PEMBROKE - June 3, 2026 - The Pembroke Select Board voted unanimously to increase the annual municipal trash and recycling user fee from $440 to $480 for Fiscal Year 2027. The $40 increase is designed to counteract sharp escalations in contractual hauling and tipping fees, as well as a 23% recycling contamination rate that severely penalizes the town’s enterprise fund.
The Full Story
Town Manager William Chenard initiated the evening’s primary discussion by outlining the financial necessity behind the user fee spike. Because Pembroke operates its waste disposal services through a self-sustaining enterprise fund, all expenditures relating to trash, recycling, and the local recycling center must be entirely covered by user fees rather than the general tax levy.
Chenard reported that Pembroke’s local tipping fees jump drastically—from a standard $12 per ton up to $90 per ton—whenever a recycling load is deemed contaminated. This widespread contamination, combined with a 4% rise in contractual hauling fees and an additional 2.5% hike in certain tipping costs, prompted a thorough revenue analysis by the Treasurer-Collector, confirming that a $40 annual increase was mandatory to remain solvent.
“When you go from $12 a ton to $90 a ton for recycling because it’s contaminated, that’s a significant impact... It’s a best practice to raise them to be in line with the contractual obligations that we have.” [15:23] — Town Manager William Chenard
Despite the rate increase, the Select Board emphasized that Pembroke remains an anomaly on the South Shore by continuing to offer premium waste amenities within its flat annual fee. Chenard detailed that Pembroke is the only surrounding municipality that still includes complimentary curbside pickup for bulky items like couches and chairs. They noted that neighboring communities either enforce “pay-as-you-throw” programs or charge isolated multi-hundred-dollar fees for transfer station access. If residents were forced to transition to private waste haulers, the baseline cost would climb to roughly $629 annually without covering bulky items, hazardous waste days, or yard waste disposal.
