PROGRAM BACKGROUND

Effective Monday, June 29, 2015 all trash put at the curb for pick up must be in an Official Town of Brattleboro pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) Trash Bag as part of the new PAYT program.  With this program, residential trash is now only accepted when residents place it in Brattleboro-approved PAYT bags.  The PAYT program only applies to trash collection; it will not affect curbside recycling or curbside compost.  There is no charge to the resident for putting out recycling or compost – this service is paid for through property taxes.

Why make this change?  For many very good reasons.

• Residents can save money.  With the new, more equitable PAYT program, residents pay only for the garbage they throw away–not for their neighbors’ trash too!

• Brattleboro saves.  If there’s less trash generated, Brattleboro pays less to manage it.  These savings allow the town to allocate funds to higher priority services.

• The environment is better preserved.  When residents throw away less, recycle more, and “lighten the load” in any number of other ways, landfills last longer, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, millions of BTUs of energy are saved, and natural resources last longer.

• Vermont law (Act 148) requires that the cost all residential trash in the State of Vermont be paid for by the generator by a  Unit Based Pricing System according to weight or volume (PAYT). The law goes into effect on July 1, 2015.

Remember, by recycling more you’ll produce less trash, which means you’ll use fewer trash bags. The new PAYT program lets you take control of your waste disposal costs!

The Brattleboro-approved trash bags will be conveniently available at retail outlets throughout the town and are available in two sizes. Please see PAYT Basics.

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