BRISTOL — Bristol residents will vote next Tuesday on joining the Addison County Solid Waste Management District. Voting will be by Australian ballot, and the polls at Holley Hall will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Aug 25.
Voters will face two questions. First, should Bristol join the Addison County Solid Waste Management District, which manages the garbage transfer station in Middlebury and other solid waste issues for all of the county except Bristol and Salisbury.
Second, will voters ratify the agreement to join the district as it was approved by the selectboard on July 6.
The agreement spells out the terms under which Bristol would officially join ACSWMD. These terms include that ACSWMD has agreed to waive admissions fees, that the town will have closed its landfill (as it did in early August), that the town will have established a mobile drop-off operation (as it did in selecting R&L Rubbish to run the Saturday drop-off operation) and that in the interim between the selectboard’s signing the agreement and the town’s official vote Bristol residents can use the ACSWMD transfer station for a range of items, subject to the same fees and restrictions as residents of member towns.
Benefits of joining ACSWMD include use of the transfer station for household hazardous waste, computers, televisions, and many additional items at no charge, free garden mulch as available, and drop off of yard waste (leaves, grass, small twigs) for $1/load.
With the closing of the Bristol landfill, residents can choose to bring their own household trash to the Saturday drop-off, from 8 a.m.–noon, or choose a curbside pick-up from ACSWMD’s list of licensed haulers (call ACSWMD at 388-2333 or go to www.addisoncountyrecycles.org/articles/list-of-licensed-haulers/).
Interested voters can access the complete ACSWMD “Admissions Agreement” on the town website, www.bristolvt.org, or ask at the town offices. The Admissions Agreement, once ratified, would run through Jan. 1, 2016.
Gaen Murphree is at [email protected].