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Public Works Department

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
15 Phillips Spring Rd
(directly across from 57 Spring Hill Rd)
Public Works Office Hours: Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Director
Patrick Fox

Deputy Director
Travis Moore

City Engineer 
Joseph Laverriere

v:207-284-6641
f:207-282-8212
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WHAT'S NEW

2021 FALL LEAF COLLECTION:
The City of Saco will begin curbside leaf collection on Monday, November 15th, 2021. We require PAPER bags and will only collect a maximum of 20 per household. We ask bags to be placed curbside by 7:00 am on Monday. We will begin in one end of the City and continue along each day until each street has been visited once. If you have additional bags, or missed your street's collection, leaves are always accepted at the Transfer Station, free of charge, to Saco Residents year round. 
Paper bags are available at most any store that sells garbage bags. They can be found locally at Hannaford, Shaw's and Reny's, as well as Home Depot, Lowe's and Walmart. 

*please note the City does not enter onto private roads or developments and can only collect within the City Right of way.

CITY MAP: The City has updated our Street map! To upload or view, click here
24x36 Street Index Map_01292021

2021 HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL DATES: We have set up our drop off HHW days for 2021! For a complete list of dates and what will be accepted, please visit our HHW Page

TRASH & RECYCLING IN THE SAME TRUCK!: Wondering why you are seeing the same truck pick up both your trash & recycling? The truck is designed that way! We have been receiving several inquiries into why the same truck is picking up both your carts at the same time. Rest assured the City IS STILL recycling, and we definitely still want you to separate your recycling from the trash. Pine Tree waste has updated their fleet to include a Dual Compartment Truck. Dual compartment trash and recycling not only reduce the amount of fuel and energy used, but also lower the truck trips and reduce wear and tear on our streets! The body of the truck is split down the middle into 2 compartments. One on the left for recycling and one on the right for trash. The Automated arm picks up your cart and empties the contents into a center console of the truck, the driver then pushes a button in the cab to indicate trash or recycling, and the tray is pushed to the correct side. 

Pick up time: This also means, pick ups occur quicker than what you normally expect. Trash and Recycling collections begins every day at 6:00 am, promptly. Residents should always have their carts out before that. Routes can change at a moments notice.  Different drivers take different routes, and construction can push them to go in different directions. Be sure you don’t miss your weekly collection by always having them out before collection begins.  The Trash company is not required to go back to pick up carts that were not out when the street was serviced. 

Transfer Station Operations:  The transfer station is open Tuesday thru Saturday 8:00 am - 3:45pm. Some procedures have been changed. We will only be accepting credit or debit card payments with our outside kiosk system. Proof of Residency will be strictly enforced. Please plan to bring your license, tax record or vehicle registration. 

We ask that when you go to the Transfer Station, that you practice "Social Distancing" - maintaining 6 ft between yourselves and our staff, as well as from other residents. We will be limiting access to 10 vehicles at a time. Wait times may be longer than normal. Thank you for your patience as we navigate through this process.

The Public Works office is open to the public, however we do ask that face masks be worn upon entry to our building. We do strongly recommend calling to set up appointments to meet with office staff, or utilizing our online work order system to place a service request. Talk to my city

 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)

GOT POTHOLES? With the temperatures changing from bitterly cold to warm, back to cold, roadways take a beating! Public works will do our best to get to a pothole before you do, however we can always use your help! If you see a pothole, let us know! By using our online work order system, found here, or by calling the non-emergency dispatch through the Police Department (207-284-4535). Maine towns and cities are covered under Maine Law MRSA 23, Chapter 313. This means, if you hit a pothole, your town or City will not accept damage bills and would require you to file a claim with your insurance. This Law is also known as the "Defect law" or the "24-hour law". Cities and town must have known about the pothole and failed to make proper corrections to the area within 24 hours of notification.  Municipalities will not pay out damage claims directly. All claims are filed through the City's insurance company. We will not accept claims to be submitted to our office. We will ask you to file a claim with your own insurance, who will reach out to the city's insurance provider and determine if there was negligence on the City's behalf.

If you see a large pothole that could be dangerous, public works would like to hear about it.

HAVE A STREET LIGHT OUT?
You can 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

 Solid Waste Advisory Committee:
Rising Recycling costs have been in the news lately. The City is looking to establish a Solid Waste Advisory committee to look at ways to adjust our program here in Saco and help reduce costs. Our committee will consist of one Council liason, one school representative, one small business representative, 2 saco staff members and 3 citizen representatives (preferably from different wards)

The Saco Solid Waste Advisory Committee has the following purpose:

  • Reduce Solid Waste costs for the City
  • Increase Recycling rates
  • Recycling education & outreach
  • Reduce Recycling contamination
  • Review and update changes to curbside collection program
  • Recommend policy changes and updates to Council

The Committe will start with a Two year term and will meet quarterly. 
Please visit our Boards & Committees page to sign up today!
If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive communications pertaining to the Solid Waste Committe, send your email to Amy Oliver at aoliver@sacomaine.org

"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. Habitat 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. 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!

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


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 answering 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.

compost bin



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 BLUEthinkblue
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
    Casella Waste: 883-9777
  • City Tree maintenance - Parks & Rec Dept 283-3139
  • Water problems - Maine Water Company 282-1543