Woonsocket Budget Commission looks to save $1 million through trash changes

W

OONSOCKET - City residents may soon have a new motivation for reducing the amount of trash they create and increasing the contents of their recycling bins: their wallets.

The Woonsocket Budget Commission is looking to find $1 million in savings through changes to the city's trash service and met with representatives from WasteZero this week, a company that helps to implement systems for "trash metering" programs. The group, which has regional offices in Illinois, Massachusetts, North and South Carolina, produces bags for trash disposal and sets up distribution and education procedures for the municipalities that use them exclusively.

The savings are a needed element of the state-appointed commission's five-year plan, a comprehensive debt reduction strategy intended to save the city from fiscal insolvency.