Middletown’s Save As You Throw (SAYT) program, which requires those living in the city’s sanitation district to buy green or orange trash bags to separate their food scraps, could end or face price increases after it was revealed “there is nothing to support” the successful numbers originally reported, according to meeting minutes from both the Sanitary Disposal District Commission and the Public Works and Facilities Commission.

Middletown’s SAYT program – also referred to more commonly as Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) — was initially supported by grants from Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to implement municipal pilot programs. The idea is to increase food scrap composting and decrease waste tonnage that, since the closure of the MIRA trash plant in Hartford, is often shipped out of state, thus increasing the costs of trash hauling. 

DEEP contracts with outside consultant and trash-bag manufacturer WasteZero to study, make recommendations, and implement these programs in municipalities who often, like Middletown, then contract with WasteZero to provide the bags and other services. 

Despite having to purchase expensive trash bags at only select locations and outfitting garbage trucks with artificial intelligence technology, the Middletown program purported to save people money through reduced trash hauling costs. But the early-reported success of the program has proven more fantasy than reality.

According to a 2024 presentation by Middletown’s Public Works office, Middletown’s SAYT program had achieved 80 percent compliance, reduced trash tonnage by 32 percent, and proclaimed, “The Program is Working!” Due to the purported success, the sanitation district was looking to reduce the costs of the trash bags and the sanitation district fee.

However, during the August 26, 2025, meeting of the Sanitary Disposal District Commission, it was revealed that waste tonnage only decreased by 8 percent, and “there is nothing to support the 30% previously published.” Adding to the problems with SAYT, according to meeting minutes, are financial difficulties facing Middletown, and DEEP’s grant is set to expire in October 2025.

“[Deputy Public Works Director Bobbye Peterson] stated that the sanitation district faces financial challenges, requiring difficult decisions for future sustainability, current waste management contract with WasteZero is expensive and lacks expected benefits. Maybe it is good idea to look for another vendor,” the minutes state.

According to minutes from the September 26 meeting of the Public Works and Facilities Commission, the city doesn’t have the funding or the staff to maintain the program without DEEP’s assistance, and would require the Common Council to sign off on “a large appropriation to subsidize the program,” and an increase in residential and commercial fees of 30 percent just to keep up with hauler tipping fees that increase every year.

The Commission developed final recommendations to present to the Council, which included ending the SAYT program entirely, increasing weekly recycling at no additional cost, raising the rates for residential properties, or raising the rates for commercial properties.

The fee increases likely won’t sit well with residents in the sanitation district who are required to have their trash picked up by the city rather than a private hauler or face a fine; the SAYT program has faced considerable backlash from residents who disliked the expensive trash bags and being fined for noncompliance. Areas of Middletown outside the sanitation district are serviced by private haulers.

The Sanitary Commission acknowledged “that there is (sic) community members complaining about the differences between the area supporting the program and the area that is not supporting it.”

Middletown is one of fifteen municipalities that were awarded grants to institute PAYT programs in Connecticut, although several turned down the money after they determined the model was unsustainable. Several others instituted pilot programs only to drop them after political backlash and lack of participation by residents.

Other towns, like Guilford, Madison, and Newtown, have implemented the program for transfer station drop off only; of the six municipalities that adopted PAYT programs, only Middletown implemented curbside pickup with financial penalties for noncompliance. DEEP believes the programs have been successful in diverting waste and reducing tonnage, and in 2024, bonded for another $10 million to support more PAYT pilot programs.

While the PAYT model has officially been supported by Connecticut’s two major municipal organizations, whose municipal members have to deal with the escalating cost of trash hauling, for some local leaders, trash has become a third rail of town politics; efforts to implement programs in Greenwich and West Hartford were met with such stiff resistance that their leaders dropped the prospect altogether.

A report issued in the wake of Ansonia’s abandoned PAYT pilot programs cited social media and “misinformation” as one of the primary causes of public resistance. 

Members of the Public Works and Facilities Commission, which includes Middletown Mayor Gene Nocera, batted around ideas for what to do with the program, including making it an option for those who liked it, raising the cart rates, pausing the program until they can think of a better solution, and doing away with SAYT altogether.

According to minutes, Councilman Darnell Ford suggested raising the residential sanitation district fee back up to $380, then get rid of the SAYT program, and find another way for people to save money and reduce waste.

Republican Middletown Councilor Anthony Gennaro, who also sits on the Public Works and Facilities Commission, said the concerns initially raised by residents and Republican councilors about the program were ignored.

“Obviously, this trash program was not a good idea from the start, but we as the minority party speaking out against it and the public who complained weren’t heard,” Gennaro told Inside Investigator. “Now we see all those concerns were a reality.”

A review of previous Sanitary Disposal District meeting minutes shows problems with the cameras mounted to garbage trucks meant to aid in enforcement of the SAYT program, the quality of the Waste Zero bags being “questionable,” and a lack of compliance by residents.

During an April meeting, one resident expressed disappointment with how the SAYT program has progressed, saying its failure would be a “disgrace” for the city, while another said the program was “failing,” and he believed that Waste Zero “may have profited at the expense of the City and its residents.” 

**This story was updated with comment from Councilor Anthony Gennaro**

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