Mayor Sutter announced today that the Solid Waste Task Force he convened in March has published its findings and recommendations for the public to view. Their 21-page report (129 pages in total including attached solid waste contracts and appendices) is now available on the homepage of the City’s website, Fallriverma.org.
“I would like to thank the task force for the hard work they have put in over the last eight months,” Sutter said. “Solid waste has been a divisive issue in our city for far too long, and it is my hope that spelling out the details of the contracts that are in effect, drawing comparisons to other cities, and providing the historical background set out in the report will set the city on the right track for improvement on our solid waste issues.”
The Solid Waste Task Force was comprised of Co-Chairs City Councilor Michael Miozza and Dan Botelho, Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Robert Mellion, Director of Community Maintenance Ken Pacheco, Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Morrissette, Bristol County District Attorney Chief of Staff Lisa Kaminski, and waste management expert Junior Paquette.
The report begins with a history of the Fall River landfill, starting with its opening in the 1930’s. The task force then explains each of the four solid waste contracts currently in effect for the city. A survey of other Gateway Cities’ budgets and sanitation systems follows, and the report concludes with four long-term options for waste collection and disposal.
The first option laid out by the task force, “City Run Model,” is a continuation of the city’s current system. The second, “Privatization,” entails contracting private companies to handle sanitation services. The third option, “City Becomes a Market Participant,” includes the building of a transfer station in the city. The fourth, “Waste-to Energy,” consists of building a facility that would generate energy through the burning of municipal solid waste.
Sutter added, “I’m looking forward to participating in the informed discussion this report will certainly generate.”
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