Swampscott may bring back beach trash barrels

SWAMPSCOTT – The end of the summer might also be the end of the Phillips Beach carry-in/carry-out pilot program, if selectmen decide so at their next meeting. The beach has been without trash and recycling receptacles since early July as a trial to see if all beaches should adopt the policy next year to cut down on public works expenses and to keep the beaches clean. The Board of Selectmen will take it up on their Sept. 11 agenda to discuss whether the program will continue.After a few weeks, the program was off to a rough start with beachgoers dropping trash where the barrels used to be, according to Department of Public Works Director Gino Cresta. But Cresta said after picking up trash after every weekend this summer, the situation has gotten a lot better.?It?s not bad. I think people are buying into it,” said Cresta, who added he hasn?t had too many complaints.Selectman Glenn Kessler said he?s gotten too many complaints to want to move forward with the program next year, calling it “a question of convenience for the residents.”?I don?t think it?s well received,” said Kessler. “I?m of the opinion that it should probably go.”Selectman Matt Strauss said it may be cleaner than it was before. “People complain that the trash cans aren?t there anymore, but when cans were there, it was an absolute pigsty,” he said. “It?s far too soon to give up on the project. It?s gotten better every week, and I for one would like for it to continue.”Selectman Barry Greenfield said he recently traveled to a beach in Hull where they have the carry-in/carry-out policy at all their beaches. Greenfield said he talked to residents, and they had said when the policy was first introduced there was a lot of opposition, but now the seagulls can?t go through the trash like they used to.?It will take time for people to get comfortable with change, but from an environmental perspective, I love it,” he said.There were mixed reviews among residents at Phillips Beach on Friday afternoon.?I think it?s fine, but I?ve seen a little bit more trash on the beach,” said Swampscott resident Ruby Leblanc from her beach chair. “But it doesn?t feel like a failure or anything. It?s a good idea.”Fellow resident Daniel Green agreed it was a good idea in theory, but not in practice. “There?s more trash than there usually is,” he said. “People aren?t doing it. They have too much trash and they?re putting it right where the barrel was.”Leah Dicke, a Minnesota transplant who moved to Swampscott only a week ago, said she thought Phillips Beach was “much nicer” than Fisherman?s Beach, where she said she saw “lots of trash” earlier in the week.