POLAND — Selectmen met with a representative from WasteZero on Tuesday to learn about the company’s program for handling the town’s solid waste.

Stephen Lisauskas, WasteZero’s vice president of government affairs based in North Andover, Mass., told the board that his company’s trash metering system would nearly double the amount of materials recycled and cut the amount of trash by about 44 percent.

Lisauskas estimated that Poland could save about $38,000 annually in what it pays for tipping fees, based on fees of $42 per ton.

The system utilizes a pay-per-bag disposal method. Residents would purchase bags at an amount the town sets. Lisauskas suggested $2 for a large 30- to 33-gallon size bag and $1 for a small bag, about 15 gallons. He said there are programs that where residents get rebates for the cost of the bags.

Selectman Stan Tetenman asked how the rebates might work with seasonal residents.

Lisauskas said one suggestion is to only rebate owners of permanently occupied properties, which could work to the benefit of the town’s year-round population. They would be the beneficiaries of money that seasonal property owners spent on bags.

Selectman Walter Gallagher questioned whether the pay-per-bag system would increase trash along the roadside.

Lisauskas said studies have shown any such impact tends to be short-lived.

Selectman James Walker said that the system would only work if the community thought the system was a good idea, and Lisauskas agreed that was the most important part.

Education was a key factor in making the program successful and, Lisauskas said, WasteZero has a program that meets people “where they are,” with targeted community meetings, one-on-one meetings before and after larger public gatherings, as well as making information available online.

Selectmen took no action on the issue.

In other business, Town Manager Bradley Plante told the board that steps were being taken to address a problem caused by a large number of seagulls on Tripp Lake. Plante said he contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and put them in touch with officials of the Tripp Lake Improvement Association.

“We don’t know for sure exactly what the problem is, but seagulls are generally attracted by the open mounding of food waste,” Plante said.

Tetenman said he had observed the seagulls recently and figured there must be two or three hundred of them.

“They can degrade a lake pretty quickly,” Tetenman said. It wasn’t just the Tripp Lake property owners who might be affected but town finances as well, he said.

The town beach would be directly affected and a decease in lakefront property values means lower property tax revenues.