Fall River is trying to save money on its $9 million annual trash bill. Here's how.

FALL RIVER — It costs big bucks for a community to manage its municipal waste, and Mayor Paul Coogan's administration and the City Council are looking for ways to cut its $8 million to $9 million annual bill while still collecting and disposing of trash and recycling.

Changes have already begun, through efforts of the solid waste team Coogan assembled about 1½ years ago.

The city’s special counsel, Matthew Thomas, Director of City Operations Al Oliveira and Department of Community Maintenance Director Charlie Denmead last week briefed members of the Committee on Health and Environmental Affairs on those changes and its plans to reduce trash and disposal costs.

Thomas said the city isn’t trying to make a business out of waste management.

“But that doesn’t mean the city can’t act businesslike," Thomas said. "And so, slowly but surely, the way we handle solid waste in the city is going to be more businesslike." 

Maintaining equipment: Is your trash barrel ready for the garbage? Fall River will fix or replace it on the spot.

Fixing trash barrels and ending trash collection for big customers

Thomas said the team took a holistic approach to reviewing all aspects of the city’s waste management policy. The first task was to perform maintenance on the hundreds of trash and recycling carts citywide.

And it's been talked about for a long time, but the city finally pulled the trigger on following its own ordinance by ending trash and recycling pickup at commercial properties and non-residential nonprofits. Between February and April, owners of over 500 of those properties were notified that the city would no longer haul their trash as of April 5.

Thomas said that on Aug. 1, owners of apartment buildings with more than six units will receive notice that municipal trash pickup will end on Sept. 3.

The administration is also updating the solid waste ordinance, which could include a requirement that commercial property owners prove they’ve contracted with a trash hauler when they renew their business certificates with the city.

How much trash do Fall River schools create?

For years, the city has billed the School Department a flat annual rate of $63,000 for trash disposal.

“When we looked at it, it didn’t make any sense,” Thomas told the committee.

Picking up trash at city schools is not a designated route, so it was difficult to determine just how much waste the School Department generates.

Thomas said the city trash-haulers collected garbage at all schools and weighed the truck at the State Pier, giving the administration a better estimate of how much trash the schools generate. In 2024, the School Department was charged a more reasonable amount of $260,000.

“We’re doing much better on getting a handle on what they are actually disposing of,” said Thomas.

The city 10-year-contract for trash hauling with E-Z Disposal is up in two years, said Thomas.

When the city enters into a new contract, Thomas said, Fall River could follow New Bedford’s lead and invoice the School Department separately for its solid waste disposal costs.

High price of garbage: Fall River grapples with rising trash removal costs

Cutting down on 'dirty' recycling

The city has struggled with “dirty” recycling, when a load is contaminated and degrades materials that could make money, like cardboard. Dirty recycling wastes more money.

The School Department has a curriculum on how to properly recycle, but the city is working with it and the Department of Environmental Protection to improve it.

“Students are the best recycling ambassadors,” said Thomas.

The administration is also working to produce more information for residents on what can and cannot be recycled.

A pilot program in certain neighborhoods to separate cardboard from other recycling has been very successful, according to Denmead, and there is a move to expand it.

In 2020, the City Council approved a composting pilot program and used a grant to purchase composting bins that residents can buy for $25. Denmead said the program really caught on, and there are still composting bins available.

The education initiative could also help promote the composting program.

How does Fall River enforce the trash ordinance? A 3-step process

Three city employees concentrate solely on solid waste compliance, but do it the old-fashioned way: tracking trash scofflaws by hand.

The technology isn’t in place yet, but Oliveira said DCM is upgrading its software to track residents not complying with the city’s trash ordinance, like overflowing carts and improperly disposing materials. The goal is to have compliance officers scan a cart and immediately identify the owner of the property it belongs to.

The administration is also working to link compliance with the Tax Assessor's office, to have the most up-to-date information on property owners.

And how the city will issue non-compliance citations is also getting a new three-step process: a first notice tags the cart with information on the issue, a second notice is a “reminder letter” to the property owner, and a third violation is a fine.

Thomas said fines are about $100, but said the amount should be increased.

The Legislature may soon approve a bill making it easier for municipalities to collect fines, said Thomas, by allowing communities to include outstanding fines in property tax bills.

"It's not meant to be pejorative to people by any means, but to facilitate people complying," said Thomas. "What this is about really is to protect public health."

How much does Fall River pay a month to dispose of trash?

A person generates an average of 4.9 pounds of solid waste a day, said Thomas, and 21% is food waste.

Fall River generates about 21,000 tons of solid waste a year, with an average household generating about a ton a year, according to Thomas.

As of June, the city pays E-Z Disposal $417,000 per month to pick-up trash and recycling, to the tune of $700 per haul.

Thomas said it was discovered that E-Z was not necessarily disposing of waste from full trash trucks, which can hold about 15 to 16 tons per load, increasing costs because of additional hauls.

“Those are things we are looking at today, because frankly we didn’t have the ability before,” said Thomas.

Where does Fall River's trash go? It may be changing

Thomas said people’s trash collection days won’t change. But for some households, where their trash ends up may.

The city's contract with Republic Services, which takes the city’s solid waste at its Fall River transfer station, expires in October. The city is not renewing its contract and will instead take its solid waste to Crapo Hill Landfill in New Bedford, which serves New Bedford and Dartmouth.

The city was paying Republic $113.20 per ton. Crapo is charging Fall River $116 per ton, less than the market rate of $125 a ton for non-New Bedford and Dartmouth customers.

Thomas said the work to improve solid waste costs and compliance isn't finished.

"We're only about a quarter of the way there. We still have a lot of work to do."

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River takes steps to lower municipal trash collection costs