By Ethan Forman
DANVERS — It will soon become a lot harder to throw away piles of refuse as the town tries to save money on its trash collection.
Since the town pays by the ton to dispose of its trash, new rules set to go into effect July 1 will limit residences from putting out more than five bags or barrels of trash at the curb at one time. The limit had been 10. The rules limit the size of trash barrels to 32 gallons or less.
The typical single-family house may not have trouble following those rules, Department of Public Works Director David Lane said, but multifamily homes will have to watch it. The town picks up for multifamily residences with up to four units in them, and those buildings must stick to that five-barrel limit, Lane said.
Residents will also have buy $10 stickers to chuck bulky items such as sofas, chairs, furniture and carpeting, cut into rolls 36 inches long. The hauler normally took such items without a sticker, but now these will cost $10.
Lane said a tight budget is causing the need to charge for bulky items, which the town stopped doing in 2005.
"Now, we're attracting those items," Lane said about people from outside of Danvers disposing of their sofas in town for free.
The cost to dispose of white goods, stoves, compactors, hot water heaters, dishwashers and the like will remain at $10, however, the cost to dispose of air conditioners and refrigerators with refrigerants like Freon inside will rise to $20. The charge to dispose of televisions and the like will also be $20.
Lane said the DPW plans to conduct a "door hanger" campaign with brightly colored notices on doors, telling residents about the curbside sticker program's changes.
However, there's no limit on what residents will be able to recycle for free, Town Manager Wayne Marquis told selectmen recently. To save money, the town is also trying to negotiate more favorable rates from its trash hauler and disposal site, a waste incinerator in Haverhill.
Stickers are available at Town Hall in the Town Clerk's office, presently located in the Dunn Wing at Danvers High, 60 Cabot Road, or in the DPW's Business Division office at 2 Burroughs St.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or by e-mail at eforman@salemnews.com.
