MASSENA — It cost the village of Massena more money this year for spring cleanup, but Department of Public Works Superintendent Marty G. Miller says there was a reason for that.
“In 2023 there was a slight increase in tonnage and obviously costs and vehicles. That’s assuming because of the extra Saturday we threw in there,” he said.
He said the total tonnage was 232.31, and the total cost was $49,490.61.
“This includes employees, equipment, postage, etc.,” Mr. Miller said.
The village paid $128 per ton, and $9 per mattress, “which there were 272 of them,” he said.
A total of 1,434 vehicles visited the Massena Transfer Station to dispose of their items during the two-week spring cleanup period, which ran from April 22 to May 6.
Total tonnage in 2022 was 224.33 at a cost of $124 per ton. The total cost was $44,798.41, which also included 289 mattresses at $8 a mattress. Mr. Miller said 1,231 vehicles took part in last year’s spring cleanup.
“Like I said, there’s an increase this year, but we did an extra day, a Saturday. I was there that day and it was a pretty steady flow, which I’m happy that people got an extra Saturday in,” he said.
Vouchers were mailed to homeowners with an active residential refuse account. Landlords were responsible for providing the vouchers to their tenants. Residents could take their items to the transfer station from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday during the cleanup period.
Mr. Miller did not indicate how many vouchers had been mailed this year. But, during last year’s spring cleanup, 488 of the 4,400 vouchers mailed out were used for 1,231 trips. Each voucher entitled the user to two trips to the Massena Transfer Station.
The previous year’s cleanup saw 355 vouchers used out of the approximate 4,314 that were mailed to residents. There were 1,178 trips to the transfer station during the cleanup period.
The village had modified the spring cleanup in 2019, eliminating curbside pickup and requiring residents to bring their items directly to the transfer station. Vouchers were mailed to anyone who had an active residential refuse account. Commercial accounts or residents not serviced by the village refuse collection program could not participate in spring cleanup.
Mr. Miller said more changes may be on the way next year. Mayor Gregory M. Paquin has suggested that the village return to curbside pickup “maybe once every third year or maybe once every four.”
No matter what form it takes, Mr. Miller said they can anticipate higher costs in 2024.
“Next year, if you keep it the same way, it will be even higher just because your tipping fees have gone up and we’re looking at doing this a different way also,” he said.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.