Taking out the trash
Officials look at a new agreement that could mean more money and a new location
By Arthur Dudney

   A whole bunch of trash could generate millions in revenue for the city.
   Somerville could see $7.7 million over the next 10 years if a new trash deal goes through. Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone announced last Wednesday he has brokered an agreement with Waste Management Incorporated that could mean millions in revenue for the city, some of which will be used for community programs and to improve recycling.
    The deal would allow Waste Management to continue to operate the waste transfer station at 10 Poplar St., which it leases from the city. Trash from Somerville and neighboring communities is stored temporarily at the site before being trucked to landfills.

    However, Poplar Street might not be the best location. The new deal also would allow Waste Management to vacate the site in three years, if a better location was found in the city. Mark Horan, spokesman for the Mayor, said he believes Waste Management would like to stay in Somerville, but has seemed open to possibly relocating within the city boarders.
   “They have agreed that it is not a great location for them,” said Horan.
    Horan said the area is not as lucrative as it could be given the waste site.
    The current contract is not set to expire until 2014, but concerns stemming from the Green Line expansion and complaints from residents represented by Ward Two Alderman Maryann Heuston led the Mayor to renegotiate the terms. The Board of Aldermen voted last Wednesday to send the proposal to the Committee on Legislative Matters, which will hammer out the details and refer it back to the board in a few weeks for final action. 
   “This sounds like it’s a better deal than what we had,” said Alderman-at-Large William A. White. “On first blush it looks good.”
     Waste Management Inc. is the largest disposal company in the United States. By the company’s own estimates, it handles 85 percent of Boston’s residential waste disposal. Much of that goes through the Poplar Street transfer station.
     Until now, Waste Management has paid the city about $300,000 annually through an excise tax on vehicles used at the site and a $1 fee for every ton of out-of-town trash stored at the site. Under the new agreement, the fee would increase to $2 per ton and this would raise an additional $300,000 per year in revenues, according to the mayor’s estimate.
     Waste Management would also pay a monthly fee of $20,000 and an annual $35,000 community benefits fee, both of which are new. The company would fund the salary for a new city position for a recycling coordinator. It would also improve maintenance, landscaping and pest-control at the Poplar Street site under the new agreement.
     Waste Management was recently cited for solid waste violations by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). A landfill in Granby informed the DEP that it had received illegal shipments from the Poplar Street station triggering an investigation in March. The DEP determined that 68 shipments had contained tires, large appliances, computer monitors and televisions.
      Under state law, these items must be disposed of following a special procedure and not left with normal waste. The DEP also found that the site was not keeping proper records of incoming shipments.
      “It’s a serious issue and the waste ban is there for a good reason: Saving space for items that should go” in ordinary landfills, said Ed Coletta, spokesman for the DEP.
      The original $10,000 fine issued to Waste Management was dropped by the state. But the company is still required to spend $20,000 through the Supplemental Environmental Project, including two training sessions, according to Coletta.
     White said he was not aware of the citation. He said it was the something Committee on Legislative Matters would take under consideration.