of our trash. We considered two options at the time: transfer station or curbside collection. The cost difference between the two options were similar (nearly double that of previous trash contracts) and so the decision was put before the Town Council as to what direction the town would take. 

Residents were provided with a variety of informational venues (PEG TV, workshops and local news publications) and ample lead time so as to decide which option they preferred, and during a final council vote the town opted to continue with the transfer station.

This was the past. Today the challenges have morphed yet still remain daunting. Curbside trash companies, knowledgeable about the town’s decision to continue with the transfer station, were quick to place full-page ads soliciting customers with a lower-than-normal, two-year “first-time customer” rate. Some residents, upset that their trash collection choice was not selected, then began to organize and recruit others to leave the transfer station and to go with curbside. 

At the end of 2017, we had 3,800 households that used the transfer station. This year, that number was reduced to 3,050 households. It is due to this dramatic decline that we are faced with having to raise our rates from $140 a year to $180, but this rate, even when you add in the cost of a town trash bag, is still considerably lower than the cheapest of curbside collections. 

The low introductory rates offered by some curbside collection companies are now in the second year of a two- or three-year contract. The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation is now charging those commercial trash haulers not under a municipal contract a “tipping” fee to not only get rid of their trash but also to dispose of their recyclables. The RIRRC has also tightened their materials acceptance guidelines to the degree where some curbside companies are needing to switch from a mixed recycling collection back to a single-stream method because many households do not adhere to good recycling practices and their materials are not “clean” enough to be sold (not those from our transfer station!). 

Recent news articles have shown nearby communities where street after street the collection barrels have a “rejected” sticker on them and are not being picked up because of contamination. Sooner, rather than later, increasing curbside collection costs will be transferred to their customers. 

I want to thank those Portsmouth residents who continue to use our transfer station. Not only are we a cheaper alternative to curbside, but users of the station have many options for the removal of their diversion materials included with the cost of a sticker. I would hate to hate to pay for a mattress or a couch to be collected curbside! At the Portsmouth transfer station (with a sticker), you can bring your couch any day of the week!

Since the introduction of the town PAYT bags, we have seen our recycling rate rise from 15 percent a year ago to 40 percent today and our solid waste will have dropped from about 4,000 tons in 2017 to around 2,000 tons this year!

Thank you everyone for your continued support of our transfer station. I believe it is a reasonable alternative for those seeking a more cost-effective method for their trash removal and encourage every Portsmouth household to consider the purchase of a transfer station sticker. 

Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.

Raymond Antaya

Portsmouth recycling coordinator

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.