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Changing to Single Sort Recycling

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November 28, 2007

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Starting in January of 2008, the City of Saco will start collecting Single-Sort Recycling. What does this mean for the residents? Single-Sort means that instead of sorting your recyclable materials into two different carts, you now only need to use one cart. All of your materials can be mixed within the one cart and will be sorted later on at ecomaine. This does not effect the garbage collection in anyway. Both your garbage and your recycling will still be collected on the same day.

All of the following materials are acceptable in the recycling:

• Glass: jars and bottles
• Metal: aluminum, tin, steel cans, aluminum foil and aluminum pie tins
• Paper: cardboard, paperboard, newspaper, magazines, office paper, phone books, junk mail;
• Plastic: any container labeled #1 through #7. (If you cannot find a recycling logo, then you should throw the item into the garbage).

The following are NOT acceptable for the recycling:

• Garbage
• Biomedical waste
• Light bulbs
• Diapers
• Toys
• Vinyl siding
• Foam packaging (even though some Styrofoam may say that is #6 with the recycling logo, it is still unacceptable for the recycling.)

One of the benefits to this program is that the recycling collection will be more user friendly. By providing an easier program to the residents, the only decision you need to make in your house is whether something is garbage and goes in the green cart or recycling and goes in the brown cart.

Also, instead of having the two different carts for recycling, there will only be one, which will allow the recycling collection truck to spend less time in front of each household.

The City started taking its garbage to ecomaine in July of 2007. Because we are under contract for our recyclables, we cannot switch the recycling program until January, 2008. Ecomaine has spent 3.5 million dollars on the equipment that they use to sort the recyclable materials that they receive. This equipment actually sorts all of the materials by machinery except the # 2-7 plastics. The #2-7 plastics are sorted by hand.

If you have any questions about single-sort recycling please feel free to contact me at the Public Works Office at 282-1552 or by email at aoliver@sacomaine.org. There is also more information about recycling and garbage collection at www.ecomaine.org.