The Waterville City Council has given final approval to changes in the city’s solid waste ordinance, including a controversial pay-as-you-throw program.

The city did not change the ordinance when pay-as-you-throw was implemented in September.

Additional Photos

A purple trash bag awaits pick up by disposal personnel along Johnson Heights in Waterville in September. The city’s pay-as-you-throw trash disposal system has been a success but has raised the rancor of some who see the purchase of bags as an additional tax. File photo by Kevin Bennett

Voting 6 to 1, the council approved both the second and third readings of the controversial amendments, making the program official. Councilman Fred Stubbert, Ward 1, cast the lone dissenting vote, though there was no discussion of the amendments.

Designed to encourage residents to recycle, pay-as-you-throw requires that garbage be disposed of only in higher priced bags with Waterville logos. Those bags are available at local stores.

The plan was put into motion by the council in June as part of a $37.2 million budget. The city reports the program removed 193 tons of garbage from the city’s waste stream in the first month alone when compared to the previous year.

A referendum is scheduled for June 9 for voters to decide whether to repeal the pay-as-you-throw program.