Goals
Increase recycling rates, decrease solid waste costs, improve supervision of all paid services, improve enforcement and collection of fees for trash and construction waste, increase inspection of transfer station stickers and improve pedestrian and vehicular safety within the transfer station.
Proposal
Phase 1 — Relocate all solid waste collection, construction waste and all “pay” type drop-off items at the transfer station to the upper area. All traffic will pass by a DPW attendant who will inspect all vehicles for current stickers, process punch tickets for all “pay” drop-off items and operate all compactors. Two lanes will be established at the entry to the solid waste drop-off area: One for “Pay” items (TVs, CFCs, construction waste, etc.) and a second “express lane” for household trash drop-off only.
Phase 2 — Streamline current recycling operations to a co-mingled operation to make it easier for residents to recycle and reduce solid waste costs to the town and improving both pedestrian and vehicle access within the recycling component of the transfer station.
Phase 3 — Relocate “Take it or Leave it,” improve and define a community gathering area for public purposes along with redeemable can/bottle collection for Boy Scouts.
Timetable of Implementation
Phase 1 — To be implemented by Dec. 17 (upon relocation of trash compactors): This will shift all solid waste, trash and paid services up to the upper level, with supervision of stickers by DPW staff. Signs will be placed redirecting traffic up the hill and barriers placed at the old compactor site to allow the new compactors for commingling to be installed. This will also create additional parking for recycling and define traffic flows within the recycling facility. Compactors will be controlled by DPW staff.
Phase 2 — To be completed in January 2009: Two new compactors have been provided by Integrated Paper at no cost to the town to allow Harvard to transition to co-mingled recycling. The new compactors will be located where the existing trash compactors are located. One compactor will be for all paper products — including cardboard, newspapers, magazines and mixed paper. The second compactor will be for all recyclable plastics and metal cans. All compactors will be operated by DPW staff and in full view of the attendant above. Glass collection will remain the same with one open-top Dumpster for colored glass and the other for clear glass. All other unnecessary Dumpsters and containers shall be removed from the site. Boy Scouts will continue to collect redeemable cans and bottles in the current location. Scrap metal will remain in its current location with sufficient parking spaces adjacent to it for safe drop-off of materials.
Phase 3 – Spring 2009 (or sooner): “Take It Or Leave It” area will be relocated to the bailer sheds with items to be protected from the weather. The bailers will no longer be necessary and will be sold with proceeds returning to the transfer station budget to fund improvements and modifications outlined in Phase 3. The recycling facility and “Take It Or Leave It” will be supervised and managed by transfer station volunteers. The Boy Scout collection center will be integrated into an improved community area where local fund-raising and campaigning can occur safely without interruptions to traffic flow within the transfer station.
Respectfully submitted,
TIM CLARK
Vice Chairman
Board of Selectmen
Transfer Station Committee liaison
