KENT—The Board of Selectmen Tuesday decided to file a letter of intent with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to continue the solid municipal waste (MSW) program at the transfer station.
The program will move from voluntary to mandatory and will go into effect July 1.
The town began a pilot program at the transfer station this year that called for residents to use orange bags for MSW and encouraged separating food scraps from other, lighter waste. The town pays the Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority by the ton for disposal of waste and composting food scraps helps to save money.
The selectmen decided during the meeting that they would provide permits at different costs to residents that would include the orange bags sized for their level of disposal, i.e. single-person home, families, heavy users and contractors. The bags would be imprinted with the town’s logo. Households would be able to purchase additional rolls of bags later. Final prices are still being calculated.
The selectmen are still working out whether bags will be sold and distributed through stores or just at the Town Hall. First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer said he believes the initial roll-out can be handled by Town Hall and Selectman Lynn Mellis Worthington and Selectman Glenn Sanchez both volunteered to man a booth at the Farmer’s Market to help educate people about the program.
