Winchester to Evaluate Pay-as-You-Throw Recycling Program

More towns across the Commonwealth are beginning to adopt a pay-as-you-throw recycling system.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), there are over 100 communities across the state that institute the system and Winchester may be next.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that in a pay-as-you-throw system, "residents are charged for the collection of municipal solid waste—ordinary household trash—based on the amount they throw away. This creates a direct economic incentive to recycle more and to generate less waste."

Acting Town Manager, Mary Ellen Lannon, informed the that town management will begin to look at the system and determine if it would benefit Winchester.

"I will be putting together a plan to evaluate the pros and cons of the program," Lannon said. "I believe we will be able to determine if the pay-as-you-throw program will work for our community."

State Representative Jason Lewis (D-Winchester) supports the pay-as-you-throw system saying that there's a financial interest to be gained from using this system.

"How do you pay for utilities," Lewis asked. "You pay for how much you use. There's a financial incentive for people to recycle; they would save money. It's an incentive for people."

Lewis explained that Winchester is near the bottom of the state in how much waste per person the town spends. According to Lewis, Winchester throws away approximately 1,000 pounds of waste per person per year. This then leads to Winchester being right near the bottom of the recycling rate in the state.

"Nothing's going to change, you would just use a different bag," Lewis said of the program. "Right now there's no financial incentive to recycle more."