Every vehicle registered to a South Berwick household can now be issued a free transfer station sticker, town officials decided this week.
Although it wasn’t on the agenda, the sticky sticker issue was taken up at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting, where councilors acknowledged hearing a lot of chatter around town about stickers and some misinformation about trash fees.
Councilor John James raised the issue, saying several constituents have asked why they are limited to only two stickers even though they own more than two vehicles registered in South Berwick. He himself falls into that category, he said.
The need for stickers arose because people from other towns, including contractors, were dumping debris in South Berwick, according to Town Manager Tim Pellerin. The sticker policy saves the town money, keeps the transfer station for residents only, and doesn’t overburden the workers and equipment, he and Assistant Town Manager Jennifer Janelle said.
Tipping fees have gone down $3,000 every couple of months since the town started limiting access to residents only, they said.
If someone has a special circumstance, such as a relative in New Hampshire helping out an infirm family member in South Berwick, they can go to Town Hall to request a pass to use the facility, said Pellerin. Exceptions will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Antique vehicles and trailers are not eligible for stickers.
As for the blue trash bags required locally, Councilors Mallory Cook and Melissa Costella both stated there is a misconception that the purchase price of the bags covers the cost of dumping, and that the transfer station makes a lot of money on recycling; neither is true, they said.
Nonresidents in some cases were using South Berwick’s transfer station because the blue bags and other disposal fees were cheaper than in their own town, according to Town Clerk Barbara Bennett.
The town’s policy regarding access to the transfer station, fondly called “the dump” by townspeople in decades past, has come full circle during her long tenure as clerk, she said. First there were stickers, then no stickers, then hanging tags, then pay per bag, and now stickers again.
