Town Board sets new fee for waste oil disposal

Last year, the Southold Town Board authorized the solid waste district to establish a fee for waste oil disposal after the fee charged by the carter was raised to $0.65 per gallon.

“That has added up to between $10,000 and $12,000 a year now that we’re spending on waste oil,” said solid waste coordinator Jim Bunchuk Tuesday.

But the fee never went into effect.

“I wasn’t sure how it would work effectively. You’d be estimating how many gallons you have and there’d be negotiation in the field which is probably not a great idea,” Mr. Bunchuk said at a town work session.

Now, he is suggesting the oil be weighed at the scale with a baseline minimum charge of $3, which would allow for 11 quarts — up to 20 pounds — of oil to be disposed of. 

“11 quarts is three oil changes for the average car,” he said.

Beyond 20 pounds, the charge would be $0.14 per pound, which is equivalent to $1 per gallon, Mr. Bunchuk said.

“We are the only place on the North Fork where you can dump waste oil for free,” he said. “It gets very busy.”

Town councilman Bill Ruland said he supports the measure.

“We have been taken advantage of, mostly by, sad to say, businesses,” he said.

Mr. Bunchuk estimates the fee schedule will go into effect in March and assured that the change would be properly noticed.