The Board of Selectman discussed the looming end of the current waste disposal contracts at their Tuesday night meeting.

As the Carver Marion Wareham Regional Refuse Disposal District looks to wind up operations at the end of this year, each town is working to find a new system that will work going forward.

To supplement the work being done by the district committee and town officials, Town Administrator Derek Sullivan announced the town will be hiring a consultant to help determine the best path forward for Wareham.

“I think we need to get a separate set of eyes on this,” Sullivan said, explaining that he thinks the consultant should review the data and proposed solutions. “We need someone that has no skin in the game.”

Sullivan said that waste disposal is one of the biggest issues the town is facing, one that is almost personal to town residents.

Possible solutions could include operating the Rte. 28 transfer station, opening a new transfer station, or moving to a pay-as-you-throw system in which residents dispose of trash in special trash bags -- or bags marked with stickers -- priced to offset the cost of waste disposal

“I think the goal is to hopefully provide a service that will be cheaper than curbside collection,” said Selectman Jim Munise, who also serves on the waste district committee.

Munise mentioned that there is a possibility that Carver might want to collaborate to run the Rte. 28 station with Wareham, and Munise and Sullivan will be meeting with Carver officials to discuss that option.

Selectman Patrick Tropeano said that he liked the system in Martha’s Vineyard, where the town he vacations in has curbside pick-up with pay-as-you-throw stickers.

People purchase stickers, which are priced differently for trash and recyclables, and put them on bags of trash and recycling before putting them at the curb.

Munise said that one solution being discussed would include selling both transfer station stickers to allow for access to the station, which would cover the operating cost of the station, along with pay-as-you-throw bags or stickers to cover the cost of disposal, noting that recycling is currently much more expensive than trash disposal.

Ideally, Munise said, the town’s waste disposal program will pay for itself without needing to be supplemented by the town’s budget.

That goal is one point in favor of a pay-as-you-throw program, which is called a “SMART program” (Save Money And Reduce Trash).

Tropeano noted the urgency of the issue, as a solution needs to be found by the end of the year, and if the town needs to request bids, that deadline is even sooner.

“We’re going to have really big egg on our face if we don’t have something in place by then,” Tropeano said.

“Yeah, it’s going to be egg, leftovers,” Sullivan said. 

“All on our front lawns,” added Selectman Peter Teitelbaum.

The Selectmen will keep waste disposal on their agenda throughout the year.

The next meeting of the committee governing the Waste District is set for January 29 at 5 p.m. at the Marion Town Hall, 2 Spring St.