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First 2008 letter to town residents:
Town of
Trenton – Solid Waste Disposal Committee
Tom Sproule, chair ·
Chuck Starr, secretary · Bob Kates,
representative to the Acadia Disposal District
September 2008 A Plan to Save You Money
Dear Trenton Resident:
The cost to Trenton
taxpayers for our solid waste disposal is second only to the cost of
educating our children. It has grown to nearly $500 per household or
business per year, approaching $300,000 for the whole town. We expect it to
increase substantially if we do not change some of our behavior. We wish to
reduce our waste, both to save your tax money and to better care for our
environment. At present
Trenton households generate an average of close to a ton of waste per year!
Solid waste disposal
consists of two main parts: the trash that is eventually burned in the PERC
energy incinerator in Orrington and useful recyclable materials. We pay by
the ton for the trash, and only a fixed fee for disposal of separated recyclable materials – paper,
corrugated cardboard, and containers (plastics, cans, glass).
A key to saving money and helping
the environment is to keep recyclables out of the trash. Clean
recyclable paper (newspapers, magazines, catalogs, office paper and the
like) is particularly heavy and thus costly to dispose of in the trash.
Every ton we recycle saves the Town over $115. Until a few months ago, the
Town contracted with a trucking company to collect our recyclables monthly
in order to accomplish that. Unfortunately, far too few people utilized
that service to make it economically feasible. We were paying more for the collection
of recyclables than it costs to include recyclables in the trash.
We are starting a different approach, and we urge your
participation in order to make it work for all of us. Here is the plan:
The Town is renting two
dumpsters that are in the Town office parking area where it will be
convenient to drop off your recyclables in them. They will cost much less
than it used to cost to have recyclables picked up in front of your home or
business. One dumpster will be for paper and the other for corrugated
cardboard. When we have had a chance to see how well these dumpsters are
utilized we hope to add a third, for collection of your recyclable
containers (plastics, cans, glass). Collection and disposal of your other
trash will continue as it is now.
We have also added a Solid
Waste link to the Town website www.trentonme.com where there is a lot of information about
related matters – such as how/when/where to dispose of batteries, tires and
fluorescent bulbs, and how to reduce the amount of trash that you generate.
A hazardous waste
and electronics collection day is scheduled for October 11, 2008 at MDI
High School (see other side of this page).
It seems a pity to have recyclables hauled (at
considerable expense) to a landfill to be buried, or to an incinerator to
be burned, when they can be taken instead to a place where they can be
usefully recycled. If a large proportion of Trenton households and
businesses will take part in this new plan, we have an opportunity to
reduce the growth of our property taxes. Please join in this simple effort.
Think green to save money!
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