Newton's Finance Committee voted 8-0 on Monday, Sept. 28 to join a 35-municipality consortium negotiating a new trash disposal contract. The same night, the panel approved $35,032 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds for two permanent Bluebikes stations.
Both items still require a full City Council vote.
Trash costs expected to climb
The vote authorized the city to enter an agreement with the Town of Walpole and other municipalities to negotiate the next Wheeler contract for trash disposal together. Newton generates 16,000 tons of solid waste a year.
The city's current rate is $84.47 per ton under a 20-year consortium contract that expires in June 2028. Commissioner of Public Works Shawna Sullivan told the committee the expected new rate is $100 per ton. At 16,000 tons a year, that increase would add roughly $249,000 in annual disposal costs.
Sullivan said it is in Newton's best interest to stay in the consortium to leverage the combined tonnage of the member municipalities, according to the Finance Committee report.
The city will seek a 10-year contract and will not accept a term shorter than five years. Newton's share of the legal and administrative costs is about $2,500, with Walpole handling that work.
The Public Facilities Committee had already approved the agreement 7-0 on Sept. 23. In March, Director of Sustainable Materials Management Waneta Trabert told that committee the city had seen increases of up to 40% in other municipal contract turnovers, though she noted the pricing increase from the 2024 request for proposals was not as steep as she had feared.
Chief Operations Officer Josh Morse said in a Sept. 1 Newton Beacon article that expanding curbside organics pickup could help offset rising tipping fees.
Two new Bluebikes stations
The CPA money will cover the local match for stations at Newton Highlands Playing Fields and the Upper Falls Greenway near Pettee Square. A confirmed $90,126 grant from the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization's Community Connections program covers the rest of the $125,158 project. Installation is planned for winter 2026–2027.
Newton's Planning Department had requested funding for 10 new stations, but only two qualified for CPA dollars. CPA Program Manager Mollie Hutchings told the committee that only permanent stations on parks and recreation sites count as eligible infrastructure improvements under the act.
The CPA raises about $4.5 million a year through a 1% property tax surcharge and a 15% state match. About $1.5 million goes to debt service and $2 million to the Newton Affordable Housing Trust each year.
Newton currently has 15 Bluebikes stations. In 2025, those stations logged more than 14,000 trips.
Finance Committee Chair Rebecca Walker Grossman presided over the Monday, Sept. 28 meeting. Councilor Greenberg moved to approve the Bluebikes funding; Councilor Malakie moved to approve the trash agreement. Both items head next to the full City Council for a vote.
