Dighton Board of Health tables PAYT bag contract, orders new septic sand rules

DIGHTON -- June 16, 2026, Dighton Board of Health tables trash bag vendor decision and adopts two new septic regulations. Meeting by Zoom on June 16, the three-member board, Chair Tammy Mello, Christopher Isibor, and Vincent Hebert, voted unanimously to table a Pay-As-You-Throw bag contract after Health Agent Elizabeth reported that even the cheaper of two quotes received, from current supplier Waste Zero, leaves the program running a deficit of roughly $67,000 annually against disposal costs of approximately $422,000; raising bag prices to $30 and $15 per roll, as Town Administrator Ralph has proposed for October, would narrow the gap to negative $39,000 but not close it. The board directed Elizabeth to ask Waste Zero for revised pricing without bag inserts and twist ties, contact additional vendors from a MassDEP-supplied list, and report back at the July 21 meeting. In new business, the board unanimously approved directing Elizabeth to draft two septic regulations: one requiring third-party laboratory testing of sand at new installations, prompted by four failures among eight Title V systems at Waterford Circle, all under a decade old, and a second requiring engineers to certify in writing that completed systems conform to Title V, after an as-built plan on Hart Street was found to not match the actual installation.