PLEASE BE ADVISE *** THE PILOT PROGRAM HAS ENDED***  THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM BEGINS JULY 1, 2024. 

Any references to the "pilot program" are for historical information only and there are no longer free bags available.

The Town of Woodbury thanks all residents for their patience as we roll out the permanent waste reduction program at our Transfer Station.  This new program, unlike anything we have attempted before, is a proven strategy for reducing the overall volume of trash produced and hauled from our town. 
We appreciate your earnest efforts to make it successful.    

 

PLEASE MAKE NOTE:
***Woodbury Trash/Composting Bags***
Beginning July 1st, Transfer Station users will be required to begin using Town of Woodbury plastic garbage bags when bringing trash (orange bags) and organic material (green bags) to the Transfer Station.  Bags are available for sale at Labonnes Market and Ace Hardware in Woodbury.  Thirteen-gallon kitchen sized garbage bags are $1.00 each.  Extra-large, 33-gallon bags are $1.65 each.  Green composting bags are $0.25 and $0.15 each, depending upon size. 
***Transfer Station Stickers – Good for 3 years***
During the months of July and August, Transfer Station stickers will be available at no charge in the Assessor’s Office (Boyd) and the First Selectman’s Office (Shove) between the hours of 8 am – 4 pm.  As was the case this year, there is a limit of 2 stickers/family.  Beginning September 1st, the new (green) stickers must be displayed on your car’s windshield in order for you to access the Woodbury Transfer Station.  Please continue to display your blue sticker until September 1st.
When you come to get your new sticker(s), please be prepared to show evidence that you are a Woodbury resident/taxpayer. Please also be able to provide the license plate number(s) of the car(s) that will be displaying the sticker(s). 

 

 

Woodbury

  • Program launches July 1 
What is the program?

The program has 2 parts:

  1. Food scrap collection at the transfer station.

o   Food scraps make up 22% of the average household’s trash. Food scraps contain valuable nutrients that should go back to the soil, not go to waste in a landfill or trash incinerator.

  1. Unit-based pricing: pay by the bag for what you throw away, which is proven to have equity, environmental, and economic benefits.

o   Paying only for what you use (treating trash like a utility—similar to electricity & heat) is the fairest system to manage trash—especially in a town where many residents opt to use a private hauler. Residents are empowered to save money by making less trash.

  • How do I make less trash?
    • Recycle as much as possible, separate out food scraps, remember to bring your reusable bag, opt for products with less packaging, donate used goods instead of putting them in your trash bag, etc.

o   Environmental benefits:

  • Unit-based pricing programs are proven to reduce trash going to landfill or incinerator. As the state is sending 40% of its trash out of state, this means a reduced number of trucks on the road driving trash to PA or OH.
  • In communities with UBP, recycling rates and food scrap collection are higher. The reason is that people are incentivized to take advantage of recycling programs because it saves them money to recycle instead of putting it in their trash bag.

o   Economic benefits:

  • Reducing trash means a reduction in disposal fees for the town, which is funded through taxpayer dollars.
    • The town is using the money from this reduced cost to pay for the food scrap collection service.
  • Disposal fees for trash (also known as ‘tip fees’) are increasing every year and are expected to skyrocket in the near future because we are running out of space in landfills, and incinerators are breaking down.
    • Shifting this expense out of the town budget protects the town from having to raise taxes to cover it. This is fairer, as individuals have control over their own expenses as compared to a tax increase that affects all.

 

How does the program work for me, a transfer station user?

  1. Purchase town-designated trash bags wherever you usually buy trash bags (grocery stores, hardware stores, convenience stores, etc.—specific list of retailers to come)
  2. Fill your bag up as much as possible at home
    1. Remember—taking out the stinky food scraps and anything that can be recycled lets you fit more in your orange bag.
  3. Take it to the transfer station and throw your different materials in their respective receptacles.

 

Do I still have to purchase a permit?

You still must obtain and display a permit. However, the $25 fee charged last year will not be charged this year.

 

How does this save me money?

Transfer station users:

-          You no longer have to purchase a $25 permit.

-          How much money you spend on trash is in your control. Make less trash, buy less bags!

-          Food scrap bags are significantly less expensive than trash bags, or you can use no bag at all.

-          Recycling is free. The more you can separate out food, and recycle, the less money you spend on bags.

Residents with a private hauler:

-          Currently, your tax dollars are being used to pay for disposal of transfer station users’ trash. In the new program, those tax dollars will be used for something that benefits you more directly. Additionally, Woodbury will be insulated from tax increases associated with rising tip fees.

 

Where can I buy bags?

Check back here. We will update this list with more retailers regularly.

 

How much do bags cost?

Trash:

33 gal (family size): $1.65
13 gal (tall kitchen): $1.00
8 gal (seniors/singles): $0.75

 

Food Scraps:

8 gal (bucket size): $0.25
4 gal (countertop): $0.15

 

Why do the bags cost more than I’m used to paying for bags?

The price of the bag includes the cost of what’s in it – Like how a flat-rate shipping box is more expensive than a regular cardboard box.

Your trash bag is your receipt that says you paid for the cost of disposal for what’s inside the bag.

 

How will this be enforced?

Not using the orange bags means you didn’t pay for the cost of disposal, and that’s not fair to your neighbors. The orange bags are mandatory. If you show up with unbagged trash, you will be turned away. You’ll need to purchase orange bags and re-bag your trash to throw it away.

People caught cheating the system may be fined.

 

Where do the food scraps go?

Currently, the food scraps go to an anaerobic digester in Southington called Quantum Biopower. There, the food scraps break down, creating biogas that is used as a renewable source of electricity, and a soil enrichment material that becomes compost for the soil.