Public Works Department

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WHAT'S NEW 

THE CITY HAS LIFTED ALL 2019 ROAD POSTINGS!

YARD WASTE: We have been notified by our Trash and Recycling hauler that several residents have been placing leaves, grass, yard waste curbside. The City does not provide a curbside collection in the spring. Collection is done once per year, in the fall, typically the 2nd week in November. Please bring all yard waste to the Transfer Station. Leaves and Grass are accepted year round for free to Saco Residents.

RECYCLING INSPECTIONS: You may have received a notice by now indicating Saco will be inspecting recycling carts for non-acceptable items. This is in response to the additional fees Saco is being charged for incorrect items needing to be removed from our recycling stream. Some items are a matter of misunderstanding, some are complete disregard to rules on recycling. Our hope with these inspections is not not penalize residents for disposal, but to educate on proper methods. Items placed in your brown cart that are not accepted at our recycling facility may not seem like a big deal, but it is costing the City thousands of extra dollars per month. Our goal is to get everyone educated on what should go in your cart, and what should go in your trash. If you have questions on this, please feel free to reach out to our office. 284-6641

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.

2019 HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION DAYS!
The city has established this year’s Hazardous waste collection days. Saturday, July 13th the City of Saco will host a collection at the Public Works Department in Saco. Residents can also attend a collection being held in Scarborough, at their public works department, on Saturday May 11th from 8:00 am to Noon. For a complete list of rules and acceptable items, download our brochure

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

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)

"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, 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!


Things that should not go in Either City Curbside container 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
• 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 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.

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