HILLTOWNS — The town of Berne has canceled a planned Household Hazardous Waste Day for Aug. 25 due to the neighboring towns of Knox and Westerlo not participating.

The Knox Town Board decided not to participate after a debate between town board members and residents in the gallery at its Tuesday meeting. Some at Knox’s meeting were concerned over the potential for hazardous materials to enter the waste stream, while others were concerned about high costs.

The discussion on hazardous-waste disposal was one among several regarding waste in Knox, as the town board prepares to update its standard operating procedures for its transfer station, and as municipalities across the country grapple with higher costs for waste removal and recycling.

Berne’s town clerk, Anita Clayton, told The Enterprise Wednesday that because Knox and Westerlo decided against participating, and because only 20 Berne residents had signed up in advance, Berne decided to cancel the event.

Jeff Alexander, who works at Berne’s transfer station, has been planning the event for the last few months. He said on Wednesday that the cost for hosting a hazardous-waste day depends both on the number of participants and the amount of items brought in. The company running the event, MXI Inc., charges fees for different materials brought in — a pesticide may cost more than latex paint, for example. The total cost is divided among the participating towns based on how many residents of each town participated, he said.

“It is important to try to get more than one town involved,” Alexander said.

If Berne has too few residents signed up and no other towns are participating, Berne would be charged an added $1,000 fee to cover travel and other expenses for MXI Inc., said Alexander.

Alexander said Knox hosted a hazardous waste day two years ago, and the total cost was around $20,000, which was split almost evenly between Knox and Berne, the only towns participating.

Because the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation funds half the cost, Knox ultimately spent around $5,000, and Berne around $4,000. But Alexander noted that the state takes around a year to reimburse towns, meaning towns have to cover the full cost in the meantime. This year, costs were expected to be around 25 percent higher as well, he said.

“$10,000 is a lot of money for a small town,” Alexander noted.

was concerned about the cost for Lefkaditis VasiliosKnox Supervisor Knox, and said at Tuesday’s meeting that participating in the event would likely cost the town over $5,000. He instead suggested informing residents about what hazardous waste is.

Councilman Dennis Barber later voiced his concerns about the cost, estimating a high cost per person if only 53 residents showed up as they did at the last Household Hazardous Waste Day. Barber asked why the town should cover the cost of residents’ buying hazardous materials.

The town of Westerlo, which had been weighing whether to participate before deciding against it, had approved Supervisor Richard Rapp to sign the town up for the event so long as it would cost Westerlo under $1,500 with the DEC reimbursing part of the cost.

At Knox’s meeting on Tuesday, resident Brigitte McAuliffe asked if the board would be concerned about people dumping hazardous materials elsewhere. Lefkaditis surmised that people would continue storing it at their home as they have been since the last Household Hazardous Waste Day two years ago.

, whose husband works at Knox’s transfer station, had spoken earlier of concerns for employees AdrianceJoan there, and said that workers are exposed to hazardous materials. She said transfer-station workers had been burned by chemicals and had also once discovered a container of hypodermic needles. She later said that she would be willing to pay to drop off hazardous waste, particularly if it saved a trip to Albany to do the same.

“Not everyone is as responsible,” said Councilman Karl Pritchard.

Councilman Earl Barcomb asked if it was worthwhile to participate without having time to get word out to the public. Jean Gagnon, who had served as a town justice until this year, initially voiced concern over keeping hazardous materials in homes or having it enter the regular waste stream, but concurred that there would not be enough time after learning of the date.

Alexander hopes that arranging for the costs to be covered in town budgets and organizing further ahead will mean that the event can be held next year. He said he was disappointed that it was canceled, and had planned on disposing of a number of hazardous materials.

“I think that’s why the state will try to pay half the cost,” he said. “You don't want that nasty stuff in your groundwater.”