PARIS — There could be benefits to single stream recycling, privatization and merging services, according to a recent report on local waste management services.

The authors of the report will present their data Thursday evening at a meeting of the Oxford County Municipal Officers Association, according to Paris Town Manager Phil Tarr.

Tarr said the study was meant to determine whether towns could save money on recycling. “There are so many things happening in solid waste today that it’s very difficult to stay on top of them all,” he said Monday.

He said Oxford County Regional Recycling and Norway-Paris Solid Waste have been looking for ways to improve services, and Oxford County Regional Recycling has been especially interested in single stream recycling, where recyclables are shipped off together to be sorted at another facility.

The report was commissioned by Norway, Paris, Norway-Paris Solid Waste and Oxford County Regional Recycling to determine costs and benefits to changes such as single stream recycling or merging services. The authors were Ted Siegler and Natalie Starr of DSM Environmental Services in Vermont.

According to the study, privatization is a possibility and could save money for Norway-Paris Solid Waste.

“Privatization of the Norway-Paris transfer station may make economic sense because a private operator who also does refuse collection may be able to increase the through put of the facility, lowering per ton operating costs,” the study concludes.

In addition, capital improvements could be expensive for the facility. Privatization could free the town of responsibility for improvements. If this happened, towns could send out a request for proposals to private waste handlers such as Pine Tree Waste or Casella Waste Systems.

Tarr said there was concern of losing local control in any deal. “We certainly wouldn’t give up everything that we have,” he said.

Local organizations should retain ownership of property and equipment, he said. The work itself and disposal responsibility would be contracted out.

The report also says a merging of Norway-Paris Solid Waste and Oxford County Regional Recycling could save money, “particularly if the NPSW facility is privatized, with a single unifying board and some type of voting structure that acknowledges the size of Norway and Paris as opposed to the smaller towns.”

If Norway-Paris Solid Waste and Oxford County Regional Recycling continue local control, merging could give the recycling centers more bargaining power, giving them the potential to negotiate higher rates for recyclables, Tarr said.

Single stream could save money, if eliminating the need for sorting causes recycling to increase. “The difference between the cost to recycle and the cost to dispose is significant enough to favor recycling,” the report concludes.

The report’s authors already discussed preliminary findings in late April at a joint meeting of Norway-Paris Solid Waste and Oxford County Regional Recycling. Thursday will be the first meeting since the final report’s release last month. The meeting will take place at the Paris Fire Station.

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