Yearly Fitchburg Landfill Permit now available for Renters!

NEW! in Fitchburg! Effective July 1, 2019 occupants and renters (Orange) are eligible to obtain an annual Landfill Permit for $50.00.
Occupants need to prove residency by submitting a Drivers License and the Registration to the vehicle the permit/sticker will be attached to.
Property owner permits (Purple) are also currently for sale. Property owners stickers are $35.00 and property owners must submit a copy of the registration the sticker will be attached to.
The Health Department reserves the right to request additional information.

APPLY ONLINE:

Yearly Residential Permit Application:

https://fitchburgma.viewpointcloud.com/categories/1085/record-types/6526

Landfill Day Pass Permit:
https://fitchburgma.viewpointcloud.com/categories/1085/record-types/6501

Recycling Yearly Permit:

https://fitchburgma.viewpointcloud.com/categories/1085/record-types/6529

IF YOU HAVE ALREADY APPLIED FOR AND RECEIVED A LANDFILL YEARLY PERMIT YOU DO NOT NEED TO APPLY FOR A RECYCLING PERMIT IN ADDITION.

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NEW Landfill Option for Fitchburg Residents that are NOT Property Owners starting July 1st, 2019.
ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL LANDFILL PERMIT STICKER (Resident but NOT A PROPERTY OWNER) $50.00

To obtain a permit sticker you can mail, visit the Board of Health office or apply online and supply a:

• Copy of Vehicle Registration – Must be registered to Fitchburg Address; MA and a MA Driver’s License with Fitchburg Address. Health office reserves the right to request additional proof of residency:

Rules:

• Must be a resident/tenant in Fitchburg with adequate proof of residency/occupancy

• Effective July 1 and expires on June 30 each year

• Permits are Non-Transferable - 1 Year Suspension if violated

• No Dump Trucks or Box Trucks

• Must ADHERE STICKER TO WINDSHIELD OR FRONT DOOR WINDOW- DRIVER’S SIDE

Can bring to Landfill with no additional fees:

• Normal household Trash, includes bulk items (Furniture)

• Yard Waste-Leaves & Brush

• 2 Barrels Limit of Construction Debris per Week

• Drop off Recycling – Car Batteries, Scrap Metal, Waste Oil, Corrugated Cardboard, Phone Books, High-Grade Paper, All Other Recycled Materials

The following requires additional fees to dispose and must be paid at Board of Health in advance:

• Waste Ban items, White goods (stoves, washers etc.), Tires, and CRT’s (Televisions* & Computer monitors)

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Curbside Trash Cart Overflow--- Working on solutions.

Question to Residents: Working on solutions to the curbside overflow trash cart problem. Curbside 64gal trash pickup is currently a free weekly service.
The current best option for overflow is an additional trash cart at $100/yr.
If the City lowered the cost of the 2nd trash cart to say $50/yr... would you opt for a 2nd cart to handle overflow?
--- Overflow bags (Yellow City Bags) were discussed as messy looking, easily breakable, and cost ineffective for automated trucks.
To compare:
---Fitchburg, MA offers Curbside 64gal trash pickup as a free weekly service & offers $100/yr for an additional 64gal trash cart for curbside pickup.
---Gardner, MA charges $200/yr. for Single Family/Apartment for trash carts and offers $3.50 overflow trash bags.
---Leominster, MA offers Curbside 64gal trash pickup as a free weekly service & offers $3.00 overflow trash bags.
---Westminster, MA has no municipal run curbside trash collection. Residents can bring trash to dispose at the Landfill at no charge.
---Lunenburg, MA charges per bag for curbside pickup. $1.25/13 gal, $2.55/33 gal, or $4.06/40 gal.
---Townsend, MA offers free curbside pickup of 64gal max trash bins and offers $3.50 overflow trash bags.
---Ashby has no municipal run curbside trash collection. Residents can bring trash to dispose at the ARCTS for $4.00 per 33 gal bag.
---Ashburnham has no municipal run curbside trash collection. Residents can must purchase stickers to place on their bags and bring to the Transfer Station at $5 per 32-35gal.

Overloaded Trash and Recycling Carts is a "major" problem in Fitchburg.

Overloaded Trash and Recycling Carts is a "major" problem in Fitchburg.
I have some examples of carts that were recently refused as they were so overloaded that dumping them in the truck would cause refuse to dump in the street. 
-----> Here is the general system per the Fitchburg Board of Health:
1. If the cart is overloaded Waste Management drivers will call it in and the resident gets a warning. 
2. After 2 warnings the resident will get a fine (1st $50, 2nd $100, 3rd $200, 4th and subsequent $250)
3. If the cart is so overloaded WM cannot get it in the truck without 'making a mess', they take a picture and refuse the stop. WM "has been a lot more lenient around the holidays", but in reality if the lid is open they are supposed to refuse it.

Help reduce litter! Stop the OVERFLOW!

Help reduce litter! Stop the OVERFLOW!
In an effort to reduce litter in the city, our hauler and the Health Department have teamed to enforce city ordinances regarding overflow of trash and recycling carts.

If the holidays are producing more trash and recycling or you just cannot seem to stay within the limits of the carts, do not overflow your carts at curbside or they will be rejected.

Arrangements for additional disposal options are available and can be arranged by calling the Health Department at 978-829-1870.

Lets work together to keep our great city clean and free of litter and debris!

Trash & Recycling- Dumping in the same truck?

Regarding Trash & Recycling pickup:
In the last year, I've gotten a number of complaints about drivers dumping both trash and recycling in the same truck--at the same time.
When I went on the recycling audit, I brought this up to the WM Public Sector Solutions Rep... and discovered WM is able to look up the truck used on the route with date, location and time. I'm told the administrators take this issue seriously.
SO---if you happen to SEE trash and recycling being dumped in the SAME truck at the SAME time... let me know address and time and I would be happy to forward this to WM and confirm if it was a split body truck---or if this was an infraction of the driver.

New hires, protocols for Fitchburg trash pickup

Waste Management officials told city councilors that recent staffing changes and newly implemented protocols will improve curbside pickup service.

"We're working to get better. Again, to be frank, I kind of took on a large mess when I took over in this waste management facility, but again I think we're making headway," Waste Management's Manager of Collections Operations Matt Hill told councilors Thursday.

...the company has "turned over" its staff of drivers on the Fitchburg route. Employees were forced to resign, he said, and Waste Management is in the process of hiring replacements.

A new fleet of trucks is expected to hit city streets, and this winter they will have snow tires to ensure the vehicles don't get stuck in hilly neighborhoods, said Hill.

The volume of yard waste collected this fall is 25 percent greater than last year, according to Hill. He said yard waste pickups have been delayed recently because the collection truck reaches capacity before finishing its route.

Health Director Stephen Curry encouraged residents to report missed pickups using the ReCollect app or the website SeeClickFix, which forwards the complaint to Waste Management.

Ed Pacek, with Waste Management Public Sector Solutions Division, updated councilors on progress made to cut down on rates of contaminated recycling in the city.

He said a "recycling crisis" was precipitated by China's decision to effectively stop accepting recyclables from oversees, boosting the cost of recycling disposal domestically.

An initial audit of 11 truckloads of recyclables tossed by Fitchburg residents found 44 percent of the waste was contaminants, said Pacek. An acceptable rate of contamination is between 5 to 10 percent, he said.

Plastic bags and plastic shrink wrap are the most common contaminate found in the city's recycling, said Pacek. The bags jam equipment used to sort recycling, and should instead be thrown in the trash or dropped off at a supermarket that collects them.
"On our end that's probably the single most important point," he said.

Other items that are not recyclable are hoses, electrical cords, pill bottles, cartons with aseptic lining and "organic matter."

Waste Management won't collect visibly contaminated recycling. Curry said residents risk a ticket it they overfill their recycling bins to the point where the lid will not shut, a violation of city ordinance.

"Barrels that have the potential, in the dumping process, to spill all over the ground, (barrels) that are so overflowing, are rejected," he said.

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_32270765/new-hires-protocols-fitchburg-trash-pickup?fbclid=IwAR1H7SCqePF66g5Lji-R4jmBf3n6RcSZpQli5m7coUEQDSLcOVMPS7-_1zY#ixzz5WpiEIbLy