TIVERTON — The end is near for the town’s 33-acre landfill.
In a recent letter to the town, the state Department of Environmental Management said Nov. 30, 2020 is the date the last load can be accepted there.
Tiverton has the only municipal landfill in the state, besides the state landfill in Johnston where most of Rhode Island’s trash and recyclables end up.
It has been known for years that plans have to be made about what to do when the town’s landfill closes; the options that have been discussed are to either direct-haul to Johnston or have a transfer station in town where trash and recyclables can be collected before being transported to Johnston.
No decisions have been made, but they need to be made relatively soon, Town Administrator Jan Reitsma told the town council.
“We need a public hearing sometime soon,” he said.
“The light at the end of the tunnel is the oncoming train,” Town Councilwoman Patricia Hilton, who sits on the Landfill/Recycling committee, said at a recent budget discussion.
“There is zero chance of getting an extension,” Reitsma said of the town seeking permission from the DEM to continue the landfill after the deadline.
In the letter to the town, the DEM said the landfill should be fully capped by September 2021. A timeline it included had bids for capping being advertised in April of this year and a contract awarded by June 15, 2019, with initial work scheduled to begin in July.
Stormwater control and monitoring wells are part of the long-term plan for the closed landfill.
The town has been setting money aside for years for the capping of the landfill that is expected to cost around $10 million. Close to $8 million has been saved in a dedicated account, with most of the money coming from the sale of special pay-as-you-throw trash bags that residents must use for curbside trash pickup.
Councilwoman Donna Cook suggested at the recent meeting that another option after the landfill closes is for people to pay for their own trash pickup.
Asked by Councilwoman Nancy Driggs if Tiverton could coordinate its trash services with nearby communities, Reitsma said: “There’s not a lot of appetite for that.”
Members of the Landfill/Recycling Committee have been out looking for land for a transfer station, Hilton said.
The costs for a transfer station versus the costs to direct haul to Johnston will be determined by the town’s consulting engineer, PARE Engineering, Hilton said.
There are ways to reduce the weight of the loads that would end up in the state landfill and reduce the amount the town would have to pay in tipping fees.
Reitsma said presentations about reducing food waste in the waste stream are expected to be made to the committee in the near future.