BARNSTABLE – The Town of Barnstable is reminding residents that new rules regarding recycling disposal begin Wednesday.
The town’s Department of Public Works announced recently that free recycling will no longer be provided to residents without a transfer station sticker.
Barnstable DPW Director Dan Santos explained that the decision was made due to the fact that the Barnstable Transfer Station had been collecting these materials at a deficit, and that the fees required to dispose of recyclable material would often exceed trash disposal costs.
“When the Board of Health regulation was put in place that made recycling free,” Santos said, “recyclables were a commodity that had a lot of value.”
Since then, Santos said that the recycling market has changed in the last four to five years due to decreased values of materials.
“These changes were inevitable, and the way we’re dealing with that is thus,” he said.
The station is offering a pair of pay-per-visit options for trash and recyclable disposal along with the choice to buy a transfer sticker.
Visitors can pay a single $10 fee for the disposal of two 30-gallon bags, or $20 for the disposal of five 30-gallon bags. From there, there is a $4 per bag charge for any bag over the limit.
To learn more, visit the Barnstable DPW’s website by clicking here.