Norwich — Following an outcry from several residents, Norwich officials are reassessing a recent decision that prevented transfer station employees from accepting bottles and cans which they then redeemed for their cash deposits.

Norwich resident Elisabeth Bilar said she made her routine stop at the Norwich Transfer Station on Wednesday and was surprised when an employee told her that the separate collection efforts for recyclables with a deposit — in Vermont, most beverage cans and bottles are worth 5 cents apiece — had been shut down.

The employee told her that one or more people complained that the funds generated from the deposits were no longer going to charity and instead were being used to buy items such as dog bones for pups, lollipops for kids and work gloves for the staff, Bilar said on Friday.

She said she had no problem with how the money was used and said the employees were forthcoming about how it was spent.

So she took to the Norwich Listserv, writing that the service was an “optional convenience” and one that kept the materials out of Casella’s Zero-Sort dumpster. The amount of money the employees cashed in on has to be minimal, she said, especially with the time it takes to sort, count and transport the items.

“I respectfully request that the transfer station employees be allowed to resume their collection of returnables at their job site, effective immediately,” she wrote.

Several residents commented on Bilar’s post and agreed with her.

“Donating returnables to the transfer crew is a convenience to me and shows a little appreciation for these very amiable town employees,” Will Smith wrote.

In response to a Valley News inquiry about the change, Selectboard Chairman John Pepper said the board wasn’t involved with the decision and said town officials may amend it.

“The Selectboard has not had any voice or input on this issue. I did speak to our town manager, who informed me they had received a number of complaints about this practice from individuals in town and as a result took action accordingly. As I listened, it sounded like a rational decision based on the feedback the town was receiving,” Pepper said in an email on Friday. “Based on the opposing feedback these past few days, it’s clear that a balance needs to be achieved, for the benefit of the town employees and the community needs, and apparently they are already working on it. I think intentions of all involved were good, and the outcome will ultimately be thoughtful and effective too.”

Selectboard member John Langhus also said he was unaware of the switch until Bilar posted on the Listserv.

“I am trying to gather the facts about this change, and suspect that we will discuss it at next Wednesday’s regular Selectboard meeting,” said Langhus, who owns Putney Road Redemption Center in Brattleboro, Vt.

As an owner of a container redemption center, Langhus said that having a local collection point is beneficial from a financial standpoint.

“I know that this sorting by our transfer station employees actually saves the town money by taking material out of the waste stream. I was happy to see them take this initiative,” he said.

Messages left for Town Manager Herb Durfee and Norwich Public Works Director Larry Wiggins weren’t immediately returned on Friday.

The town offices were closed on Friday.

Resident Andy Friedland also commented on Bilar’s Listserv post, calling the change “disappointing,” if it were true.

Reached by phone on Friday, Friedland, who is a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College, recalled a long-standing practice in town where residents would hand in their returnables to town resident Barney Hoisington, who then would return the bottles and donate the refunded deposits to charity.

After Hoisington stepped down, some residents would put their redeemables into the Casella recycling compactor. That option still is available, or residents can take their returnables to the White River Redemption Center.

It hasn’t been that long since the transfer station employees decided they would resume the tradition of collecting returnables, Friedland said. “We said, ‘Hey, that’s great.’ ”

Friedland also said he doesn’t have a problem with how the employees spent the money.

Resident Bob Leaton didn’t either.

“I have no problem with them doing that,” Leaton said on Friday. “In fact, it’s a convenience for me.”

Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.