Saugus, trash haulers agree on larger 45-gallon barrel size

SAUGUS – Town Mangager Andrew Bisignani announced Friday that he and JRM Hauling agreed to increase the trash barrel size limit from 35 gallons to 45 gallons, after Bisignani said he received more than 75 complaints about the town?s new trash policy this week.Selectmen Scott Crabtree supported the decision, but said he is looking into holding a special Town Meeting to create a bylaw to give elected officials, whether they be the Board of Selectmen or Town Meeting, authority over trash collection regulations.?I?m supportive of increasing recycling from an environmentally conscious decision,” said Crabtree. “But that?s an environmentally conscious decision for the public and I think the representatives of the public are the ones that should be making that decision.”Crabtree said he think elected officials should oversee trash policies because they best represent the community.?It?s about everybody working together for a solution for the town and I think the best people to do that are elected officials with recommendations from the Board of Health, recycling, the manager and whatnot,” added Crabtree. “Not having a comprehensive plan in place? I think what we have now is a lot of anxiety, a lot of misunderstanding and no body knows what?s happening.”In June, Town Meeting voted to send a proposed $2 trash overflow fee back to the selectmen, stating that any trash fees are to be established through a by-law proposed by the Board of Selectmen and adopted by Town Meeting.However, the Board of Health still went ahead with the three-barrel limit starting Aug. 1 without the fee.Now anything more than three barrels of trash will be left by collectors.?What do you do if you have a cookout and a party that week and you have five bags of trash?” asked Crabtree. “What do you do with those other two bags? They?ve implemented a policy that has no options. From a Board of Health standpoint? you?re going to encourage people to keep trash in their house for an extra week?”Bisignani said the majority of complaints he received are for the enforcement of the 35-gallon limit on trash barrels, something that has been in the JRM contract for years, but hasn?t been enforced until recently due to injuries. With both parties agreeing to a 45-gallon limit, Bisignani said it should “alleviate at least 80 percent of the problem.”Crabtree plans to bring up the trash policy at Tuesday?s Board of Selectmen meeting. And while he said he has support from selectman Michael Serino, Selectmen Chairman Donald Wong was skeptical.?We?re not experts on everything,” said Wong. “I don?t want to micromanage everything. I don?t want to take power away from everyone. We have different departments for different things. Why have the different departments if we?re going to take away their power?”Town Meeting member Albert DiNardo voted against a proposed trash fee three years ago, and said he doesn?t support the new policies enacted by the Board of Health, even though there is no longer a fee attached. But, he said, he?s not convinced the Board of Selectmen would be the best option to oversee trash policies.?It should be an elected official,” said DiNardo. “I?m not sure I want it to be the selectmen. The Town Meeting is closest to the people. We?ll see what the Board wants to do.”The Board of Selectmen will meet on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium.