Go Green Sanitation Makes Town See Red

Southold Town officials, prompted by complaints from local carters and a letter from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, are seeing red when it comes to Go Green Sanitation, a new carter in town who officials maintain is in violation of town and state garbage recycling laws.

Frank Fisher, the operator of the Riverhead based Go Green does not believe he is violating any laws.

“I’m not doing anything wrong or illegal. This is nothing new. A lot of carters recycle for their customers,”  said Fisher. “I am not using a Southold facility to dump the garbage I pick up so why do I have to conform to their code?”

Fisher said he empties his trucks at a N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation Licensed recycling center in Medford where yellow garbage bags are not required and garbage is recycled on the site.

Fisher promises to recycle garbage for customers who are enthusiastically signing on, citing the savings on yellow garbage bags and the freedom from having to separate their garbage. 

“I highly recommend them,” said Robert Hamill a Southold resident and Go Green customer. “They pick up my garbage right at my door for an extra $10 a month. I don’t have to buy yellow bags and I don’t have to recycle.”

Hamill, 87,  said he has been going to the dump for the last 27 years, since he retired in Southold.

 “I’m glad I don’t have to do that anymore. This is so much easier,” he said.

Go Green provides customers with a 96 gallon garbage can on wheels and makes weekly pick-ups for a monthly charge of $19. 99. In a post card mailing sent out to town residents last week, the company tells potential customers they will help them “go green without getting their hands dirty.” According to the post card, Go Green is offering customers free service for one month and eliminating the need to purchase yellow garbage bags.

According to Southold Supervisor Scott Russell, the Department of Environmental Conservation will not renew the town’s dump permits unless the town is in full compliance with state regulations.

“We are coming up for renewal,” said Russell. “Go Green is going to have to provide us with proof that they are recycling.”

Russell noted the town could cite Go Green with a violation against the company and additional violations for each customer if it does not provide proof of recycling.

 “If he has 180 customers that would be 180 violations for Go Green,” Russell said.

“They don’t have a leg to stand on,” Fisher said. “If I was doing something wrong the Department of Environmental Conservation would be all over me. There are carting companies operating all over the East End that do not require yellow bags. I have been doing this along time."

Russell explained the town was acting in response to complaints from other carters who are recycling. 

 “They do not object to the competition,” Russell said. “This is about a level playing field. North Fork Sanitation lost 80 customers and Mattituck Sanitation lost 80 customers. They are losing business because they are following the rules.”

 Representatives from the carting companies did not attend the town board’s Tuesday afternoon work session when the issue was discussed.  Fisher said he would have attended the meeting had he known about it.

According to Russell, a Go Green Sanitation truck entered the Southold Town Landfill last week, drove over the scale, paid a fee and dumped raw, unseparated garbage.

“The other carters saw him and they complained,” Russell said.

Fisher was driving the truck. Fisher said his bill to drive over the scale and dump 2.5 tons of garbage cost him over $200.

“They charge $95 a ton. The going rate is $59. Plus I had to pay another $30 because I didn’t have a permit.” Fisher said.

 Fisher explained he made the trip to the Southold Landfill because he wanted to introduce himself to the town and see if he could do business.

“Now they are using it against me and it backfired,” he said. “Mattituck Sanitation and North Fork Sanitation aren’t paying to dump their garbage because it is in yellow bags that their customers have already paid for.”

Fisher said trucks that drive over the scale are not required to recycle their garbage. He claims his customers are not deserting other carters to use his service.

“Most of my customers are people who have been going to the dump for years carrying garbage in their cars. We are offering people a better service at a lower price and they are attracted to it. The town is upset because it is cutting into the sale of yellow garbage bags that they say offsets the tax bill to collect garbage. How can Southold tax people for garbage removal when they don’t actually have a garbage removal service?”Fisher asked.

The town instituted its recycling program in 1993 and required residents to separate paper, cans, glass and plastic from their household garbage and put their household garbage in yellow bags. A yellow bag must be used to dispose of household garbage at the dump or when picked up by private carter. Small bags cost 75 cents, large bags are $2.25.

Money collected from the sale of these yellow bags is used to offset the cost of shipping the town’s garbage to landfills in other states.  Their use was highly controversial when the town first introduced the concept along with recycling.

Not all town officials believe the yellow bags have encouraged town residents to comply with recycling laws. 

“You are living in a dream world if you think yellow bags encourage recycling,” Councilman Chris Talbot said.