By Renee Worthing 

Register Reporter 

 Curbside rubbish and recycling collection is one step closer to becoming a reality in Sanford.

   Public Works Director Charlie Andreson presented the proposed collection program to members of the finance committee during a Feb. 19 workshop.

   Anderson said the solid waste subcommittee began meeting in 2006 to meet the goal of the Sanford Town Council to initiate curbside rubbish and recycling collection.

   He said the subcommittee evaluated the benefits of contracting collection versus “in-house.” The cost of contracting curbside collection was more cost effective in the long run, Andreson said.

   After consulting with South Portland, a city which performs it’s own recycling, it was concluded curbside rubbish collection would be more cost effective if out sourced.

   “They (South Portland) are abandoning in-house and contracting with Pine Tree Waste,” Andreson said.

   He said the cost of replacing a town-owned collection truck could cost the town between $270,000 and $300,000.

   Portland-based ecomaine began single sort recycling in 2007, a method of recycling that does not require consumers to separate recyclables. Instead, ecomaine’s single stream equipment sorts various recyclables at the facility.

   “Ecomaine would like to contract with Sanford its recycling stream from curbside collection,” Andreson said.

   Scarborough initiated automated collection in May 2007 and achieved a recycling rate of 35 to 40 percent, he said.

   Sanford’s current rubbish and recycling program yields a recycling rate of about six percent, a figure town officials hope will reach 35 percent or 2,534 tons, reducing the amount of rubbish incinerated at Maine Energy Recovery Center (MERC) in Biddeford.

   Andreson said assuming a growth of about 100 new residences per year in Sanford, solid waste and rubbish would continue to increase, thus increasing disposal costs.

   He said tipping fees, the fee charged to haulers for non-recyclable rubbish, at MERC are expected to increase to $13.48 per ton in January 2011. Reducing the amount of rubbish hauled to MERC would result in savings of about $40,000 to $50,000.

   The new program would require the town of Sanford to purchase and distribute two 65-gallon barrels for each property owner, although smaller bins could be purchased for residents who might have a difficult time maneuvering larger bins.

   The lid of the barrels would be color-coded to denote use for loose recyclables and the other for bagged trash. Under the plan, each bin would have a serial number, which would be recorded along with the address to which the bins were issued. Officials said the serial numbers would help prevent people taking the bins with them when they moved to another town.

   Service to condominiums, multi-family homes of more than three units and businesses may not be included in the program.

   Collection on private roads will also need to be addressed, Andreson said.

   Residents on private roads whose trash cannot be picked up could take their trash to the transfer station or contract with a private company to have rubbish collected.

   Residents on private roads may be allowed three bags of trash per week, the same amount of trash that would fit in the new trash bins. After the first three bags, they may be charged $3 per bag or issued a transfer station sticker.

   Residents who take trash to the transfer station will be required to separate trash from recyclable material, just as those whose trash is picked up at curbside.

To contact Renee Worthing, email news@intheregister.com or 282-4337 ext. 240