The green 2012 Transfer Station stickers expire on Saturday, September 15, so if you haven’t gotten a new one yet, it’s time to do so. You can purchase stickers online or by mail, but they’ll take 2 to 3 weeks to arrive, so at this point you may want to head on over to the DPW office instead.
At the DPW office, be prepared to show proof of residency and a valid car registration. And make sure to bring a check because cash is not accepted. Rates are the same as last, but there are some new fees and policies. The first sticker costs $175, the second sticker is free, and any additional stickers are $50 each. Senior citizens (65 or older by December 31, 2012) get the first two stickers free.
The DPW office is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm. It’s located adjacent to the Transfer Station. If you have any questions, you can call them at (508)-485-1210.
The sticker color this year is pink, which has thrown some of you for a loop. DPW Superintendent Karen Galligan said the vendor the town uses offers only so many colors, and she needed to pick one the town hasn’t used in the past four or five years. The color also needs to be different that what is being used by area towns (Westborough just finished a 2-year pink stint for their stickers), and it needs to be light enough that the license plate number marked on it will show up.
Selectman John Rooney is a curator of sorts when it comes to Transfer Station stickers. He’s compiled an archive of stickers on the wall of his garage dating back a couple of decades. Here in a series of shots is what that archive looks like. Raise your hand if you remember when Transfer Station stickers were round.
Above: Transfer Station stickers over the years (photos by John Rooney) – Click to enlarge
So, do you care what color the Transfer Station sticker is? What do you think of pink? Any color you you want to lobby for next year? It’s only hard-hitting news here on My Southborough, so share your thoughts in the comments.
Update 4:00 pm: I caused some confusion with the original headline to this post which read “Get your new Transfer Station sticker by Friday.” Let me attempt to clarify. The green stickers are good through September 15, so you’ll still be able to dispose of your trash on Saturday if you have a green sticker, but the next time you go after that you’ll need a pink sticker. Remember that the DPW office is not open on Saturdays (which is why I assumed most folks would get their stickers by Friday). I’ve updated the headline.
Cost of transfer station sticker: $175. Entertainment value of Susan’s blog: priceless.
Susan,
The green sticker exspires on September 15 which is Saturday. Someone please correct me if I am wrong but I believe the green sticker is still good on Saturday the 15. As in one’s driver licence that exspires on your birthday, the licence is still valid on your birthday, the day it exspires. I hate to see the police turn people away on Saturday if I am correct. I know the sign in the picture says “as of Sept 15” and is the first time I have noticed it but in my mind is incorrect.
Jeff, you’re absolutely right. I called the DPW to confirm, and the green stickers will still be good on Saturday. I changed the title of my post to make it more clear. Thanks!
Susan,
I did email Karen Galligan and she stated that in fact we are supposed to have a new sticker on Saturday. She stated, and I have not read it myself, that there is a message on the variable message board at the transfer station making an exception on Saturaday saying the green stickers will be honored because DPW will be closed. Again I have not read the variable board myself at this time to confirm that. If the 15th fell on a weekday when they were open we would have to purchace the new sticker that day. Because of your posting reminding me I will be getting my sticker tomorrow anyway. I guess the 6′ X 6′ sign out front telling us to get a sticker wasn’t big enough for me to see.
I still do not agree with the sticker not being valid based on my reasons posted above but because of the Saturdays exception karen has very thoughtfully made and thought out, I will not pursue it. Way to think out all the possible scenarios Karen.
When I went to purchase our two stickers, I noticed the $25 extra charge we would have for not having both registrations available at that one time. I think this is an exorbitant admin convenience penalty for something we are already entitled to for our $175.00. If servicing townspeople for something they are required to have is so time-consuming that this level of fee is approved, something is seriously broken in that system.
I very much agree. A 5 (maybe even 10) dollar fee would be much easier to swallow, the time cost of the admin who is already always there is probably about a dollar. I put off getting my permits until the last minute because it required me to remove the registration from the other car, so my wife would have to drive without it, which is of course illegal, but a more convenient time never presented itself.
Copies are all I needed.
I asked my wife to photo license and registration with her iphone and I printed them in black and white.
Not complicated, very convenient, although not advertised either.