2012 Top Story No. 3: Go-Green Sanitation vs. Southold Town

Go-Green Sanitation’s battle with Southold Town over whether it can pick up garbage that is not in town-issued yellow bags continued this year.

The carter was cited in March for violating the town’s waste disposal laws by picking up garbage that wasn’t in yellow bags, and has been in court with the town ever since. In November, the case was moved to federal court, after Go-Green owner Frank Fisher claimed the town’s policy violated federal anti-trust laws and that the fee for the yellow bags was unconstitutional because it is allegedly a tax disguised as a user fee.

In mid-July, the town agreed to a 120-day stay on the yellow bag requirement while it continued to negotiate a settlement with Go-Green, but the town lifted that stay on Nov. 23. Town Supervisor Scott Russell said at the time that the state DEC was unlikely to allow modifications to the yellow bag plan because it has proved effective at getting people to recycle.

Go-Green agreed in late November to comply with the yellow bag requirement while waiting for their case to be heard in federal court.

“I have no intention of abandoning our business model and we are going to take this to the high court and let them decide the fate of the yellow bags,” Mr. Fisher said in the letter to his customers at the time. “In the meantime, I am asking you to just be a little more patient until the official ruling.”

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