What this is going to do is cause people to be dishonest and put trash at their neighbors house if they are over the limit. When it goes to two bags July 1, 2014 it will get even worse. There will be trash dumped all over town. What we have works very good. I do recycle and most weeks I have only one bag so it will not effect me but I speak for the families that have many people living in their house and will not speak up. The recycling committee does a great job but we do not need any more big goverment telling us what to do,.

Joe would you then prefer to pay more for trash pick up? This is not about big government. North Reading's trash program's limit is considerably more generous than other towns by the way.

If only two percent are using 4 barrels, how much money could this really save? It's just an inconvenience when you do have alot of trash, like spring cleaning, or after Christamas.

Well said Mr.Veno!

and what happens to houses on private roads that all put out therio barrels at end of road on public way? How will the trash hawlers know hwo put out 3 barrels and who put out more??? This is going to be a headache to administer and will cause trash to be "dumped" all over town. Which will then increse DPW work and employees and MORE taxes. Come on Selectmen; I expect better thinking.

More big brother.

Reduce our trash tax and fees if what we put out is now reduced.

This town is going to nickel and dime us to death.

In order to evaluate this move I am wondering how much we will save on our trash collection costs? And if our recycling costs will increase?
Oh, and I am very curious to the reference to a scrap metal bin at the DPW. Is it available to residents? What can we dispose of? Are there other 'bins' at the DPW that residents can use to dispose of trash?
I support initiatives to reduce costs to taxpayers & increase recycling.
Thanks!

If 90% of the residents will be unaffected then what is the reason for this new limit? As one if the 10% who will be affected I suspect the motivation is to drive us to private trash pickup devices. I wonder who has a stake in that cash cow! My property taxes went up $1200 per year in the last year and a half and now despite paying additional money for trash collection I am seeing that being reduced. Meanwhile Main St is littered with abandoned storefronts. I thought we had a nice town here, it's slipping fast.

"we do not need any more big goverment telling us what to do"

The irony of this statement is too fantastic.

That's an insulting view of the people of NReading. Do you honestly think this?

So now the employees for JRM are going to police our trash ? We should bring back pay as you go.The Town should invest in purchasing North Reading logo trash bags and sell them to the town residents , then you won't need to set trash limits.

Joe would you rather pay more?

Or...it might cause them to take up recycling :) When we in Reading (with larger population than N. Reading) had our barrel limit set at 3 (there was no limit before, I believe), I didn't see trash dumped all over our town. I agree with you that 2 barrels is too few. Once in while our neighbors, if having a party, ask if they can put their 4th barrel at our house to make a 3rd barrel, we always say yes as we know they'd do it for us. Normally, we almost always put out only 2 barrels. I don't think putting over the limit trash at neighbors is necessarily dishonest--perhaps the agreement with the trash company is for up to 3 barrels/household or, arguably, some town wide barrel limit that works out to 3 per house. N. Reading is paying for the 3 barrels per whether someone uses them or not, so if you put yours at a neighbor's house, the net for 2 houses is still 6, and the town paid for 6, regardless of how 2 neighbor's privately divided it that week. You are just ensuring that you get the full value of what your taxes & trash fee pay towards, right?

Would you rather pay more?

I think for most weeks, 2 bags are fine, but sometimes, if we have a party, summer bbqs, holidays, etc., it will be a problem. Also, every spring/fall we clean out basements, garages and sheds. It doesn't add up to a ton, but it might be 4 or 5 bags each time. I am all for recycling, and I do it every week. I always put out way more recycling, but I don't think a bag limit is fair. We pay for a service and if we have more trash one week, we shouldn't have to hang onto it. Also, as far as the recycling goes, the trucks come way too late in the day. By the time they make it round our house, everything is all over the place. Not just us, but all the neighbors too.

How many tons of trash per year do North Reading residents put out ? How much does that cost the town ? How much money in trash fees does the town collect per year ?

Whenever the town does anything, the same old people trot out the same old complaints about "big government telling us what to do".

Joe, the government is collecting your trash, so they can tell you what to do. If you don't like it, why don't you hire your own private trash removal contractor?

The government isnt doing us a favor. We PAY for our trash to be taken away. We pay in our taxes and we pay in the extra trash bill we get.

I hope the new rules will encourage people to recycle all the trash they have been putting into trash bags rather than using the recycle bins. And I agree with an earlier blogger. Our own Moral integrity dictates whether we do the right thing or the wrong thing

This town has been going down hill ever since all these newcomer Millionaires in their McMansions moved in and cut down all the trees. Now they think that they own the town they know whats best for the town and anyone that disagrees with them should be banished. Joe keep up the good work and thanks for looking out for us oldtimers

Most of 'Trash' which is generated are items which can be recycled. One should be able get rid of almost everything you wish, you just don't throw it in the trash barrel but in a recycle barrel!

Yes the scrap metal container is open for residents to use!

Meg where is that dumpster at the DPW? I may have missed it but I have never heard of a sheet metal dumpster for the public until I read the above article.

Well, at least I know where to put all that pesky sheet metal I have laying around.

Remember the good old days when all of our taxes paid for trash and busses?

Is the scrap metal dumpster available during the week for people working weekends? This also a problem when the hazardous waste collection is done

The scrap metal dumpster is on your left as you enter the DPW Complex on Chestnut Street. I believe you can bring metal there weekdays during business hours.

Thank you Ed. I may have missed it but this is the first time I heard this is for the public to use. am I reading this right ? It can only be used when the DPW is open for business?

I recycle every week by filling 2-3 bins. If the town wants to encourage more recycling, maybe they need to give out more bins. I moved here a year ago and was only given 1 bin. The rest need to be bought. I have a large family and 2 barrels a week aren't going to cut it.

So buy another recycling barrel. Don't use that as a reason not to recycle. I have lived in other towns with considerably tighter trash restrictions 1 32 gallon barrel per family and beyond that one had to buy bags from the town. It caused me to be a better recycler. Eventually if we do not promote more recycling we will have to pay more to take away trash. 4 barrels of trash per week is a lot for any family. Yes there are exceptional situations, the holidays, parties, etc. Should the exception form the rule? Our town benefits from all of its residents including those of us who are not "blue collared townies" and are "McMillionaires". We really must learn to consider our environment even as we find nrw ways to be uncivil to each other on the Internet.

Just making a comment.

My household only uses one trash barrel a week and 3 plus recycling bins.

I just dont want the town/state to tell me how to run my life. People need to take care of their own homes and stop worrying about everyone else business.

So much negativity! How about saying: "I can fill 10+ recycle barrels a week!? With no restrictions? And I can fit my trash in UP to 3 barrels A WEEK!? Awesome!" And I can bring scrap metal to the DPW. And I can get rid of my TV for free by calling JRM and getting a free sticker? And I get special collections twice a year? And I get seasonal yard waste pick-ups? And there are special E-Waste days supported by organizations in town? And by being part of the 90% who use less than 3 bags/week, I am helping the town save money in trash tipping fees? What a great deal!

The only fair way is to bring back the stickers. Pay for what you dispose. We are family of 5 with 1 barrel per week. That used to cost 65¢ per barrel. Now, at $56 per quarter that barrel costs us $4.65. People who are reducing their waste stream are punished by paying for those who don't. This is not fair, and no incentive to reduce your waste stream.

Ashley, shouldn't this article be titled North Reading Selectmen Reduce Barrel Limit ? Lets give credit where credit is due .

Joe,

I really enjoy your commentary and your smile. Would you be interested in meeting up a for coffe sometime? You have such a great prospective on all the North Reading news.

Going back to trash stickers would be over $4-$5.00 per sticker. The .65 cents was underpriced & should have been much more then it was. Even at that price. there were complaints about paying that small fee. The town covered most of the cost of the trash costs at that time.

If you want to recycle more & don't have another bin, you can use an old trash barrel & place a sticker or mark it as recycled materials. It does not need to be an 'official' green recycle bin or a special size barrel.

You gotta love Joe, prior to his early retirement he was the face of government telling everyone what and when to do everything as the Head Crossing Guard. Now that he continues to collect his government pension, he spends his time pitting Martins Pond against Turners Farm or his peeps vs the newbies, a/k/a the townies vs the carpetbaggers, a/k/a the Dems vs the Tea party, so Joe (a/k/a the perennial BOS candidate loser), which way do you want it? JoeV. = Hypocritical Fraud.

For what we are now paying in realestate tax compared to the wealthy surrounding towns, we should be able to put out a 20 yard trash dumpster for pickup.

Seriously, who puts out more than three 30 gallon barrels each week? I would rather not subsidize other people's trash needs. Beyond three barrels I think you should pay for yourself.

Hi Gail,
I think I read that 36% of registered voters showed up for the school project vote. Shocking? Isn't it?

Everyone forgets that OUR taxes did and were menat to pay for the trash......along the way our spending incresed more than our taxes so instead of curtailing spending our politicians figured out ways to tax us more by levying fees. Spend what you earn is how I have lived mny life. Unfortunately this town and our BIG government (yes BIG, look at how much govt employemnst has grown versus the polulation and private sector) is out of control.

I will gladly pay $4.00 per sticker, 1 barrel every other week ( I don't even have a 1/2 of a barrel a week) I will pay$104.00 per year instead of$226.00. then families can put out 2, 3 or 4 barrels per week or recycle more (their choice).
I also feel we should stop paying $5.00 per quarter for a fee added on to our water bills?

And before you know it, we will be charged for every bin of recycling we put out.

What percent of the town population recycles, on my drive to work I always see the green and blue bins out there. If only 2% of the sample population or 85 households put out more than 3 barrels. They should try to understanding why the 2% households is putting out more trash. Is it simply providing more awareness of the recycling program, do they have large families, just moved into town, etc. If the number of trash barrels is reduced, the trash is going to go somewhere else. In that case, you would expect the trash tax to be reduced too.

Recycling makes money

Brandy, I support transperancy. We pay for JRM to pick up our trash. We need to know exactly what that cost is and compare it to the amount raised through the trash fees. We also need to know how recycling affects the cost. Do we raise revenue through recycling? Then we have to decide how we want to pay for this service. This flat fee means that the homes with less trash are subsidizing those with more trash. Keeping an unlimited number of barrels may mean an increase in fees. We do have to pay our bills. Is it really fair to expect a single older person to pay the trash bill for a family of six? Do you want us to help pay their electric bill too? The most "fair" way would be to have people pay per bag.

I do not think I asked anyone to pay my bills, so please do not put words in my mouth. I am concerned for our town. Opinions vary.....All have this right. Sorry we have different opinions.

I put out easily 2x as much recycling as I do trash. Three 30-gallon barrels? Do the Duggars live in North Reading?