Click here to view draft amendments to Health and Sanitation Ordinance (Word format)

07/23/08

Officials weigh measures to reduce waste-disposal costs

Ordinance amendments intended to put a lid on the amount of waste disposed at the Town's recycling center are under consideration by the Town Council and by the Recycling Committee.

At the suggestion of Town Councilor Paul McKenney, the council is looking at proposed amendments to the refuse disposal section of the Town's Health and Sanitation Ordinance.

The proposed amendments would:

• Require all Town departments to use best management practices in their own recycling;
• Require commercial establishments to handle their own waste and not use the municipal transfer station (as is the practice in other communities);
• Require commercial haulers hired for Cape Elizabeth residences and businesses to use facilities other than the municipal transfer station;
• and, enable a "pay per bag" system for all residential households using the Cape Elizabeth Recycling Center.

"This is a very far-reaching proposal," Town Manager Michael McGovern said at the July 14 meeting of the Town Council. "We're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars could be saved with this proposal," he said. However, it would also be a burden to commercial haulers.

The council voted to refer the proposal to the ordinance committee, and has scheduled a joint workshop on the ideas with the Town's citizen Recycling Committee. That workshop is scheduled for Sept. 11, 2008.

McKenney, in a memo to McGovern suggesting the actions, said, "These proposals, if adopted, will save us significant dollars moving forward and they will make a substantial positive impact on the environment."