A plan for post holiday trash
IN THE CITY
by Dana H. Fowler
With the end of the year approaching, we would like to pass on some information about the upcoming holidays and changes for the new year that may affect you regarding solid waste issues.
First, the landfill and recycling center will be closed on the afternoon of the day before Christmas. The landfill and recycling center will be open from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve Day. Both the landfill and recycling center will be closing at 11:30 am on Dec. 24th and will be closed all day on Wednesday, Dec. 25th in observance of Christmas.
There will be no Pay As You Throw (PAYT) collection on Christmas Day. However, there will be a PAYT collection on Saturday, Dec. 28 for those Presque Isle residents that normally would have had their PAYT collection on Dec. 25.
The landfill and recycling center will also be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 1st, New Year’s Day. The PAYT collection normally scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 1 will be done instead on Saturday, Jan. 4. In the future, all PAYT collections done in Presque Isle on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday that fall on a holiday will be collected on Saturday of the same week. Please remember to set your PAYT bags out by 7 a.m. on collection day.
Every year we receive numerous inquiries about whether Christmas wrapping paper is recyclable. The answer is that wrapping paper is not recyclable and must be treated as refuse. The mills that accept paper for recycling specifically forbid wrapping paper. If you are a hardcore recycler, you may want to consider using the colored comics page from the Saturday newspaper for wrapping gifts because the newspaper can be recycled.
If you are wondering what to do with your natural tree after Christmas, there are several sites where you can drop off your tree at no cost. These include the former Cunningham School lot, Presque Isle Landfill, Presque Isle Recycling Center, Gil’s Sanitation, Star City Sanitation, Mapleton Town Garage, Washburn Snowmobile Club, and the Perham Town Garage. Please remove all decorations from the tree and do not leave your tree in a plastic bag.
There will be a change in fees for the disposal of construction and demolition debris (CDD) starting Jan. 1, 2014. State law requires all landfills to charge a special waste fee of $2 per ton for CDD for the new year and this fee will be added to the landfill disposal fee. The city must collect the special waste fee and submit it to the State of Maine. All other disposal fees will remain the same.
At the time this article is being written, the City Council is considering an increase in the cost of the PAYT bags, which would probably take effect on Jan. 1, 2014. Please check the City website, channel 16, or this newspaper for the latest information. If you have any questions about Pay As You Throw, recycling, or landfill rules, please contact the Solid Waste Division at 760-2712 or visit the City’s web site at www.presqueisle.govoffice2.com.
Dana H. Fowler, P.E., is public services director for the city of Presque Isle. He can be reached at 760-2707 or via e-mail at dfowler@presqueisleme.us.
