Harvard, Mass., to Switch to SMART Waste Program

During a December 18 meeting, the Harvard, Mass., Select Board approved a recommendation to switch residential trash disposal to the Save Money and Reduce Trash (SMART) program. The program is expected to begin July 1, 2019, and continue for at least two years.

According to The Harvard Press, the financial model for the program uses revenue from sticker purchases to cover the cost of operating the transfer station as well as recyclable disposal and revenue from bag sales to pay for solid waste (unrecycled trash) disposal. The main goal of the program is to reduce the amount of municipal solid waste generated by the town and, in turn, reduce the town’s waste disposal costs.

The Harvard Press has more details:

Harvard is about to get SMART. The Select Board voted at its Dec. 18 meeting to approve the Transfer Station Committee’s recommendations to switch resident trash disposal to the Save Money and Reduce Trash (SMART) program starting July 1, 2019, and continuing for at least two years.

Under the SMART program, annual Transfer Station stickers will be priced at $80, and users will need to purchase proprietary trash bags at a cost of $1 for a small (15-gallon) bag or $2 for a large (33-gallon) bag. Seniors (65 or older by July 1) will receive either 30 small bags or 15 large bags for free with their sticker purchase. The proprietary bags will have a special color as well as the town logo so that Transfer Station attendants can easily spot rogue bags. Bags will be available for purchase at a variety of locations in Harvard and some of the surrounding towns. The only business the Transfer Station Committee has spoken to so far is Moore Lumber & Hardware Co. in Ayer, which agreed to sell the bags, but the committee has a list of about 10 other possible vendors, including the General Store.

Read the full article here.