WILMOT — So, what makes up the trash that Wilmot sends to landfill, and how much trash does Wilmot send to the landfill each year? There are two streams of trash that go to landfill from the Wilmot Transfer Station. The first is the municipal solid waste (MSW) put in the compactor. The second stream is the construction and demolition waste (C&D) that is put in a 30-yard open dumpster.
For the purposes of this article, I am going to focus on just the MSW, and will discuss C&D in a future edition. In 2022 (the last year that Wilmot was recycling paper, plastic, and light metal), Wilmot sent 470 tons of MSW to the landfill. In 2023, this number increased by 67 tons, to 537 tons (presumably this increase was largely due to previously recycled goods going into the compactor).
In 2024, there was an increase of 13 tons, to 550 tons of MSW. Wilmot’s cost to dispose of 1 ton of MSW in 2024 was $120, for a total cost of $65,994.
Wilmot has just negotiated a new contract for 2025, and the cost is increasing almost 12 percent, to $135/ton. Assuming the volume stays constant, the total cost in 2025 can be estimated to be $74,250, an increase of $8,256.
The Wilmot Waste Reduction Advisory Committee is focused on improvements to the current Transfer Station that would allow the Town to resume recycling of cardboard and plastic in a financially responsible manner. We have been conducting visits to other towns in our area (New London, Sutton, Newbury, and Bradford) to learn what they are doing and how they have been able to recycle these materials. We are paying particular attention to issues they have had with their facilities, and things they would do differently, to avoid Wilmot making similar mistakes.
What can Wilmot residents do in the short term to improve the situation? I will be focusing on a number of short-term suggestions for Wilmot residents in future articles. This month I wanted to inform you that there is a Cassella recycling facility in Newport that will take all of your cardboard and plastic to be recycled.
My wife and I have been taking advantage of this option. We break down all of the cardboard boxes, put all waste paper in paper shopping bags, and accumulate all plastic items in a large container. About every six weeks, we load up our Subaru Forester (it all fits) and head to Newport.
Cardboard recycling is free, and the most we have been charged to recycle six weeks of plastic is $2. The address of the recycling center is 264 John Stark Hwy, Newport, and the hours they are open for residential recycling are Thursday, from 4 to 6 PM, and Saturday, from 8 AM to 1 PM.
As a result of our efforts, the only materials we actually take to the Wilmot Transfer Station (we go every other week) are aluminum cans, tin cans and lids, glass, and one small bag of trash for the compactor. We do compost our kitchen scrap, which significantly reduces the volume of our trash (more on the impact of composting in next month’s article). I know there are a number of residents in Wilmot who are leveraging this Newport recycling center, and I would encourage others, who are concerned, to take advantage of this option as well.
Remember, the cost of trash and recycling is only going to go up in the foreseeable future, and landfill space is finite. As a community, we need to make every attempt to produce less waste.
The next meeting of the Wilmot Waste Reduction Advisory Committee will be 2 PM, Wednesday, March 12, at the library. We encourage anyone interested to attend.
In addition to the regular monthly meeting, the Wilmot Waste Reduction Advisory Committee will be guests at the March Eat & Greet luncheon at WCA Red Barn, at noon on Monday, March 3. Bring your lunch, bring a friend, and learn about what the Reduction Committee is doing to help reduce trash in Wilmot. The Wilmot Waste Reduction Advisory Committee can be reached at wilmotrecycling@nullgmail.com.