Six months after Woolwich voters chose to opt out of Pay As You Throw, they’ll be asked to consider bringing back pay-per-bag for trash disposal. A petition containing approximately 184 signatures was turned in at the town office Wednesday, March 16. It asks selectmen to include an article on the warrant of May’s annual town meeting.

The petition reads, “To see if the Town will vote to adopt a pay-per-bag plan for non-recyclable trash charging $2 per 30 gallon bag and $1 per 15 gallon bag and to authorize the Selectboard to enter into a one year contract (extendable to three if both parties agree) with the lowest bidder to administer the program.

“In addition,” it continues, “any money raised with this program will go directly to lower the tax rate of the citizens of Woolwich and shall not be used for any other program than garbage cost reduction.”

Resident Ben Tipton dropped the petition off at the town office. Just a few months ago selectmen appointed Tipton to the town’s Solid Waste and Recycling Committee.

On Wednesday afternoon, March 16, Town Clerk Janice Bradford confirmed the petition had 178 valid signatures of registered voters. Several duplicate signatures were found and invalidated. Bradford said 170 signatures were needed to validate the petition, 10 percent of the voter turnout from the town’s last gubernatorial election. The petition will be taken up as new business when selectmen meet at 6 p.m., Monday, March 21,  for a regular meeting.

David King Sr., chairman of the board of selectmen, said the petition specifies a town meeting vote and because of its wording, he doubted it could be held off until the June primary election when the town votes on the school budget.

The petition states in the five months Woolwich participated in PAYT the town saved “$50,000 and would have lowered (property) taxes, had it not been repealed.” It further states PAYT was on track to save the community $120,000 over the course of a year and in the months the program was in effect it reduced solid waste by 50 percent and increased the town’s recycling rate by about 35 percent.

Reached for comment Wednesday evening, Tipton told the newspaper six other residents helped collect signatures. He said they had until March 22 to file the petition to get the article on the May town meeting warrant. Tipton firmly believes the annual town meeting is the place for residents to reconsider pay-per-bag. “We have a town meeting form of government,” he said.

At last year’s town meeting voters narrowly approved joining WasteZero of North Andover, Massachusetts, the not-for-profit group administering PAYT. Following several delays the program got up and running in September only to have residents vote to sever the town’s contract with WasteZero at the general election.        

Don Adams, another newly appointed member of the town’s Solid Waste and Recycling Committee, led the petition effort for repealing PAYT. More than 1,100 voters turned out for the Nov. 3 election, about half of the town’s registered voters. They voted 616 to 453 to end PAYT but because the contract required the town give WasteZero 90 days notice, the program continued until Jan. 27.

The town was left with thousands of orange plastic trash bags following PAYT’s end and by contract had to buy the unsold bags back from WasteZero. Three pallets of bags are being stored in the town office basement until selectmen decide what to do with them.