GREENFIELD — A pay-per-bag fee to dump trash was suggested by a budget committee member for the Greenfield Recycling Center at a Select Board meeting on Thursday.

The town budgeted $107,000 to operate the recycling center this year, and may need an additional $16,000 to $18,000 next year to accommodate the rising cost of disposal and greater use of the facility due to a growing population, according to Myron Steere, budget committee member.

Steere suggested at the meeting that one way to alleviate the increase would be to put on an upcoming ballot a fee per bag to dump trash. “It would make sense that we would find other ways to maintain the budget so we can retain a good recycling center for the community,” said Steere.

According to Steere, this idea has been discussed before, both among budget committee members and in front of the Select Board. The amount of the fee would have to be researched to ensure that it would be feasible.

Steere suggested that the deterrent of charging for bags would encourage people to recycle more to avoid the fees, as well as helping to manage the cost of the recycling center. Steere said some of the risks of such a program include a higher likliehood of illegal dumping or waste being taken to unlicensed facilities to avoid fees associated with legal disposal.

Aaron Kullgren, Select Board chair, said a pay-per-bag fee is at the moment only a suggestion, as the feasibility, cost and the willingness of voters to accept such a proposal has not been researched. At the meeting, Recycling Center Supervisor Carol Burgess suggested that the price could have to be as much as $1 to $2 per bag in order to make a difference.

“This is an option amongst many options for continuous enhancements to our excellent recycling center,” said Kullgren.

The town of Peterborough implemented a pay-per-bag system in November of 1999, which requires all non-recyclable waste to be disposed of in special pre-bought bags of rolls of 10 in either 15 or 33 gallons, according to the town website.

In the Peterborough system, a roll of 10, 15 gallon trash bags can be bought for $7.50, and a roll of 33 gallon bags for $15. This retail price covers hauling and tipping fees associated with waste disposal, as well as the distribution costs of the bags, which are available at local retailers.

According to the Peterborough web site, the system is meant to encourage recycling, because of the lack of fees to dispose of recycled waste, therefore, the more you recycle, the less your waste disposal will cost.

This article appears in the Dec. 8, 2011, edition of the Ledger-Transcript.