Dighton Board of Health Tables Trash Bag Increase While Awaiting Competing Bids

DIGHTON -- March 18, 2026, Dighton Board of Health tables a trash bag price hike and advances a farmers market proposal. The three-member board, chaired by Tammy Mello, voted unanimously at its March 18 special meeting to delay action on raising large trash bag prices from $28 to $30 and small bags from $14 to $15, pending responses to competitive bid requests due by March 27 from waste haulers; at current prices, the program runs approximately $67,000 short of covering costs annually, with the gap drawn from tax revenue. Health Agent Liz presented a spreadsheet showing that even the proposed $30 and $15 price would leave a roughly $40,000 shortfall, a figure she attributed in part to rising disposal fees and long wait times at regional facilities like SEMASS. The board separately voted to send a formal letter to the Select Board requesting authorization to organize a town farmers market, citing more than 200 expressions of interest gathered through regional Facebook groups and roughly 20 vendor inquiries already in hand; the item is targeted for the Select Board's March 25 agenda. The board also approved seeking Select Board permission to launch a dedicated Board of Health Facebook page.