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TRANSFER STATION NOTICE- UPDATE

Posted on: April 14, 2020 - 1:36pm
recycle

UDPATE ON THE STATUS OF THE TRANSFER STATION: 04/14/2020

The Transfer Station continues to be open for HOUSEHOLD TRASH only. This restriction was put in place to comply with the Governor’s directives which require the Town to (1) restrict public spaces to less than 10 people at one time (2) ensure when people are sharing a space, the required 6 foot social distancing is adhered to and (3) ensure the safety of Town Employees and Residents by limiting their contact with Covid-19 exposure. 

As quoted in a recent Portland Press Herald article, "In response to fears about potentially infectious material, a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine on the aerosol and surface stability of the coronavirus found it potentially could remain on cardboard for up to a day, and on plastic and stainless steel for up to three days." 

Due to the limited space layout of the Gray Recycling building and the on site “sorting” handled at the Transfer Station, there is no safe way to currently meet the above restrictions/safety measures while continuing recycling activities.  

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection provided this additional guidance:

Maine law requires municipalities to provide for the disposal of domestic and commercial wastes generated in their community and establishes a goal for municipalities to recycle at least 50% of those wastes.  This Order provides flexibility for towns to maintain their recycling programs without turning citizens away during this public health crisis. The Governor’s Executive Order gives towns additional options to meet their recycling goals by enabling them to count the recyclables they send to waste-to-energy facilities as recycled until January 1, 2021. 

We encourage residents who can store their material, to do so, until recycling can resume. For those that do not have the space to safely store recyclable material, effective immediately, it is acceptable to put that material in with the household trash, temporarily. This is not ideal; however, offsetting environmental benefits, such as reduced CO2 output are also being realized during this public emergency. 

This does NOT include BULKY WASTE such as furniture, construction debris, etc. ONLY items that would normally be placed in the Recycling bins in the Recycling Building.

Commercial waste is being accepted at the following places:

Town Staff is working on a re-open plan which may or may not include phased in recycling dependent on specific material. This can only be done if the existing safety protocols can be met. The timeline is unknown at this point. We realize the current restrictions are very inconvenient, and we ask for your patience and understanding as the health and safety of Town Employees and Residents is our top priority.