Selectmen struggle over how to tackle trash

Oct 15, 2014

Town officials are tired of the trash in Wareham.

Selectman Alan Slavin said Tuesday he would like to set up a long-term plan to combat the issue of trash around town.

He said he has spoken with the Onset Bay Association and the Wareham Village Association as well as with the Town Administrator, and he now wants Selectmen to look closely at the issue and generate ideas on how to clean the town.

But Selectmen Judith Whiteside disagreed that it was town government's responsibility to clean up after litterers.

"You can't change society by holding everybody's hands, and that's what you're suggesting," she said.

Whiteside said the town used to have townwide trash pickup and when it was eliminated, the town saved $500,000.

"Picking up after other people is not the job of the town," she said. "People need to learn individual responsibility."

Selectman Patrick Tropeano agreed with Whiteside. He said the board also needs to strengthen efforts by police to ticket litterers.

"We could use the $250 [fine]," he said.

Slavin said the board has spoken with police and they acknowledged it's tough to issue tickets because officers can only do so when they catch someone in the act.

Tropeano suggested spending money to set up cameras around town to catch litterers redhanded.

"It's always in the same places," he said

Slavin said the board would continue to look into the issue.

"This is something that needs to get done," he said. "Wareham deserves to be a place to come and not have to live with crap everywhere."