PITTSTON — Town officials could decide to drop a waste disposal contract with an Augusta facility shared by several other communities as soon as Wednesday night, following a meeting in October where residents overwhelming supported using a private waste company instead.

The Board of Selectmen, which is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the proposal with the Budget Committee, is targeting the $40,000 Hatch Hill Solid Waste Disposal Facility as a potential cost-savings measure.

Instead of Hatch Hill, which is used for waste disposal by eight area communities, Pittston residents would bring wast to Pine Tree Waste, a private company with a waste disposal facility in West Bath. The change would affect only where residents can bring rubbish such as used mattresses or old tires, because curbside pickup of household trash is done by private contractors, according to Jane Hubert, chairwoman of the select board.

Hubert said five residents have either contacted board members or visited the town office to voice objections, which she said are largely regarding the longer distance to the West Bath compared to Augusta.

Hubert said she’s still leaning toward dumping Hatch Hill because of the amount it would save the town and because of the strong show of support at the October meeting.

Around 20 residents at the select board voted in support of leaving Hatch Hill. The vote was an informal poll, but only one resident voted to keep the contract.

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The town’s contract with Hatch Hill expires at the end of the year.

Besides the $40,000 the town pays to Hatch Hill, residents must pay $15 for an access sticker good for two years to use the facility. Pine Tree Waste doesn’t charge a membership fee, but its minimum fee and per ton tipping fee are higher.

A company representative told residents at the October meeting that the company would lower its minimum fee from $25 to $20 and work out ways for frequent users such as construction businesses to save money. Pine Tree Waste is owned by Casella, a waste management company headquartered in Vermont.

Hatch Hill, on the other hand, charges a minimum fee of $6 for rubbish and is operated as a self-sustaining business within the Augusta city government, with its own budget and revenue streams.

Besides Augusta and Pittston, Chelsea, Farmingdale, Gardiner, Hallowell, Manchester, Randolph and Whitefield also pay to be member communities.

Around 300 Pittston residents have valid Hatch Hill stickers, according to documents from the city of Augusta. About half of those will expire at the end of the year, regardless.

Paul Koenig — 207-621-5663 pkoenig@centralmaine.com Twitter: @paul_koenig


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