Recycling Pays

The zero-sort pickup sure has been convenient, but is it saving us taxpayers money? Dorothy Heinrichs has crunched the numbers, and it appears that the savings are there. It's a little complicated, though.

In 2009 97.08 tons of trash were collected. We didn't have a large trash pickuip. Canaan and Grafton imposed recycling fees of $3,000 and $1,500. Northeast Waste charged $24,952. Total: $29,452.

In 2010, 109.91 tons were collected, and there was a large trash pickup. The recycling fees stayed the same., and Northeast Waste charged $28,947. Total: $33,447.

Last year, 98.84 tons were collected, and we had another large trash pickup. The town paid $1,500 in Canaan and Grafton recycling fees for the first four months of the year, before zero-sort kicked in. During the rest of the year, more than 18 tons of zero-sort recycling got picked up. Northeast Waste charged us $30,156. Total: $31,656. 

Meanwhile, the Canaan fee was set to increase to $4,000, while Grafton's fee was about to double. Those hikes would have added $2,500 to the budget--charges that we didn't have to pay, thanks to zero sort.

The bottom line: Convenience aside, zero sort seems to be saving Orange money.