The Middletown Town Council recently approved an annual fee hike for the town’s Pay-As-You-Throw program, which is used to collect household trash and recyclable materials from homes.
The fee increase to $180 is due to the town’s rising costs for tipping, transportation, and other services.
However, the town said that the cost for the town’s yellow bags to get rid of household waste and other rubbish will remain the same for the next year.
The annual fee for the Pay-As-You-Throw program, which was established in 2015, is used to fund the town’s recycling and waste management services.
“No. 1, the way ‘Pay-As-You-Throw’ works, it’s an enterprise fund where the users pay for the service,” Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said. “If you use the service, you pay your fair share, but if you don’t, it’s not part of our tax rate. That’s the beauty of it and it provides a quality service at a fair price.”
Town officials said that the cost of bulky waste, such as lawn furniture, mattresses, and lawn mowers, can be dropped off free of charge during regularly scheduled bulky waste amenity days.
More information about the Pay-As-You-Throw program is available online at https://mdl.town/PAYT.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
