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02/09/2023 AC Minutes 2 would be automatically included in the pilot program and would receive a year of free service, along with another 700 households. However, Mr. Malloy expressed strong doubts that this kind of pilot program would be helpful in future policy decisions. Mr. Malloy’s observations of other communities demonstrates that effective policies for reducing sanitation costs employ monetary disincentives for throwing away items, along with incentives for recycling and composting. Mr. Malloy acknowledged the legal history of free trash pickup in Lexington but noted that if the long-term goal is to drive down sanitation costs, then residents will have to pay based on the volume of trash they produce. A fixed monthly charge for trash pickup would not lower the Town’s sanitation costs because it creates no incentive to reduce trash volume. When combined with volume-based fees for trash pickup, free recycling and com- posting would create incentives to use those services by directly reducing the volume of trash. The Select Board’s task force on this issue proposed reducing trash pickups to every other week, which would presumably lower transportation and hauling costs, but would have no effect on tip- ping costs. Mr. Malloy was concerned that not every household would be satisfied with less fre- quent trash pickup, but that this might be feasible for recycling. Mr. Malloy stated that he has discussed the Town’s previous attempt to charge for trash pickup (Pay As You Throw) with Town Counsel. Mr. Malloy expressed surprise that the Town’s legal defense of PAYT was based on the definition of the word, “free”. The actual bylaw requires the Town to provide a free place for trash disposal. It does not require free curbside trash pickup. To avoid any ambiguity in the future, Mr. Malloy believes the bylaw should be revised by Town Meeting to ex- plicitly remove this mandate. Another option, used by many communities in Massachusetts, would be for the Town to cease providing town-wide trash pickup service, relying instead on private haulers licensed by the Town to contract directly with residents and businesses for trash pickup. This would allow for more flexi- ble and individualized service to customers based on their needs. Mr. Malloy does not recommend this option. Mr. Malloy firmly believes the Town should not create its own Sanitation Department. Mr. Malloy stated that the Town does not have a particularly good recycling rate, and that it only seems reasonable when yard waste is included in the calculation. Mr. Padaki asked what kind of metrics would be used to determine if the pilot program was suc- cessful. Mr. Malloy said this was a topic for future discussion with the Select Board, and that it would be difficult to collect or extract meaningful data about reduced trash disposal under the cur- rent system. Mr. Bartenstein stated that the Director of Public Works has previously observed that there is no longer a market for recyclables, but that the Town continues to encourage recycling because recy- cling contracts cost less than trash disposal. Mr. Malloy stated that the market for certain recycla- bles has begun to recover. Mr. Bartenstein asked what fiscal year the pilot program would run in. Mr. Malloy said it would be in 2024, and that if free cash was used it would require some adjustments to the proposed budget, but that using ARPA funds would only require a vote of the Select Board. The cost of the pilot pro- gram would be $216,000. Mr. Bartenstein asked if converting to private trash haulers would risk creating nuisances caused by residents who did not contract with a trash hauling service. Mr. Malloy said that the Town would