ATHENS — Athens residents will need to begin using special Town of Athens trash bags starting in July 2015 to be in compliance with the Vermont Universal Recycling Law – Act 148.
Regular trash pickup in Athens will continue on the same weekly schedule; however, any trash that is not in the special green Town of Athens bags will not be picked up by Triple T Trucking, the town's contracted trash hauler, starting with the July 6 trash pick-up.
The same curbside no-sort recycling program will continue, with pick up every other week, allowing residents to properly dispose of many items that will no longer be allowed in landfills. Recycling encourages one to reduce the amount of trash thrown away and thus save money by reducing the number of bags needed for trash disposal.
Bags will cost $3 each and can be bought in sleeves of 10 at the Athens Town Office during regular office hours of 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays. Bags will also be available for purchase at the D & R General Store in Cambridgeport for the same $3 per bag price, and will be available in smaller quantities as well.
As of July 1, 2015, Act 148 requires that Vermonters must pay for trash disposal according to the volume of trash they generate. Thus, the Athens Selectboard has chosen to go with the option of special town bags so that they can continue to offer the weekly trash pick-up service.
Other options would have been to eliminate trash pick-up, requiring each household to make their own trash removal arrangement, or to create and staff a transfer station in town where residents would have to bring their trash and still have to pay per bag.
The Selectboard held a special meeting on May 28 to hear from the public and adopt the new trash ordinance.
Athens residents or property owners with questions regarding the special town trash bags or the new trash ordinance can direct questions to the Selectboard or members of the volunteer Athens Recycling Group via the Town Clerk at 802-869-3370 or townofathens@hotmail.com.