Understanding the PAYT Citizens' Petition

It appears from my contact with others in the community there are some misunderstandings about the Citizens’ Petition to adjust the PAYT program here in Malden. This is a different petition from four years ago where the attempt was to totally eliminate the blue bags and return to the previous way of disposing of trash. This petition allows for a small amount of personal trash to be disposed of before fees, which will be more than we pay now, to kick in. Recycling will remain free and we believe will increase. People will be inspired to keep their trash down to the one small barrel and will recycle the rest instead of having to buy more expensive stickers to put on excess trash.

People will not be looking to fill the public trash barrels or just dump trash wherever they can. The City still has to pick up this trash and our DPW spends an inordinate amount of time and energy to clean up after those people who dump their trash instead of using their own barrel. The City will be cleaner if just that alone happens.

Many apartment dwellers who have dumpsters have voiced concerns that now people are filling their dumpsters with their trash and the ones who are allowed to use their dumpsters cannot as they are overflowing with others trash. They fear their landlords will increase their rents to compensate and are frustrated they cannot use their own dumpsters.

Our trash is sent to an incinerator and not a landfill. This waste is turned into energy so the incinerator makes money on our trash. The recyclables are a profit center for JRM who forces us to separate our recyclables and thus gives them a better product. It is to their benefit to give us better bins to keep the recyclables from flying all over the streets on windy days. They have a 20-year contract and it should be up to the City to demand better for our citizens if JRM is to make the money on our sorted recyclables. Our city has become a mess since the recycling has been stepped up because of those tiny buckets. It should not continue to be a burden on the citizens to deal with this issue.

We are seeking an adjustment that many have promised yet no one has stood up for the citizens to make it happen. It is time to clean up Malden and stop this ridiculous program we have now.