Mayor: Let’s be smarter about waste

Initiative pushes trash sorting

TORRINGTON — Residents could see their property tax bill reduced as early as 2019 if they follow the rules of a proposed SMART program. The title stands for “Save Money and Reduce Trash,” a state initiative that could save the city of Torrington more than $2 million a year, according to Mayor Elinor Carbone.

“There are significant holes in the (city) budget,” Carbone said, during a recent interview. She believes reducing the amount of household trash could save enough money to cover the cost of the city’s contract with USA Hauling and Recycling. That budget decrease would save each taxpayer up to 1.5 mills annually, or nearly $90.

But, she said, it will take

dedication by residents to make the program successful. The savings would come from reducing the amount of waste disposed in Hartford at the Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority plant. It costs the city $72 a ton to dispose of household waste at the facility.

An incentive for resident to reduce the volume of waste would be built into the program. Carbone said special plastic liners that would cost about $2 would be required to be used in residential trash toters. The thought is that less trash would be disposed of if the cost of the liners is more expensive than usual plastic bags.

For instance, she said, residents would make sure recylables are not be mixed in with kitchen waste because the bottles and plastic containers take up significantly more space than food waste.

“I’m headstrong,” about the program, Carbone told members of the Northwest Hills Council of Goverments on Thursday. She defined the initiative as the “Pay as you Throw” program, or “Waste Zero.”

The mayor admitted that it may not be a popular program, but that Torrington must “remove its reliance on state revenue.”

According to information from the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection the waste reduction program has been successfully implemented in about 7,000 comunities nationwide. DEEP noted that households are charged for the amount of waste generated, much like what residents are charged for electricity, gas and other other utilities.

The program acts as an incentive, according to program specialists, because homeowners throw out less waste as a way to decrease their household budget.

A full explanation of the SMART program will be presented on Thursday at 7 p.m. at a joint meeting of the city’s Inland Wetlands & Watercourse Commission, the Planning and Zoning Commision and the Zoning Board of Appeals. The meeting will be held at the Sullivan Senior Center, 88 E. Albert St. in Torrington.