SHELBURNE — Following problems where Transfer Station users have been refusing to identify themselves to the attendants and non-residents have been disposing of items, the Selectboard is planning to implement a new system.

Starting July 1, Shelburne residents will need to have a sticker placed in the window of their vehicle to enter the Transfer Station grounds at 80 North River Road and dispose of their trash. The Selectboard is still working out details of how vehicle stickers will be distributed, but after weeks of discussion, members have determined the stickers will be free to residents during the first year.

The board hopes that requiring people to have a sticker on their vehicle, compared to the current system where residents are asked to put a label — at a cost of $2 each — on their trash bags, will ease the burden on the Transfer Station workers, who have recently dealt with a few situations where people have refused to prove they are Shelburne residents. Although residents are asked to show their trash bag, with the appropriate label, to an attendant before adding their trash to the pile, not everyone does so willing and a couple of people have become hostile when asked, board members say.

“We’ve gotten to this situation where we need to make a change because the honor system isn’t working 100%,” member Tricia Yacovone-Biagi said during a recent Selectboard meeting. “I think it’s time to do something.”

The Selectboard floated multiple possible solutions, including having two attendants at the station, one to monitor the comings and goings of users and to ensure the people entering the facility are Shelburne residents, and one to operate the trash compactor and conduct other tasks necessary for the operation of the Transfer Station. Other options entailed switching from trash bag labels to colored bags, or requiring the labels to be placed on the ties of the trash bag so they would be more easily visible. Selectoard members ultimately determined that having a sticker on each resident’s vehicle would be the best option.

While the board works out the details of the new program, Transfer Station workers are excited for the change.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Transfer Station Assistant Jim Stacy said.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.