Waste Haulers Protest Policy Banning Out-of-town Rubbish; Select Board Seeks Compromise To Accommodate Local Businesses

CHATHAM – A regulation has been on the books for nearly 20 years prohibiting dumping of trash collected from out of town in Chatham’s transfer station. 

There’s a good reason for the board of health rule: Chatham residents shouldn’t have to pay to ship waste from other towns to the off-Cape plant where it is incinerated. 

 Last summer, the board of health instituted a new policy requiring that commercial waste haulers sign an affidavit when they renew their annual permit certifying that all of the trash they leave at the transfer station originated in town. Haulers must also sign a form each time they bring a load into the transfer station attesting that the rubbish originated within the town’s boundaries. In letters and memos, the board reasoned that this was the best way to ensure that only Chatham rubbish ends up in the transfer station.

 Five haulers, four of which are based out of town, signed the affidavit when renewing their hauler license for 2026. One, Milley Trucking, did not sign. At the Dec. 23 select board meeting, Graeme Milley said complying with the health board regulation would “dramatically” impact his business.

 Milley Trucking has a contract with the Monomoy Schools to collect rubbish and recycling from the four schools in the district, including Harwich Elementary School and Monomoy High School, both located in Harwich. To comply with the regulation, the company would face an extra charge to bring the trash from the Harwich schools to that town’s transfer station. The school district would be faced with the prospect of paying a higher fee or hiring an out-of-town hauler, which would ship the waste out of town, to service all of the district’s schools.

 “And just like that, Milley Trucking loses a longtime Chatham customer just because of this affidavit and its phrasing,” Milley said. He cited other examples, including a Chatham restaurant the company serves whose owner, a Harwich resident, also has Milley collect his trash. That person would likely hire another company that doesn’t use the Chatham transfer station and therefore would not be impacted by the affidavit, Milley said.

 Most out-of-town haulers don’t use the Chatham transfer station, he said, but both Milley and Ben T. Nickerson, Inc. are based in Chatham and dump the trash they collect in the Sam Ryder Road facility. Public Works Director Rob Faley said that Nickerson accounts for roughly 35 to 40 percent of the solid waste that goes through the transfer station, while Milley is responsible for 30 percent, and Barrows Waste Systems contributes about 3 percent. About 30 percent comes from residents who bring their own trash to the transfer station.

 Only about 5 percent of the trash Milley collects is from out of town, he added. Ben Nickerson said he calculated that about 5.9 percent of the trash his company hauls is from out of town.

 “It’s a really small percentage of what we’re doing that’s from out of town,” he said.

 Odor complaints over the summer prompted the health board to require the affidavits out of concern that waste was being brought in from other towns and there was no way to verify its origins, said Health Agent Judy Giorgio. The board sent letters to haulers notifying them of the new requirement in September, she said.

 Part of the problem may stem from the condition of the transfer station floor, which is cracked and grooved and tends to retain liquid which can create a lingering odor. The floor is slated to be replaced this year as part of upgrades to the transfer station site, select board Chair Dean Nicastro noted.

 Board members saw protecting local businesses as a key part of the issue. Both the Milley and Nickerson companies are based in Chatham, employ local residents and have operated here for decades. 

 “These are small businesses, [and] part of what we want to do is maintain these small businesses in our local community,” said board member Shareen Davis. “There’s some disconnect here that’s making this an impractical situation.”

 “We should be looking for ways to support viable businesses that are part of the fabric of the community,” added vice chair Jeff Dykens. “I think we can do better.”

 Nicastro suggested asking the health board to make an exception for waste from the Monomoy schools. Milley said while that would be a “step in the right direction,” there are other customers, such as the restaurant owner he mentioned, who may not want to hire separate haulers for their businesses and their out-of-town homes. 

 The select board can’t require the health board to change its regulations, but members agreed to ask the health board to consider amending the rules to allow a small carve-out for non-Chatham trash, or consider some other type of waiver. 

 The health board meets next on Jan. 12. In the meantime, the select board voted to ask staff to develop a conditional license so as not to interrupt Milley’s businesses.