It’s going to cost more for locals to dispose of their trash next year. The Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District trustees approved a small rate increase for Giles Rubbish customers and discussed a possible rate hike for the transfer station. On Dec. 14, trustees unanimously approved a 50 cent increase per pick up for residential and $1 for business customers. In April, the district bought Giles Rubbish for $1.363 million and began operating the business July 1.

District operations manager Steve Lewis estimated the increase would generate about $75,000 in additional revenue. Lewis believes it is needed for replacing trucks in the upcoming years. Giles’ hook trucks are major revenue generators for the business, and Lewis is concerned about keeping them operational. The additional revenue would buy a new hook truck for an estimated $120,000, according to Lewis.

But Giles customers aren’t the only ones who may see a higher BRRDD bill next year. Lewis also recommended a 6.31 percent increase for the district’s operational budget. Lewis proposed a $1,280,090 Fiscal Year 2020 budget which is $80,830 more than FY 19’s. Lewis attributed the increase to a sharp drop in recyclable revenue. He estimates recyclable income would drop from $65,000 to $30,000.

“There is just no way around it,” he said. “Recycling revenue is horrendous and I think getting $30,000 might be generous,” Lewis said. Trustees will vote on the proposed budget next month.

Lewis alerted Giles Rubbish customers to the proposed increase in a letter which also alerted them to a new billing software. Trashflow will provide customers an opportunity to pay their bills online without a fee. It also links drivers with the system so an update about a pick-up or route change is instantaneous. Each truck will be equipped with a tablet. But the district is testing Trashflow with only one driver in January.

“We want to work out the bugs the first. This will replace a very old system which will benefit our workers and customers. I expect it to be operational at the earliest on Jan. 1 or the latest Feb. 1,” Lewis said.

In other action, the trustees denied a request to donate recyclable bottles and cans to the local Lions Club. This summer, the district had so many returnables, it had a hard time getting rid of them. Several local redemption centers which once accepted them had gone out of business. But the district has since found an outlet accepting their multitudes of returnables.  The district is sending loads of bottles and cans to Bootleggers Beverage Warehouse in Topsham.

“Finding a place to accept returnables is no longer a problem,” Lewis said. “We can load them into a 15-yard dumpster and take them directly to Bootleggers for about $400 per load.”

The trustees decided against either donating or allowing the club to set up a special place for donations due to concerns about establishing a precedent for requests. “I agree we can’t do something like this because it will cause too many problems with other organizations wanting to do the same thing,” said Southport trustee Rob Hopkins.

Trustees will meet next at 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10 in the business office.