As summer winds down, some Onset residents are looking back on the first tourist season without trash barrels in the village. And they aren’t so sure about it.

“It’s mostly the residents” who get stuck picking up trash, according to Ellie Keenan of Onset. “They clean up the place. They’re out on the beach. They’re out on the streets.”

Keenan works at the Onset Bay Trading Company and says that, over the summer, it was not uncommon for beach-goers — who had carried in bags and carried out their trash — to come into the business looking for a play to deposit the bags.

“They’re carrying it around, and they get frustrated,” said Keenan. “I’ve had customers come in from the United Kingdom and they say, ‘You don’t have trash cans in this country?’”

Wareham officials hoped that removing the trash barrels form Onset and instituting a “carry in, carry out” policy would help eliminate the trash problem in the area and save the town some money.

Another rationale for getting rid of the barrels and encouraging people to bag it up is that overtime for beach cleaning was eliminated from the town’s anemic budget.

Officials estimated that the town could save approximately $2,000 per weekend that was previousl sent on paying Municipal Maintenance workers overtime and double-time to clean the beaches.

According to Town Administrator Derek Sullivan, the town saved approximately $20,000 in overtime costs for July and August.

People may be fined up to $500 for littering. It is unclear if any money has been collected from fines.

However, some people say that in the absence of trash barrels, people have been bringing their garbage to local businesses in downtown Onset, and residents walk the streets in the morning picking up litter.

Onset Bay Association President Eleanor Martin echoed Keenan, saying even the people who attempt to adhere to the policy get exasperated carrying a bag of trash around.

“Even people that are good and put stuff in a bag have no place to put the bag,” said Martin. “It’s just a ridiculous thing.”

Sullivan says he empathizes with people’s frustration, but urges them to keep giving the policy a chance.

“I appreciate the input on it. I think what people forget is the amount of trash on the beach forced the barrels to overflow and created even more trash,” the town administrator noted, adding that “progress has been made and people are getting used to it.”

Winna Dean of Onset said that the trash  is still a problem, people just don’t see it because of the efforts of village residents.

“The residents have become Municipal Maintenance’s trash clean up,” said Dean. “People say, ‘Oh it looks good.’ That’s because we’re doing it.”

Sullivan recognized that residents have been making efforts to clean up the town.

“I appreciate all the people who take the time to help make Wareham beautiful,” he said.

But for now at least, it looks like the trash policy is staying put.