The Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District is introducing new fees for hazardous waste disposal and scaling back collection events after revenues fell short of expectations.
Executive Director Chris Thompson told the board of supervisors at their May meeting that the district loses about $4 per gallon on hazardous liquids handled by a private contractor. Under the new policy, residents will pay $1 per gallon, with a $10 per bin charge for other hazardous waste. The board also agreed to reduce the number of annual collection events from eight to between two and four, starting in 2027, and to cap liquid hazardous waste at 25 gallons per person.
Thompson had already increased surcharges on other waste to offset a $100,000 revenue gap in the first four months of the fiscal year. The board also authorized him to calculate a fee for "bulky day" collections based on actual service costs; those events have been free to the public.
The changes were presented as necessary to keep the district solvent without cutting core services. Further details are expected in the June 11 edition of the Newport Daily Express.
NEK will be looking into the terms of the district’s contract with the private hazardous waste hauler.
Originally reported by Newport Daily Express.
Photo: Magicpiano (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0). Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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