As landfills close and trash costs rise due to waste being exported out of state, Swampscott is reviewing its contract and reassessing its waste management plans.

Wayne Spritz, chair of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee, outlined challenges, potential changes and budgetary implications to the Select Board. Swampscott’s contract with Republic Services expires July 1. In the current contract, Swampscott is paying $1.1 million for Republic Services’ work, with an additional tipping fee of $108 per ton for trash disposal and $85 per ton for recycling, according to Department of Public Works Director Gino Cresta. 

Town Administrator Nick Connors said trash pick-up is “one of the most significant expenses and one of the most significant increases we expect from this year to next year.”

Connors said interviews have been set up with Republic Services, Waste Management, Casella and Capital Waste Services. Other towns have provided feedback on G. Mello Disposal, which Connors said “may or may not be someone we move forward with based on that feedback.

“We look forward to having those initial conversations and understand where they are on something like automation,” Connors said. “I think four or five of them will be complete by the end of next week. There are two that are outstanding that we’re trying to schedule” 

Connors noted that Reading went through the Request for Proposals (RFP) process and conducted an audit but ultimately decided to stay with Republic Services.

The Solid Waste Advisory Committee joined a cohort of towns and cities across the Commonwealth that are also renegotiating waste contracts, according to Spritz. A task force was formed in August to discuss the issue and has met every two weeks.

The task force includes Spritz, Cresta, Select Board Member Mary Ellen Fletcher, Connors, Solid Waste Advisory Committee Member Kathy Mikk, Finance Committee Vice Chair Erik Schneider, Procurement Officer Natalie Swanstrom, Department of Public Health Director Jeff Vaughan, and Brian Walsh, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) municipal assistance coordinator. 

The town was awarded a working in-kind grant from the MassDEP for 80 consulting hours with Walsh.

The task force has prepared a legal analysis so that it can be compared to a potential new trash contract, noting “issues that we need to pay attention to, the advantageous parts of that contract, and things that we should be aware of in the future,” Spritz said.

The group also differentiated between primary and secondary service levels, the latter of which can include hazardous waste, bulk pick-up and the compost system that “we need to be aware of as they affect residential services, affect costs,” Spritz said. 

The primary issue facing trash collection is that the town’s hybrid pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) system – using 35-gallon containers and blue bags – is “at risk,” with many trash haulers going automated for safety issues and profit by the company. 

Swampscott currently uses a single container with overflow bags, which Spritz said “was critical to the fact we have dropped 18.4% from our 2018 levels.” The data reflects 2024 totals due to service interruptions during the 2025 trash strike.

The Solid Waste Advisory Committee is working to see if the fork-lift trash truck model is able to be combined with a bag. Spritz noted that transitioning residents to a new system would take time.

“The initial conversation we had with Republic was there would be a period in which they would be preparing from a capital investment standpoint to have the trucks and everything, but they are not offering contracts where they have manual,” Connors said. “I think we can anticipate that everyone will be in the same boat of either automation from day one or automation at some point early in the contract and for the rest of the contract.”

Spritz also mentioned the idea of allowing a second 35-gallon container for a yearly fee for additional household trash needs, as well as the potential for a weekly drop-off service “micro-transfer station.”

“Currently Republic is not offering that option,” Spritz said. “It is critical to interview new vendors to understand how their operations can offer us a solution. There’s a lot unfortunately that we don’t know. We want to be wary of projecting what we know now as the only way of going in the future.”

Spritz said recycling systems have become “much more sophisticated,” with requirements for material audits and contamination determinations, which Swampscott currently has “no understanding” of.

Spritz suggested that commodity price sharing should be explored. The town will also need new recycling containers, which Spritz said is “not a small amount of money.”

“The Solid Waste Advisory Committee has tried to offer additional services. We have been asking for additional physical locations. It is a well-used and well-loved service to have composting bins,” Spritz said. “Unfortunately, it’s expensive.”

While Spritz said he doesn’t have “a single bad thing” to say about Black Earth, it would cost the company twice to three times what it does for individual residents on a per pound basis.

“It’s something of high interest that I think could certainly offer the town benefit,” Spritz said, noting that it could potentially save money if the organic material is brought somewhere locally rather than to South Carolina where Republic Services transports it. “It comes down to what the vendor can offer, the program that they have and price.”