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Solid Waste Policy

Town of Poland
Solid Waste Management
Operating Rules and Procedures
Revised 12/05/09
 

  1. AUTHORITY: These rules and procedures are adopted pursuant to the 1986 Poland Solid Waste Flow Control Ordinance which regulates waste management and recycling in the town. 
  2. DATE OF ESTABLISHED RULES:  These rules and operating procedures are adopted effective July 1, 2008 by the Poland Board of Selectmen.
  3. PERMITTED USERS OF THE TRANSFER STATION: The Transfer Station is designed for use only by residential users, except in the case of clean wood waste (See VII). Only residents of the Town of Poland, year-round or seasonal, are permitted to bring and deposit waste at the Transfer Station.  Each residential vehicle seeking authority to use the Transfer Station is required to obtain a Use Permit sticker at a cost and for a duration to be determined by the Board of Selectmen from time to time. Residential users are limited to ten (10) bags per week. Requests for exception to this limitation may be explained to the Transfer Station Manager, who has limited discretion to waive this limitation from time to time.
    1. All commercial (including campgrounds, camp associations and mobile home parks) or institutional users, be they for-profit or non-profit, may use the Transfer Station until October 31, 2008 if they are generating and bring no more than ten (10) bags per week. Thereafter, all commercial entities are barred from using the Transfer Station, and must make provisions, at their own cost, to dispose of their MSW.
    2. All commercial farming operations creating waste are excluded from bringing mixed solid waste (MSW) to the Transfer Station, and must make provisions, at their own cost, to dispose of their MSW.
    3. All entities that collect or otherwise aggregate 3 or more households of waste are excluded from bringing mixed solid waste (MSW) to the Transfer Station, and must make provisions, at their own cost, to dispose of their MSW.
  4. MANDATORY RECYCLING: Effective July 1, 2008, all residents using the Transfer Station are required to recycle all the following materials in order to continue to be  permitted to dispose of their non-recyclable MSW.                    

Single Source Materials: Clear glass, colored glass, tin cans, aluminum cans, foil, trays and pans, aerosol cans, all types of plastics (#1 - #7) containing the recycling triangle logo, aseptic juice boxes, all paper fiber products (OCC cardboard, waxed cardboard, office paper, old mail, magazines and catalogues, newspapers, soft-cover and telephone books, paper bags, egg cartons, milk and juice cartons, plastic grocery sacks.

* NOTE: It may be that the above items get broken down into paper-fiber and non- paper fiber pools of materials depending upon the policies of the firm we use for single source recycling.

Excluded from Single Stream:  Tires, ferrous metals, construction and demolition debris, food waste, special and hazardous wastes (including hypodermic needles), toys, plastic food bags, potato chip bags, tarps, diapers, Styrofoam, meat trays, garden hoses, baby pools, CDs and DVDs, porcelain, cement, concrete, bricks, window / automobile glass or any containers which may have had oil / petroleum products in them.

  1. PERMITTED MSW CONTAINERS:  In order to ensure recycling, Transfer Station attendants need to be able to see what is being put into the MSW compactor. Transfer Station attendants are permitted to open or ask to be opened any containers which do not reasonably reveal the contents therein. Residents disposing of MSW at the Transfer Station are required to use clear bags, transparent bags, semi-transparent bags, light tan shopping bags (such as Hannaford bags), or open barrels or boxes.  Dark green, dark brown, black or otherwise non-transparent bags are not allowed.
  • Residential trash compactors use a special type of bag that is non-transparent.  They will be accepted only with a) proof of recyclables present at the time of dumping the MSW or b) by tearing open the container if asked to do so by the transfer station attendant.
  1. CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION DEBRIS (CDD): The Transfer Station was established for residential quantities of CDD only. Poland residents may bring one normal-sized pick up truck or similar-sized trailer load of CDD per day to the Transfer Station. We do not accept CDD from commercial entities, nor in quantities larger than described above. One-ton trucks, high-sided trucks, large trailers, dump trucks, etc. are prohibited from dumping CDD at the Transfer Station.
  2. TREE WASTE, BRUSH AND CLEAN WOOD: Poland residents and businesses may bring clean wood waste, limbs (< 6”) and clean wood waste in unlimited quantities, except insofar as any vehicle the size of 12 yd wheeler or larger is excluded.
  3. OVERSIZED BULKY WASTE: Poland residents may dispose of bulky waste for free only by breaking down said waste into its components parts (wood, metal and fabric / stuffing).  The metal needs to be disposed of at the metal pile, the wood must be disposed of in the CDD wood pile and the fabric / stuffing into the MSW compactor. At this time, there is no charge for properly broken down bulky waste items.  For residents that do not want to break down an oversized bulky waste item, those items can be taken to Mid Maine Waste Action Committee facility at One Goldthwaite Road in Auburn at their own expense, or by paying a fee as may be determined by the Board of Selectpersons from time to time.
  4. TIRES: Poland residents may dispose of rimmed or unrimmed tires (of less than 16” diameter) at the Transfer Station.  The cost for an unrimmed passenger car is $2.00 per tire. The cost for a rimmed passenger car tire is $3.00. Tires greater than 16” cannot be accepted. We do not accept tires from commercial entities. These fees are subject to change.
  5. UNIVERSAL WASTES: Poland residents must recycle all Universal Wastes at the Transfer Station.  These items include televisions, computer monitors, fluorescent bulbs, car and rechargeable batteries.  There is no charge for disposal of these items at this time.  These are collected only on 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month at the Transfer Station.
  6. COMPOSTING: Poland residents must recycle yard waste, leaf waste and food wastes.  Food wastes only include vegetable and fruit waste; meat, bones, fat and the like are excluded from composting and should be included in residential MSW.
  7. METAL:  Poland residents must recycle all ferrous iron, brass, bronze and aluminum.  We only accept clean metals that are devoid of any paint, petroleum or hazardous / special waste products. Latex paint cans that are empty and contain only fully dried paint are acceptable. Commercial entities may also dispose of scrap metal in quantities not to exceed the capacity of one pick-up truck load per week and at the prescribed fee.
  8. LP TANKS AND CYCLINDERS:  Poland residents may recycle 20 pound recyclable LP gas grill tanks ($2.00 each), non-recyclable grill tanks ($30.00 each), 30 pound LP gas tanks ($21.00 each), 100 pound LP gas tanks ($25.00 each), heavy duty LP tanks ($25.00 each), Helium tanks ($6.00 each), refrigerant canisters ($11.00 each) and fire extinguishers ($15.00 each). These prices are subject to change. Commercial entities may also dispose of LP tanks and cylinders in quantities not to exceed the capacity of one pick-up truck load per week and at the prescribed fee.
  9. REFRIGERATORS, FREEZERS AND AIR CONDITIONERS: Poland residents may recycle refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners at the Transfer Station at no cost if they are certified to have had their refrigerant chemicals properly removed.  The Town charges $15.00 per device if they are not so certified.  In any event, all refrigerators and freezers must have their doors removed before the town will accept them. Commercial entities may also dispose of Freon-containing devices in quantities not to exceed the capacity of one pick-up truck load per week and at the prescribed fee.
  10. TAR PAPER AND SHINGLES: The town does not accept these materials.  These materials may be taken to MMWAC at the owner’s expense.
  11. RE-USE FACILITY: The Town will not be offering a re-use facility at this time for residents to exchange items in still-useable condition. There are competing needs (Universal Waste storage, waste oil storage, and storage of the loader and other equipment) for the bays that might have been used for this purpose, and the management of such a facility is beyond the ability of our staffing given the new recycling requirements.
  12. SPECIAL AND HAZARDOUS WASTES (HHW):  The Town of Poland does not accept any “special” or “hazardous” wastes as defined by Maine Department of Environmental Protection.  The Town does have an annual HHW event during June of each year where Poland residents may dispose of these items at no cost. They may also take HHW items to the facility in Lewiston on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays from 8:00 am to Noon of each month from April to November at 424 River Road, Lewiston at no charge to the residents.
  13. HOT LOADS: The Town of Poland accepts so-called “hot loads,” such as smoldering wood or leaves, ashes from a wood stove, etc. These hot loads may only be deposited into a designated steel can located in the upper section of the Transfer Station.
  14. VIOLATIONS / PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE: When a Transfer Station Attendant determines that a resident is in non-compliance with the requirements of these procedures, the resident may be required to return the MSW to his or her home until it can be prepared accordingly, or if the residents desires, they may be assessed a convenience charge of $1.00 per bag of un-recycled waste to dispose of it at the Transfer Station that day.