On July 1, the Transfer Station implemented a new save-as-you-throw (SAYT) program to help incentivize residents to reduce their contributions to municipal solid waste. The town-branded blue bags are now the only form of trash bag that is allowed at Newtown Transfer Station.

The changes came as a result of Connecticut’s waste crisis — currently, there are about 800,000 tons of waste that the state produces that it cannot manage. In other words, about 1.6 million pounds of municipal solid waste are being shipped out of the state to be handled by other states, contributing to more haulers on the road burning diesel fuel.

Now that the changes have been implemented, and residents are becoming accustomed to the new Transfer Station, The Newtown Bee checked in with Fred Hurley, Director of Public Works, and First Selectman Jeff Capeci to see how permit holders are adapting.

“We’re not getting this,” Hurley said, pointing to his office phone, “Phone’s not ringing … but seriously, that’s an indication. We don’t have people at the door lined up screaming at us.”

Hurley said that an employee at Public Works took the total tonnage for trash and bulky waste for 2024. The total was about 190 tons. So far, seven weeks into the program, there has already been a 22% reduction in tonnage, or 42 tons less.

“Now, that’s a small sample, it’s only one month, but it clearly is an indication that there has been reduction … that’s kind of an absolute number,” Hurley added. He noted that the people who go to the Transfer Station are “avid” recyclers, both in recyclable material like glass and paper, but also in food scraps recycling.

Since implementing the food scraps recycling, there has been a steady increase in tonnage. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2023, the average the average per month was 2.62 tons. The next year, FY 2023-2024, the average per month was 6.49 tons, increasing to 9.55 tons per month last year, and now one month into this FY, the average is 10.03 tons.

“The [glass recycling] is up. I mean, we do more glass than any other town in the area,” Hurley said.

As part of the grant Public Works received to implement the SAYT program, it provided money to bring in police monitoring to ensure residents abide by the new changes. There has been no police presence at the Transfer Station since August 2.

Public Works employees said that the police helped calm the “hot headedness” seen by some permit holders and kept everything running smoothly. Some of the police officers on duty helped residents take their trash and recycling out of their cars and were helpful all around.

Hurley said there should not be anymore drastic changes coming to the program but is keeping an eye on how things are working right now. The Recycling Ad Hoc Committee is “actively working,” as Capeci said, and listening to the “suggestions and/or complaints from residents regularly.”

Capeci continued, “We don’t want to make any changes right away, but we’re seeing how the first quarter … goes, and then I think the Recycling Committee might consider altering, making changes, to policy to make it more smooth. We’ve heard a lot of complaints, certainly, about local businesses not being able to use the Transfer Station and if we need to do something there.”

Hurley added something that the ad hoc committee is currently looking at is if vehicles registered as combination vehicles can use the Transfer Station or not. He noted that those people who have been issued “exceptions” are sent a letter that clearly states they are an exception, and why, and that the decision will remain in place until policies change or the permit, which are now free and valid for two years, expires.

Capeci jumped back into the conversation, saying that “people are adapting … It was unfortunate that we had issues with the first batch of blue bags that we gave to our residents. It’s not putting your best foot forward to start.” He added that he will be sending out a news and announcements note explaining the issue and what residents can do about it.

Some residents noticed that the new blue bags had two issues. One of the issues was a typo, wrongly placing residents in Newton, Massachusetts, and not Newtown, Connecticut. The other, bigger issue is the seams on the new bags are not staying together.

“If residents have bags that they’re having trouble with, they can bring them back for exchange for a newer bag,” Capeci said. He explained that WasteZero, the vendor, will exchange the bags free of charge, no questions asked. Residents can return the bags to Public Works or the Transfer Station.

Public Works employees noted that not all the bags in the roll may be defective, but residents will not know that until it is time to use it. Therefore, any resident who purchased bags before July 5, or have bags with the misprint, should return them. WasteZero ensured it would be no extra cost to the residents or to the town.

Capeci and Hurley both apologize to residents for the issues and hope to make it right.

Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.