Chicopee steps up recycling fine enforcement

Facing the closure of its landfill within the next two years, Chicopee has adopted ambitious recycling and trash reduction goals and plans to boost its recycling fine policy with greater enforcement.

Mayor Richard Kos signed a Zero Waste Community pact in June, and the City Council unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the pact, which calls for the city to reduce the amount of trash it sends to landfills by 30 percent by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050.

The imminent closure of the landfill in the city, operated by Waste Management, means the city will lose a $1 million annual payment it receives for hosting the facility and its per ton “tipping fee” is expected to more than double. Overall, the closure of the landfill will cost the city nearly $1.8 million per year, according to City Councillor James Tillotson, who serves on the city’s Landfill Advisory Committee.

In support of its new trash reduction goal, Kos announced that the Department of Public Works will begin enforcing fines against those who put recyclable items in the trash instead of city-issued, 96-gallon recycling toters. The city provided the single-stream recycling containers in 2010.

The fine structure is two warnings followed by a $100 fine – a “three strikes and you’re out” policy, Tillotson said.

“We feel it’s fair because you’re costing the city more money when you don’t recycle,” Tillotson said. “We’ve had an ordinance on the books for years and years and we haven’t done a lot of enforcement.”

“I’m not sure we’re going to have to give out a lot of fines,” he added. “I think after a warning or two warnings, … I think you’re going to see an increase in recycling.”

During a meeting of the landfill committee, Tillotson said he asked the DPW to randomly spot-check black trash bags on a recycling week, suspecting that residents may not be recycling as much as they could.

“I was proven correct,” he said. “[The DPW] found all kinds of items that could have been recycled. It woke us up to the fact that some people were just throwing away one bag each week.”

In June, the City Council approved the mayor’s request for $400,000 to buy 32-gallon trash toters for every home, as recommended by the Landfill Advisory Committee.

“We met on several occasions and looked at other communities across the state, like Malden, for example, which is about the same size of Chicopee, about 55,000 [residents],” Tillotson said. “Now we’re working toward complete automation of our system, like robotic arms on the trucks. Hopefully, as people retire, the workforce there may be reduced a little bit to defray some of the costs.”