By Keith Regan, Contributing Writer
Northborough–The town will reap savings in its trash disposal costs over the next three years after agreeing to ratify an extension to its contract to send trash to the Wheelabrator plant in Millbury.
The 10-year extension is “a pretty good deal” for the town, Town Engineer Fred Litchfield told the Board of Selectmen during its meeting Dec. 15.
Litchfield noted that Northborough and the 35 other communities in the central Massachusetts purchasing cooperative received favorable rates in the initial contract to send trash to the Millbury facility starting in 1986. That original 20-year deal expired in 2006 and was followed by a 10-year extension that is now itself winding down.
The new deal lowers the town’s per-ton tipping fee from more than $75 per ton to $64 per ton for the first 18 months of the deal, starting in January. That will save Northborough about $11,000 in the current fiscal year, he said.
Next year and the following year, the town’s costs are projected to be $23,000 lower in each year, before adjustments for inflation in the pact begin to kick in.
The contract assumes Northborough will average 1,900 tons of solid waste annually, which has been the level since the town switched to a pay-as-you-throw program. Prior to that initiative, the town was sending more than 5,000 tons of trash to the plant a year.
Litchfield said the new contract was timely for the town, which must negotiate a new trash collection contract next year. Having a trash disposal facility in place will give contractors certainty and the savings will help offset what will likely be higher collection costs.
Town Manager John Coderre noted that all of the 36 communities in the purchasing agreement are likely to approve the contract extension.
“This is very positive for the town,” he said. “I really don’t see any downside.”