WASTE MANAGEMENT

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CUTTYHUNK SOLID WASTE 2022

Island Solid Waste (SW) Process Changes

Phase 1 (Summer 2022):

Eliminate household, business, and boater solid waste disposal at Fish Dock
- All commercial businesses and boaters will be required to dispose of SW at Transfer Station
- Household SW disposal limited to scheduled island pick-up or disposal at Transfer Station
Secure all public convenience SW disposal units to limit use for small SW disposal
Eliminate distribution of SW bags to boaters (continue to charge $5.00/day environmental fee)
Enforcement of town green bag rule for household SW pick up (no green bag, no pickup!)

Phase 2 (Summer 2023):

Continue with Phase 1
Develop and implement recycling and composting incentive program
Reduce weekly household pick to one day per week
- 1st day: Broadway east
- 2nd day: West of Broadway
Establish expanded drop-off hours at Transfer Station for household, business, and boater disposal of SW at Transfer Station

Phase 3 (Summer 2024):

Continue with Phase 1 and 2
Eliminate all household pick up of SW
Expand hours at Transfer Station for business, household, and boater disposal of SW at Transfer Station

Cuttyhunk Solid Waste Update- 2022

Together we can address Cuttyhunk’s solid waste problem

Convenience Containers will be provided at Fish Dock, Four Corners, Three Corners, Market, Playground and Ferry Dock for small item disposal only. Those containers will not accept or accommodate any household or boater trash. Smaller containers will also be provided at those locations for recyclables? [Need to research and purchase containers with small slots, locked tops and slide out cans]
No large boater, business or household trash will be allowed to be disposed of at the Fish Dock. The solid waste transfer station will be open from ?-? daily for disposal. All trash brought to the transfer station must be in town bags or, if not, the disposer will be charged $5 for each bar or an appropriate fee for larger items.
Daily pickup of business waste will be discontinued. All businesses must bring their own waste to the transfer station in town bags during transfer station open hours. Any waste not in a town bag will be charged appropriately.
All residences and businesses have been charged an annual solid waste fee. Everyone must still use town bags.
NO residential waste will be picked up from a house unless it is in a town bag or special arrangements including payment have been mad with Asa Lombard. Any residential waste that is not in a town bag and has been put outside a house is subject to a surcharge for the responsible homeowner.
Please be considerate of Asa’s time and privacy rights! He deserves to relax just like the rest of us! Please only approach him with solid waste concerns when he is actively working at the transfer station or during residential pickup. Requests for special pickup, concerns or problems can be left by text message during regular business hours on the solid waste cell phone at 508-
Please do not over fill your town garbage bags. Be considerate of the folks who have to lift them onto the truck or clean up when an overfilled (or untied) bag bursts!
All transient boaters will be charged a $5 per night environmental fee which will help cover the cost of picking up convenience container garbage (drinks, food waste, dog waste, recycling) No bags will be given to boaters and any boater trash must be disposed of in a town bag at the transfer station or brought there with a $5 fee per bag.
All boaters, renters, residents and visitors will be given a flyer, explaining the process for solid waste disposal and encouraging them to reduce waste disposal on Cuttyhunk and encouraging them to join the Cuttyhunk CAN initiatives to“Reduce, reuse, recycle, reimagine” and “You can take it with you!

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MAY 24 2022 15:30 EDT draft

Suggestions to reduce costs and streamline Solid waste collection on Cuttyhunk and to better
ensure that individual and commercial producers of solid waste pay their fair share

We have spoken to many members of the Cuttyhunk community and have identified three
overarching goals supporting changes to Solid waste collection and disposal on Cuttyhunk

!) Reduce costs to town and taxpayers
2) Reduce the amount of waste thrown away on Cuttyhunk
3) Reduce the abuse by producers of solid waste who do not pay their fair share of the costs to
dispose of waste and transport to the mainland

We have separated sources of Solid Waste production into four areas.
1) Residents, renters and land based visitors
2) Commercial Visitors
3) Construction Waste
4) Boater waste

-Residents, renters and land based visitors
Cuttyhunk has a “pay as you go” system for residential solid waste. Labelled town bags are
available for purchase and solid waste is supposed to be placed in those bags-In addition, all
residential housing units were assessed a flat fee in 2022 to make up the deficit in the town
Solid Waste Budget

Many Cuttyhunkers cited examples of residents who do not use town bags when they put
out their trash for collection as well as residents who use the town road side convenience
barrels or the boater collection area to dispose of their trash. We have several suggestions to
reduce that abuse and unfairness of the system.

1) Reduction of hours and monitoring of boater collection site to prevent use by land based
residents

2) Securing of convenience barrel lids so large bags of waste cannot be placed in them and
having barrels with only hand waste and dog waste sized openings
3) Refusing pickup at household when trash is not in tied, town bags. We suggest requesting
that solid waste employees take a picture of noncompliant trash and identifying house
number or location.
4) Holding homeowners responsible when renters paying them to stay in their homes do not
dispose of their trash properly. We suggest an increasing fine for multiple offenses.
5) Identify an individual (not Asa or Lisa) to send notices with pictures and fine amounts for
next violation to the appropriate individuals.
6) Efforts by Cuttyhunk CAN to encourage community to reduce amount of waste in the waste
stream as well as encouraging more recycling
7) Ask residents to not approach Asa when he is not actively working trash with requests for
special pickups. Have a publicized phone number for residents to send texts only for
special pickups. Perhaps have two days a month during high season where special pickups
are allowed and have an extra person on truck that day to both help with lifting and
recording all special items with homeowners identity for billing of cost of disposal.
-

Commercial Businesses
1) Eliminate daily pickup for commercial businesses and require them to transport commercial
waste to the transfer station during set times when it is monitored. Businesses can either
chose to buy town bags or be charged the same amount per non town bag.
2) Have posted hours when transfer station is monitored. Suggested hours- 9-9:45am and
4-4:30pm daily.
Construction Waste1) Enforce rule that all construction sites must have a dumpster. Rent smaller dumpsters
owned by town and no longer used for boater trash for this purpose.
2) Prohibit use of burn pile or dumping of construction waste. Actively pursue identification
and fining of violators /abusers of the system
3) Have a scale installed at transfer station to weigh construction waste brought in and charge
the actual cost of transport and dumping for that amount of construction waste.
4) Have available and publicize percentages of different kinds of waste and costs of disposal
to encourage peer review of individuals actions.

Boater Waste
1) Continue to charge $5 daily fee to all overnight boaters.
2) Educate boaters on the additional costs to Cuttyhunk and the environment of leaving their
trash on island. Gently encourage boaters to “take it with you.”
3) Have flat bed truck monitored and available at fish dock apron for limited posted hours to
accept boater trash. Suggested hours- 8-8:45am and 3:30-4:00 daily [the truck is then
driven to the transfer station where whoever is manning the truck can then accept
commercial trash) The three hours total for Boater and Commercial waste collection should
approximate the amount of daily hours under current system
4) Boaters on moorings will have option of either disposing of trash at fish dock or bringing it
to transfer station during the commercial acceptance hours.

We understand that Cuttyhunk and Cuttyhunkers are slow to embrace change. We hope that
the combined efforts to enforce the rules we already have and the various tweaks to the
system suggested above will result in a reduction in the amount of solid waste generated and
left own the island as well as a more equitable link of cost of disposal to the people actually
producing the solid waste.