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WHAT'S NEW 

THANKSGIVING TRASH SCHEDULE: There is no collection Thursday, November 22nd (Thanksgiving day) Thursday collection will occur on Friday, November 23rd, and Friday collection will occur on Saturday, November 24th. 

The Public Works office, as well as all city offices and the Transfer Station will be closed both Thursday, November 22nd and Friday, November 23rd. The Transfer Station will re-open Saturday, November 24th normal hours.

FALL LEAF COLLECTION: Save the date! Tuesday, November 13th will start the City's curbside leaf collection. The City will accept a maximum of 20 paper bags per household. We ask all bags be curbside by 7:00 am on Tuesday the 13th to ensure your bags are not placed after we have already serviced your street. We will only service each street once. Our collection will not be completed Tuesday, however we are unable to give specific dates or times we will be on each street. We will have several trucks out and it is likely the collection will only last a few days.  Should you wish to dispose of leaves on your own, the Transfer Station does accept leaves for free to Saco residents year round. Printable flyer of this information   This is the only week the City offers curbside collection of leaves. Leaves must be in paper bags only, we will not accept plastic bags. Plastic bags can be brought to the transfer station, however you will have to open the bags up, as we can not have plastic in our compost pile. Please note, our collection will be done on only City Streets. We will not be going into private developments or streets.

PARKING BAN AND SERVICE CANCELLATIONS  If you'd like to be notified of parking bans and service cancellations, please join our email distribution list.  You can also call (207) 282-SNOW (7669)

HAVE A STREET LIGHT OUT? You can actually report these outages directly to Central Maine Power through their online work order system. Street light repairs are repaired directly through CMP. Please visit their site.

http://www.cmpco.com/Outages/CMPstreetlightoutageform.html

BULK RECYCLING ON THE MOVE.. Effective September 10th, the bulk recycling containers will no longer be available at the Public Works office. The containers are being moved to the Transfer Station to allow for better monitoring of the material that is being disposed of into these containers. The system will still be available to all residents as well as businesses for disposal, just will not be available on Monday's anymore. The transfer station is open 8:00 am to 3:45 pm (gates closing time) Tuesday through Saturday.

"WISH" Recycling.. when you want it to be recyclable (because it is still usable or useful).. but it isn't. There are many items showing up in Recycling carts that may be recyclable, just not through your curbside cart. The items listed on our new and improved easy to follow flyer  list items recycled through Eco-Maine. If you are looking to recycle usable items, please consider some of these options:

H&M offers a coupon voucher for clothes brought to their store for recycling! You are recycling your items, and getting a discount on new items! Simply drop your bag of clothes at the counter and pick up your voucher! You can bring your items to Goodwill or Salvation Army, get a receipt and use the items as a tax write off! Consider donating to local shelters and often churches. Animal Welfare also accepts used blankets and sheets. Habbitat for Humanity  (located in Portland and Kennebunk) will take most any household item. Used Doors, Windows, Counters, Lights, Appliances, Cabinets and flooring. Metal is recyclable, however large metal needs to go to the Transfer Station, or to AIM Recycling. Large metal can clog the machines at Eco-Maine and become very costly. Why not bring it to AIM Recycling and get paid for it! This can include lawn mowers, gas grills and bikes! Why throw it out if they can be used to help someone else or even sometimes yourself!

Changes coming to the City of Saco Transfer Station. During the Fiscal year budget process for the 2018-2019 season, Council voted to no longer offer Free Bulky item disposal at the City's transfer station.  Residents will still have free disposal of leaves, grass, metals and recycling, however all other items will be assessed a fee for disposal. For more information, please see our Transfer Station page.


Things that should not go in Either City Curbside containter and Go to the Transfer station include: 

• shrink wrap or boat wraps/tarps (Better recycling option: PlasticFilmRecycling.org)
• Rope, cables, cords or wires
• Yard waste, limbs, grass, leaves
• Construction debris
• Video and audio tapes
• e-waste, such as computers, laptops, TVs, etc. (Better recycling options: Goodwill’s Goodtech Program, North Coast Services or any of these DEP certified consolidators)
• CDs or DVDs (Better recycling option: CD Recycling Center of America)
• Appliances, such as microwaves or refrigerators (Most transfer stations will take these at a small cost: Maine DEP-licensed Transfer Stations Directory)
• Clothing, shoes or bedding (Better recycling option: find a Goodwill store near you)
• Car, truck or boat parts, including batteries and brake rotors
• Plastic knifes, forks and spoons
• Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) and regular fluorescent bulbs. (Better recycling option: Maine stores and other sites that recycle used light bulbs.)

New and Helpful Information about Recycling. What is and isn't and how to make your curbside collection easier! Saco's printable brochure on collection items

Is This Recyclable?? You can actually ask Eco-Maine directly if you are confused what can be recycled and what can't! follow this link: Eco-Maine, RECYCLOPEDIA? There's even an App for that! By following this link you can also find information on how to download their latest version of the App for answersing questions even quicker!
Did you know placing non-recyclable items in your cart can really cause a problem for Eco-Maine? When placing something in your cart, ask yourself "what will this become?" If your item can not be broken down, melted, or burned into something else, it probably isn't recyclable. Placing these items in your cart can slow down and interfere with machines that do the sorting. As many items can be "composted" it's not the same as "recyclable" 


GENERAL TIPS

• Although collection is weekly, please wait until your cart is full or almost full, before placing them out for collection
• To avoid being missed, carts should be placed out for collection by 6:00 am. They do not guarantee same time service every week. 
• Garbage and recycling are collected on the same day, however may be at different times. 
• For the automated arm to work properly, allow 2 feet of clearance between carts or any other obstruction (parked car or mailbox)
• Collection rarely will cancel due to inclement weather. Despite weather, unless you receive an email notification (by signing up for our distribution list) please have carts out as normal.
• ONLY the holidays highlighted will change your collections times.  Collection schedule. Have carts out normally except for the holiday's specified.
• If NON - recyclable items are found to be in your recycling cart, this will result in your cart not being collected. (yard waste, construction debris or bagged recycling)
• All materials must be placed IN the cart. We can not pick up anything on top, or next to the cart. Additional recycling should be brought to the 2 drop off locations the City provides.
• Brown for Recycling, Green for Trash! if you have a blue container, this can ONLY be used for recycling and not overflow trash.

COMPOST BINS: The Public Works Department is selling compost bins for $49. These 80-gallon bins made of recycled plastic will help you turn yard and food waste into a rich garden soil. 

Bins can be purchased directly at the Transfer Station, while supplies last. The transfer station can accept cash or check. The hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Purchasers must be a Saco resident.
Similar to picture below.

BATTERIES?
Don't recycle alkaline batteries
Just a reminder that household alkaline batteries (AAA, AA, C, D, 9V) are not recyclable and should be disposed of in your normal household trash. For more information on why, see our page on alkaline battery disposal.
04/13/16


THINK BLUE
Think Blue is the campaign to halt water pollution caused by stormwater which sweeps pollution on the ground into rivers, streams, lakes and the ocean. For more on this issue, go to the Think Blue site.

REPORTING PROBLEMS

Please use the
CITY OF SACO HELPDESK
to report all problems.
Also please note that some issues are handled by other agencies:

• Street Lights Issues or Downed power lines
  CMP:1-800-750-4000

• Tree trimming around power lines
  CMP: 1-800-972-8600

• Water Issues including shut off covers
  Maine Water: 282-1543

• Trash and Recycling Curbside pick up
  BBI Waste: 791-2359
• City Tree maintenance - Parks & Rec Dept 283-3139
• Water problems - Maine Water Company 282-1543