Is SAYT Making A Difference?

Is it Working?

Yes!  The SAYT program is making a difference.  The Middletown Sanitation District reduced trash since beginning this system in November 2023.  That means customers are recycling more, diverting food scraps, generating and sending less trash to landfills or incinerators!   

Middletown SAYT program collected 47 tons of food scraps between November 2023 - May 2024.  Food scraps are sent to an anaerobic digestor to generate renewable energy and compost.  Food scraps are wet and heavy and don't belong in the trash.  

Sanitation District residents are creating 10 pounds of trash per week - the state average is 19 pounds per person! 

Review full details here.  

On September 3, 2024 the Common Council passed Resolution 88-24 (PDF) to continue the SAYT program for another year, with continued Department of Energy and Environment (DEEP) support. Cart rates will remain the same and bag prices will be slightly reduced. The alternative would have been to increase all cart prices to $480/year to cover the increase in costs since the last price increase. With SAYT, customers have a choice of how much they spend on trash disposal and most will pay less than $480 annually, even with the bag costs.  

Why is Middletown Doing This?

Municipalities are mandated in statute (CGS 22a-220) to provide for the safe and sanitary disposal of all solid wastes, which are generated in their boundaries.  To assist municipalities with state-wide waste reduction and recycling goals, and combat escalating trash disposal costs, the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has issued the Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Grant program.  The SMM grant project is a year-long pilot program, projected to reduce waste by up to 40%, increase recycling, offer curbside collection of food scraps, and ultimately reduce costs to customers in the Sanitation District.  

Connecticut is in a trash crisis. Waste disposal capacity in the U.S. is shrinking. The New England region is expected to lose 40% of its trash disposal capacity in the next 5 years and up to 100% by 2040.

The State of Connecticut generates 3.5 million tons of municipal solid waste (trash) annually. However, the state only has capacity to manage 2.7 million tons of trash. This loss of trash disposal capacity is significantly affecting ALL Connecticut communities. The alternative of trucking CT trash up to 600 miles out of state is expensive and not sustainable. We need a new approach.

Learn more about the waste crisis through this Story Map designed by the Naugatuck Valley Regional Council of Governments.

The City of Middletown has received grant funding from the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to run a food scrap co-collection pilot program.  This pilot for this program started in November 2022, and became a mandatory program in November 2023.  

Our goal with this program is to provide an incentive for residents and businesses to produce less waste by recycling more, while covering costs for disposal. In keeping with this rationale, the more you recycle, including food scraps, the less your waste disposal will cost.

Starting with the November 1, 2023 billing, customers who use the cart service in the Sanitation District received a reduction in their fee bills. With assistance from CT DEEP, the Sanitation District is moving to a two-tiered, unit-based billing system for trash disposal.  

• A typical residential bill has been reduced by over $100 annually.    
• The fee was reduced, despite the rising costs of trash across the state, by shifting the disposal cost to the price of the orange trash bags. The City bags are the receipt for paying the disposal part of the bill.  This system is similar to electricity and other utilities where the user pays a basic amount that covers fixed costs and then a user fee (in the case of our new waste disposal program: the cost of bags) for the amount used.
• Paying only for the trash that you make means you can save money by recycling more effectively and separating food scraps. 

In September 2024, the Common Council passed Resolution 88-24, which maintains the typical cart rate at $280 annually, slightly reduces the costs of the bags and continues DEEP funding for at least one more year.  Without this continuation, the cost for a typical residential cart customer would have risen to $480 annually for everyone. With SAYT, customers have a choice to manage their sanitation costs by recycling correctly, diverting food scraps and taking other actions to reduce their waste, and their costs. Families would need to use over 4 full bags a week to spend that much. Typically, families use 2 bags a week or less.