Although the town’s website for trash services is now up and running and the pay-as-you-throw transfer station trash bags are being sold around town, some Wareham residents remain displeased with the new trash arrangement.

Town Administrator Derek Sullivan praised Patty Neal, his admin, for her patience while fielding hundreds of calls. Most of the calls are from seasonal homeowners, Sullivan said at the Jan. 26 Board of Selectmen’s meeting. 

“Not everyone’s excited about this,” Sullivan said. “I think people need to understand there was over 200 calls to the office today, and the average time that she spent with a person was about 17 minutes on the call.” 

Sullivan said there were also people who, after calling his office, have called other departments as well.

“To, I guess, not necessarily ask more questions, but to try and get their point across,” he said. “You certainly can do that, it’s just — I don’t know if that’s the best use of time.”

Board members asked for patience and cooperation during the meeting. Under the new trash plan — made necessary after the long-standing free waste disposal deal arranged as part of a waste district with Marion and Carver came to an end last year — residents can now choose to pay for transfer station stickers or the town’s curbside pick-up.

Transfer station stickers cost $125 for the first vehicle and $60 for an additional vehicle. Stickers purchased online will be mailed to the purchaser’s home. The yearly price for curbside pick-up will be $365 through the town.

Selectman Patrick Tropeano said the reaction was what he would expect from any new program or major change. He said it would take a while for people to “get into the groove” but he was positive the plan would be widely accepted in time. 

“This will work out fine,” he said. “Everybody just try to relax a little bit.”

Selectman Peter Teitelbaum also pointed out that the board members themselves are not exempt from having to deal with the changes.

“To the extent people feel that this was inflicted upon them, we’ve had to inflict it upon ourselves,” he said. “We’re all in the same circumstance here. I’ve always had a transfer station sticker. But the idea of going from $40 to $125 — I’m not happy about paying another 85 bucks and then dealing with bags.”

Teitelbaum added that he has still not decided whether he’ll opt-out of the town’s curbside pickup in favor of purchasing a transfer station sticker on its own. 

Selectman Jim Munise also acknowledged that the end of Wareham’s “free ride” for trash disposal was alarming to many. 

“The cost — it’s a sticker shock,” Munise said. “But we all knew it was going to be coming. The party was over.”