DALTON, Mass. — The Board of Health has changed its regulations regarding weight reporting for refuse and recycling collection.

 

The members originally thought it was a bylaw and that they would have to have a vote at the annual town meeting, but since it is a regulation they were able to vote to change it Tuesday.

 

Board Chair Nancy Hopper spoke with Linda Cernik, who manages the Northern Berkshire Solid Waste Management District, and she recommended the waste haulers report annually.

 

Currently the regulation is for them to report their tonnage quarterly; the new rule would change that as well as add a fee.

 

The new regulation will state:

 

"Each hauler shall submit an annual report to the Board of Health at the time of permit application, listing the tonnages of refuge and recyclables that have been collected, copies of weight slips supporting this data must be available along with the names and locations of approved facilities to which said materials are brought. In the case where the permitted hauler delivers loads for disposal or recycling that are coming from more than one municipality, then the permitted hauler must provide their best estimate of time delivered from the town. Failure to provide these reports in a timely fashion may result in the denial of the permit application and penalties."

 

The board also made a new reporting sheet for the haulers to fill out that will be included in the permit process.

 

"We made a new reporting sheet, and with the tonnage, non-recycles, mattresses, and we kind of are going to connect it right to the permit they apply, but if they don't report it, and then, like, a week later happens, they're automatically going to get a $25 charge, and then the next week they'll get another $25 so this is a better way of keeping track of it," Hopper said.

 

She said the annual reporting will be easier as some haulers found it difficult to weigh in as some would need to travel far. Hopper and Cernik were to have a meeting with the local haulers Thursday to discuss the new regulations.

 

"I guess in the past, there was issues with like the haulers didn't think Casella would let them go to their facility to weigh and somebody from Casella is coming to the meeting to talk to them. So should be a very like productive meeting," Hopper said, referring to Casella Waste Systems, a private hauler with a facility in Cheshire. "And because, I guess in the past that that was a big issue with them having to go to Springfield or Albany (N.Y.) to weigh in."

 

The board agreed to adopt these regulations.

 

They also discussed the need for residents to know that recycling is required. Some haulers do not have the option of recycling, which is against the bylaw. 

 

Cernik submitted a technical assistance sustainable materials grant that would bring someone in from the state Department of Environmental Protection to help design and launch a community education campaign for residents and haulers about the recycling bylaws.