SANFORD — A series of forums to explain a proposed new curbside recycling system and gauge residents thoughts on the proposal will begin Monday, Feb. 25 and run through March.

The city is exploring a new system called More-In-Return, which sees consumers pay up front for trash bags and then get money back.

Proponents say the program is designed to increase recycling, which in turn saves money because less trash is sent to Casella Waste Systems at $70.50 per ton. While the city pays for transporting recyclables to EcoMaine in Portland as part of its curbside contract, EcoMaine does not charge a fee to dispose of the recycled material.

The More-In-Return program would see residents purchase special trash bags and use them for household waste. Waste Zero, the company proposing the new program, would escrow the money. Then, the financial equivalent of the average number of bags used by households annually would be returned to the household, likely in the form of a debit rebate card.

Those using fewer bags than the average will have earned money, while those paying for and using more than the average number of trash bags will see a rebate less than their original outlay. The average bag user will break even, according to the plan.

Waste Zero developed More-In-Return for Sanford, and if the council ultimately votes in the affirmative, it would be the first municipality to do so. The company had been the administrator of the pay-as-you-throw trash disposal system, which the council instituted in 2010 and then halted three months later after voters repealed the council’s action.

During the three months pay-as-you-throw was in effect prior to repeal, Sanford residents recycled about 37.5 percent of their household trash. According to Sanford’s recycling newsletter called “Trash Talk,” the city’s recycling rate was 23.16 percent in December. Sanford recycled 1,535 tons of waste in 2012, down by 144 tons in 2011.

Sanitation Director Eugene Alley on Wednesday said Sanford’s recycling rates have consistently been in the low 20s.

Forums will be held from 7-9 p.m. on the following dates: Feb. 25 at Goodall Library, at the intersection of Main and Elm streets; March 4 at North Parish Congregational Church on Main Street in the downtown; March 11 at Springvale Public Library; March 18 at Trafton Senior Center; and March 25 at Southern Maine Aviation, adjacent to the Cockpit Cafe at Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport.

Waste Zero personnel will be available at 6 p.m. prior to each forum to answer individual’s questions one on one, according to a news release from the city. As well, a forum will be held with members of the Trafton Senior Center at a noon luncheon March 8.

The city council on Tuesday is expected to vote on an initial “education” contract with Waste Zero that addresses familiarizing residents with how the program would work, among other factors.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.

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