East Bridgewater Department of Public Works Reminds Residents of Upcoming Fee Increase for Curbside Trash and Recycling Services

Annual Rates to Increase by $100 on July 1, 2020

EAST BRIDGEWATER — Department of Public Works Director John Haines would like to remind residents that an increase of the annual fee for East Bridgewater’s curbside trash and recycling program is set to go into effect at the start of next month.

In February, the East Bridgewater Board of Selectmen voted to approve the increase, which is due to an increase in costs for collection and disposal of solid waste and recycling.

“Fees associated with trash and recycling disposal have significantly increased over the past few years nationally, and unfortunately those numbers are likely to continue to climb,” Director Haines said. “Over the past two years, taxpayers have been offsetting the true cost of the curbside pickup program by as much as $200,000 annually. This has drained the available funding for the program and the increased fee will ensure that we can maintain the program, while still offering a competitive rate than many of the private collection services in the area.”

The town’s annual fee for its subscription-based curbside pickup program will increase by $100, from $300 to $400, effective July 1. The fee increase will be effective during customers’ next billing cycle. Residents in the program are billed biannually. The cost of an additional  trash toter will increase to $200.

Fees for the program, which was implemented in 2018, have not been increased over the past two years.

For current subscribers to the service, there will be no changes made to the program. Subscribers will continue utilizing the 96-gallon containers for curbside collection of recyclable materials and the 64-gallon toter for trash. Program subscribers are still allowed to put out one bulky item per week and can continue to utilize the Recycling Center for the disposal of large cardboard, electronics and yard waste.

There are other options available to residents who do not wish to continue with the town’s curbside pickup program.

For an annual access fee of $125:

• Residents can utilize the Recycling Center for dropping off all recyclable materials presently collected curbside. 
• Residents can purchase yellow 15-gallon trash bags for $4 apiece, which can be disposed of at the Recycling Center on the first and third Saturdays of each month.

Residents who may wish to opt out of the program to utilize a private residential waste service should contact the DPW before Tuesday, June 30.

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