On Dec. 31, the Brookhaven Town landfill stopped accepting construction and demolition waste, which means that trash generated in East Hampton now needs to be hauled much farther away — off Long Island, in fact.
Chiefly because of the new hauling fees, Stephen Lynch, superintendent of the Highway Department and Sanitation Department supervisor, asked the town board on Tuesday to increase the budget for most categories of trash disposal.
General operating costs are rising, agreed Councilman Tom Flight, the liaison to the Sanitation Department. “What gets hauled is our construction debris and our nonrecyclables. From the town’s perspective, that accounts for 70 percent of all the volume that comes through the Sanitation Department. We budgeted for a 10-percent increase, and we saw a 17-percent increase.”
While the town board agreed on nearly all the requested hikes, Councilwoman Cate Rogers took issue with the proposed rise in the annual fee for primary self-haulers. Mr. Lynch and Mr. Flight had recommended an increase from $120 up to $130.
“I don’t support and will not support the primary self-hauler permit increase,” Ms. Rogers said. “I don’t think the burden of the amount of refuse we’re collecting should fall on those particular folks.” Instead, she suggested increasing the rental registry fee by an amount that would go specifically to sanitation. “In the summertime, you’re looking at houses being rented that sleep 12 or 14 people,” she said.
“We do see, from a flow perspective, increases in July and August, but not as much of a peak as you’d expect,” said Councilman Flight, estimating that between 40 and 50 percent of the town’s waste is generated in those two months.
“April through October are our big months,” said Mr. Lynch. “December is a huge month. Six months a year, that place is hopping.”
Councilman David Lys commented that the town dump “is one of the most well-used facilities, as far as visitations by residents, in the Town of East Hampton.” He agreed with Ms. Rogers, saying that if the fee rose to $130, he would not support it.
“I understand Cate too,” said Councilman Flight. “But we have to take responsibility for our litter. We see it on the roads. Household waste — there is a cost associated with it. We’re trying to reflect the cost to the town as a whole.”
In a straw poll, the board compromised at $125 for the primary self-hauler permit, a rise of $5 a year. The cost to seniors will not rise from $55 per year.
Mr. Flight observed that just five percent of the town’s waste is recycled, which, though not what it could be, represents an opportunity. “We get paid for our recyclables,” he said, “They generate about $50 a ton in income, which can offset the fees we pay to haul other stuff away. It’s on us as residents of this town to increase our recycling.”
The town will continue to charge by the yard instead of by the ton. “Doing everything by the yard makes it much easier for the scale people,” said Mr. Lynch. “When it rains, everybody complains because they’re paying extra — they’re paying for the water.”
“Tires are a real problem to get rid of,” he continued, while reading through a five-page itemized list of the proposed fees. In 2024, it cost $4 to dispose of a car or motorcycle tire. In 2025, that cost will grow by 150 percent, to $10 per tire. (Oddly, though they are larger, S.U.V. and light-truck tires, which used to be more expensive, will cost the same $10. For a heavy truck, the price is going from $20 to $30 per tire.)
There were many $5 bumps. The entire list is available on the town’s website, but here is a sampling: Diseased brush, which cost $65 a ton last year, will now be $190 a ton. The cost to dispose of a small appliance will double, from $5 to $10, while the cost to trash an extra-large appliance will rise from $20 to only $25. A 1,000-gallon steel container will cost the same $70 to pitch as in 2024, but an old couch is going up to $20, from $12 last year.
Incremental rises at the Montauk dump were also detailed. Certain items, like scrap metal, construction and demolition debris, contaminated brush and cardboard, and extra-large appliances, can be disposed of only at the East Hampton Recycling Center.
No charge for horse manure.
