A motorist speaks with an attendant at the Kennebunk Transfer Station on Wednesday, Nov. 23. Come January, fees for disposal of many items will increase. The operator, CPRC Management, told select board members its expenses have shot up since the last fee increase in 2019. Tammy Wells photo

KENNEBUNK – Those who use the Kennebunk Transfer Station to dispose of items ranging from appliances to tires to mattresses and paper will see a fee increase for some recyclables starting Jan. 1.

Kennebunk Select Board members on Nov. 22 approved the new fee structure as proposed by CPRC Management, 5-2, with members Miriam Whitehouse and Leslie Trentalange dissenting.

CPRC Management’s 10-year contract expires in 2025. Senior Vice President James Hiltner pointed out that the company, which began operating the facility in 2015, has had one rate adjustment, in 2019, at a time when China had stopped accepting single-stream recycling from the United States. He said CPRC Management continues to pay fees to ecomaine for single-stream goods.

“Since 2019 our transportation costs are up 65 percent, disposal costs are up 40 percent, staffing costs are up 30 percent and insurance is up 35 percent,” Hiltner said.

According to a list of fee adjustments, inert materials currently costing $25 per yard will go to $35 per yard on Jan 1.

Freon appliances that are currently $12.50 to dispose of, or $25 for a large Freon appliance, will now cost $25, and $40, respectively. Non Freon appliances remain at $2.50, according to schedule of fees on file at town hall.

Asphalt shingles, now $48 a yard, will increase to $75 a yard. Bush and woody vegetation, now $8 a yard, will increase to $10. Stuffed furniture will cost $30 per item, up from $20. Mattresses, which now cost $20 to dispose of, will cost $30 to $45, depending on the size.  Leaves and grass clippings increase from $10 to $20 per yard, however, the “no charge” for Kennebunk residential leaves and glass clippings remains in place.

There are several other changes, which can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/3mpty5uv.

Select board member Kortney Nedeau said a complaint she often hears is that pricing is inconsistent – that someone going to the transfer station with the same items would pay a different fee from one week to the next. And, she said, she noticed one day that a hotel was disposing of coffee tables in good condition and someone else dropped off several bicycles, as well.

She asked if there was any ability for the management company to guide folks to other means of disposal – noting there are programs to fix bicycles or reuse, and locations for used furniture.

Hiltner said it is not in the company’s purview to guide customers to other venues, but in the case of bicycles, CPRC Management sends them to a metal market, which he said is a better solution than a landfill. Hiltner said the company has had complaints about inconsistent pricing, but pointed out that in 2015, CPRC Management was looking forward to some design changes in conjunction with the town, which did not move forward. and that a part of that could have been a scale.

“There’s no subjectivity with a scale,” he said, “Twenty pounds is 20 pounds.”

Nedeau suggested the new fees posted at the transfer station in a large type size for easy reading.