35 Pleasant Street (Heritage Plumbing) pays a trash fee. 37 Pleasant Street (Pleasant Crossing) does not pay a fee. Recycling coordinator will confirm compliance with Trash/Recycling Rules and Regulations.

Are residents who pay a full trash fee and throw out less than the limit subsidizing commercial businesses? I thought the trash collection and trash fee applied only to residential properties. I think at the very least we should be paying less of a fee that a commercial business.

The Trash Fee is comprised of two (2) major components, Collection & Disposal, whose cost is spread to all users of the service.

The Collection component is the cost of Hiltz disposal to perform curbside services and hauling to Stevens Street (organics) or the Town’s contracted disposal / recycling facility. The Disposal component is the cost of Covanta to dispose / recycle materials collected in Town.

Because the costs are spread to all the users of the service any resident that throws out less than the total tons of trash divided by total number of users is subsidizing other residents. All users of the service are held to the same limitations on the type and quantity of material collected each week.

Simplified Example (Not reflective of current numbers): Resident A throws out 0.5 Tons of Trash per year and Resident B throws out 1.5 Tons of trash per year. Both Residents pay the same Trash Fee based on 1 Ton of Trash per Resident per year.

Resident A in this scenario is subsidizing 0.5 Tons of Trash that Resident B is throwing out. At a disposal cost of $62.50 per Ton, Resident A is subsidizing $31.25.

Questions or comments regarding the Trash Fee or Rules and Regulations can be directed to the Board of Selectmen through their Office Manager Erin Sinclair at 781-279-2680 or esinclair@stoneham-ma.gov

Thank you for the response. I am under the impression from TA Ragucci, who reiterated over and over during trash committee discussions, that "we do not pick up trash from businesses." So I will address with him why we have businesses on the pick up list.

Thanks for fixing this issue!