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Please recycle! Aside from the semi-selfish/semi-altruistic reasons
for recycling which we have all heard many times (save the planet, help
our non-replenishable resources to last longer, etc.), recycling saves money on your tax bill. Since September 2008, Trenton has had dumpsters
located at one end of the town office parking lot for recycling various
materials. Here is a list of our
current recycling containers and some guidelines for their use:
Trenton Town Office Recycling Center:
Dumpster for cardboard
What may go in: Corrugated cardboard (Such as
refrigerator boxes and most appliance and shipping boxes) and compressed
cardboard (such as cereal and cracker boxes, soap boxes, and empty toilet
paper rolls).
What should not go in: Inner linings to boxes, any food
remnants, plastic bags which may have been used to carry the cardboard.
Good information about cardboard recycling can be
found at papertrail.com.
Dumpster for paper
What may go in: Newsprint, glossy magazines, office paper
(even with staples), junk mail (even with cellophane windows), wrapping
paper, envelopes.
What
should not go in: paper
which is contaminated with food (such as food wrappers), any plastic,
including plastic bags used to carry the paper, compressed cardboard
(cereal boxes, etc – which belongs in the cardboard dumpster).
Dumpster for plastic containers and tin cans (new 1/8/09)
What
may go in:
Plastic containers (such as from milk, ketchup, salad dressing, shampoo
and peanut butter), tin cans (such as from tuna fish, tomatoes and baked
beans) and the metal lids from glass jars. Please place these containers into the
dumpster in plastic bags.
What should not go in: Glass containers and plastic bags full
of plastic bags (such as grocery store bags). While plastic bags are to be used to
hold containers, plastic bags are not considered a recyclable item
here. They may, however, be
recycled by returning to the grocery store.
Dumpster for glass jars (new 1/8/09)
What
may go in:
Glass jars (such as from pickles, spaghetti sauce and jelly). Note that the glass jars should be in
plastic bags, and placed into the dumpster gently to avoid breakage.
What should not go in: Broken glass and anything not glass
Special notes
for containers:
1) Rinse containers before recycling to remove contaminants
(especially food)
2) Place the containers into the dumpster in bags rather than loose. Please make sure the bags are tied, so
the containers do not fall out.
3) Place the bags of glass containers into their dumpster gently
to avoid breaking glass
4) Please crush plastic containers whenever possible (such as
gallon milk jugs) so they take up less room
5) If a dumpster is full, please do not leave your recyclables on the
ground. Please take them home and recycle
them another time when the dumpster is not full.
6) Please make sure the dumpster lid is closed before you leave
Note that any recyclables which may be dropped off
at the Town Office may also be taken directly to the transfer station
with which we contract (currently EMR in Southwest Harbor). Below is a list of other items which
may be recycled or otherwise diverted from the regular waste stream but
which are not currently accepted at the Town Office:
Deposit cans and bottles – these actually
can be placed in our plastic and tin containers dumpster, but then no one
gets the deposit refund. They may
be taken to the grocery store or other returnable’s center or donated to a bottle drive (such as
to fund the 8th grade class trip).
Plastic shopping bags (such as from grocery
stores, Wal-Mart, Reny’s, etc.) – these may not be recycled in our
plastic containers dumpster, but will be accepted at grocery stores
(usually in the entrance area near the deposit-cans-and-bottles recycling
station).
Fruit and vegetable waste – can be
composted in your own yard (we currently do not have a town compost
pile). This includes all plant
materials, such as banana peels, orange or grapefruit skins, apple cores,
flowers and spoiled, rotted or leftover vegetables. (Note: do not compost any meat products!)
For information concerning composting, recycling and
other waste issues, check out the Maine State Planning Office website.
For a different kind of recycling, check out the Hancock County of Maine Freecycle Network.
Do you have suggestions for other items which could be recycled
or otherwise removed from our ‘regular trash’? Let us know your
thoughts at solidwaste@trentonme.com.
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