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- About Us
- Composting
- Curbside Pickup Rules
- Map for Curbside Pick-up Schedule
- Recycling Old Paint, Stain and Florescent Bulbs
- Share Shop Policy
- Transfer Station Recycling - Getting Around
- What Do I Do With...?
- FAQ’s
About Us
The mission of the Buxton Solid Waste Department is to provide for a comprehensive, rational, and effective means of regulating the transportation, resource recovery, and disposal of solid waste for the Town of Buxton and its residents in accordance with the laws of the State of Maine, and best management practices of the Solid Waste industry. It is also the Solid Waste Department’s mission to enhance and maintain the quality of the environment, conserve natural resources, promote recycling, reuse, and composting, and prevent land, water, and air pollution.
Trash Collection Schedule
- Please contact Greg Heffernan at 207-929-3913
Contact Information
- Address: 185 Portland Rd Buxton, ME 04093
- Phone: 207-929-3913
- Fax: 207-929-4730
- Email: gheffernan@buxton.me.us
- Hours: Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Staff
- Solid Waste Manager - Greg Heffernan
- Assistant Manager - Darren Mercier
- Foreman - Kaleb Facteau
- Booth Attendant - Kenney Aldrich
Links
(Back to top)Composting
The Buxton Transfer Station runs a licensed composting facility behind the recycling building. We compost leaves, grass, hay, pine needles, fruits, vegetables, manure, animal bedding, potting soil, coffee grounds, garden refuse, and clean saw dust from untreated, non-glued wood. All organics acceptable for composting can be dropped off for free at the Transfer Station. Please do not leave bones, fat, meat, cat or dog feces, thorny vines, poison ivy, wood, brush, garbage bags, or trash in the compost area. Organic materials should be dropped off in the concrete compost corral near the yellow sign behind the recycling building to the right. Please empty material out of trash bags. Please do not leave plastic or clay plant pots in the compost area. Please tell us if you are dropping off marijuana trimmings.
Composting organic material saves the Town money by reducing tipping fees. The Town is charged a tipping fee based on the weight of material that is left out for curbside pickup. Organics such as leaves, grass, and pine needles are banned from curbside trash pickup.
Compost is available for Buxton residents for free if you shovel your own. For a cost of $10, we will load 1 full bucket from our front-end loader (fills the bed of a small pick-up truck). Our compost “cooks” for several months before we give it away to the public. We achieve a minimum temperature of 1450 F to break down pathogens. Our compost is not screened, so expect to find some trash that residents have swept out of their truck beds.
(Back to top)Curbside Pickup Rules
- The Transfer Station is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays from 8 am - 4 pm.
- The Transfer Station’s phone number is 207-929-3913.
- Casella provides Buxton’s curbside trash pick-up services and can be reached at 207-883-9777.
Trash must be out by 6 am in order to be picked up
Pick-up times will change frequently. If you get used to a certain pick-up time for your neighborhood & want to risk putting your trash out after 6 am, you may do so at your own risk. There will be times when a truck breaks down or a crew gets sick, and the trash pick-up time will change. If this happens & you put your trash out after 6 am, it’s not the trash company or the Town of Buxton’s responsibility to take care of your missed trash. Your options are to bring your trash to the Transfer Station and pay $3 per 13-gallon bag, $4 to $5 per contractor size bag (32 gallon), or put it out the next week if you can still meet the weekly curbside limit of 96 gallons of trash.
There are only two holidays in 2024 that will change the curbside pick-up schedule. During Thanksgiving week, Thursday’s route (the 28th) will be picked up Friday the 29th, and Friday’s route will be picked up on Saturday the 30th. During Christmas week, Wednesday’s route (the 25th) will be picked up on Thursday the 26th, Thursday’s route will be picked up Friday the 27th, and Friday’s route will be picked up on Saturday the 28th. During the 2025 New Year’s week, Wednesday the 1st will be picked up Thursday the 2nd, Thursday will be picked up Friday the 3rd, and Friday will be picked up Saturday the 4th. Snowstorms do not affect the curbside pick-up schedule. The Transfer Station will accept household trash for free if you don’t want to put it out during a major snow storm. Casella personnel are not allowed to cross the street to pick up trash. The truck does one side of the street at a time. If you put your trash out after they have done your side of the street, they will not pick it up when they do the other side of the street.
The following items are unacceptable curbside waste, and will not be picked up by the garbage truck:
- Any waste not enclosed in a garbage bag and placed in the Casella trash can. Loose items on the ground or in the Casella garbage can are not acceptable waste
- Car or other vehicle batteries, tires, or parts
- Commercial waste (see definition below)
- Any waste not produced from a lot with a legally occupied Buxton residence
- Computers, monitors, television sets, printers, scanners, or cell phones
- Dead animals or portions thereof, or other pathological, medical, or biological wastes
- Demolition or construction debris
- Hazardous waste such as fertilizers, pesticides, oil based paint, explosives, solvents, or other chemical agents
- Inert wastes such as bricks, concrete, asphalt, soil, porcelain fixtures, or rocks
- Junk vehicles or other bulky metal items including white goods (appliances)
- Leaves, pine needles, grass, manure, animal bedding, hay, or garden clippings (Compost these materials for free at the Transfer Station)
- Liquid waste, sludge, oils (including motor oil), or water treatment residues (bring petroleum products to the Transfer Station)
- Mercury containing items such as fluorescent bulbs, thermometers, and thermostats (bring to Transfer Station)
- Tree or bush stumps, trunks, limbs, brush, or ashes
No more than one 96-gallon trash can of Acceptable Curbside Waste shall be picked up per week per household. Anything over this limit will be left behind. Each trash bag of Acceptable Curbside Waste must weigh thirty-five pounds or less. Small plastic shopping bags are not considered acceptable trash bags. Trash cans must be placed within four feet of the road no later than 6am on the day of scheduled pick up, but not before 6pm of the previous evening.
Cans must be accessible from the street and at least 3 feet apart from any other can or object. Do not put cans behind bushes, mailboxes, or telephone poles. Plastic handle on the front of can must be facing the street. Garbage cans must be removed from the roadside by 11 pm on the day of pickup. It is the responsibility of residents to clean up any waste that escapes from their trash can. Buxton does not have curbside recycling. Recyclable materials left with your curbside trash will not be recycled or picked up. All recyclables must be brought to the Transfer Station.
Attention business owners and landlords:
- Commercial Waste: Shall mean any waste from residential dwellings or trailer parks with more than two (2) units, and any waste from a business or institution that is not considered a home-based business or occupation. All such commercial properties must have a dumpster on site for trash disposal purposes or have another arrangement for trash disposal that has been preapproved by the Town. A home-based business or occupation is defined in the Buxton planning ordinance. For the purposes of curbside waste removal services, home-based businesses or occupations shall not be considered commercial but must abide by the same curbside pickup rules and limitations as other residential properties. Any residential dwelling with three units will not be considered commercial for the purposes of curbside waste removal services if the owner of the property resides in one of the units. Any building under construction or demolition, whether commercial, institutional, or residential, are considered commercial for the purposes of curbside waste removal services.
Map for Curbside Pick-up Schedule
If you have any questions, please contact Greg Heffernan at 207-929-3913.
Linked Document
(Back to top)Recycling Old Paint, Stain and Florescent Bulbs
- Old paint, stains along with florescent bulbs are considered hazardous waste.
Please take them to your local hardware stores (Aubuchon at 400 Narragansett Trail or Plummer’s Hardware at 241 Parker Farm Rd). They now collect florescent bulbs, old paint and stains for FREE.
(Back to top)Share Shop Policy
The Buxton Transfer Station’s Share Shop is meant to be a place where people can leave unwanted clothes, toys, books, and other items in good condition for people to reuse. Unfortunately, some people use the Share Shop as a way to get rid of garage sale rejects, moldy furniture, broken items, and other trash.
- The Share Shop is not meant to be a means of getting away without paying for the costs of disposal.
- The Buxton Transfer Station’s policy is to charge a fee for anything that costs the Town money for disposal. The Transfer Station reserves the right to charge a minimal fee for items brought to the Share Shop that are unlikely to be taken by someone else. Fees will be determined at the discretion of the gate attendant or management. Space available to store Share Shop items is very limited. We will charge a fee for furniture or other bulky items that are unlikely to be taken. Computers, monitors, televisions, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, refrigerators, and other items that have a specific charge associated with them cannot be accepted for free for the Share Shop.
Items from the Share Shop are NOT meant to be taken for resale. It is NOT our intent to be a supplier for yard sales or flea markets. We reserve the right to restrict who takes items from the share shop. We also reserve the right to restrict the number and type of items taken by any particular individual. The Share Shop is for Buxton Residents only.
- The Town of Buxton assumes no liability for items taken from the Share Shop. All items taken are “as is” at your own risk. An electrical outlet is available to test electrical items. We recommend testing all electrical items before taking them home. We don’t keep track of who takes what from the Share Shop, so items taken from the Share Shop that are returned to us may incur a charge.
Children must be supervised in the Share Shop at all times.
Linked Documents
(Back to top)Transfer Station Recycling - Getting Around
Pre-sorting your recyclables will make it much easier to drop them off at the Transfer Station. If storage space is an issue, combine glass, plastic, and metal cans in one bin. These items are stored next to each other at the Transfer Station and can be easily separated on site. Boxboard, office paper, and junk mail are recycled together. Please keep junk mail and office paper separate from newspapers, magazines, and cardboard.
Metal Cans
- The Metal Can bins are located on the left side as you drive into the Transfer Station. Materials acceptable for recycling in the Metal Can bins include metal cans, lids, coat hangers, aerosol cans, and other small metal objects. Labels do not have to be removed, but rinsing food cans is appreciated.
Aluminum
- The blue plastic barrel to the left of the Metal Can bins is for Aluminum. Most cat food cans are Aluminum.
Glass
- The Glass bins are located on the left side as you drive into the Transfer Station. The Glass Bins are to the right of the Metal Can bins. Materials acceptable for recycling in the Glass Bins include all colors and types of glass. Please remove lids and rinse before recycling. Labels do not have to be removed.
Opaque #2 Plastic
- The bin for Opaque #2 Plastic is located on the left side as you drive into the Transfer Station. This bin is to the right of the Glass and Metal Can bins, against the left outside wall of the office. Please do not mix different grades of plastic in the # 2 Plastic bins. We only recycle # 2 plastics. Check the bottom of your containers for a # 2 imprint in the middle of three recycling arrows.
- Examples of Opaque # 2 plastic include milk jugs, juice jugs, and water jugs. Plastics that are clear as glass, such as ketchup or peanut butter containers, are not # 2 plastic.
Colored # 2 Plastic
- The bin for Colored # 2 Plastic is located behind the bin for opaque # 2 plastic. Examples of Colored # 2 Plastic include laundry detergent jugs, bleach jugs, vitamin containers, shampoo bottles, and white milk jugs. White Plastics such as bleach jugs are considered colored plastic.
Newspapers and Magazines
- The Newspaper and Magazine bins are located on the right side as you drive into the Transfer Station. These bins are directly across from the Metal Can and Glass Bins. Materials acceptable for recycling in these bins include newspapers, magazines, phone books, and soft covered books. Please do not put bags, junk mail, or office paper in this bin.
Corrugated Cardboard
- The two Corrugated Cardboard bins are located on the right hand side as you drive into the Transfer Station, next to the Newspaper & Magazine bins. Materials acceptable for recycling in these bins include Corrugated Cardboard and paper bags. Corrugated Cardboard is thicker than Boxboard, usually has a honeycombed pattern of air pockets when viewed from the side, and sometimes ha a ribbed appearance. We cannot accept wax coated cardboard for recycling.
Boxboard, Office paper, & Junk Mail
- The Boxboard bins are located on the right hand side as you drive into the Transfer Station, next to the corrugated cardboard bins. Materials acceptable for recycling in this bin include Boxboard, junk mail, shredded paper, and office paper. Examples of Boxboard include cereal boxes, egg cartons, paper towel & toilet paper tubes, frozen food boxes, and six-pack containers. Boxboard is thinner than cardboard, and is not ribbed or honeycombed with air pockets.
Linked Documents
(Back to top)What Do I Do With…?
Pre-sorting your recyclables will make it much easier to drop them off at the Transfer Station. If storage space is an issue, combine glass, plastic, and metal cans in one bin. These items are stored next to each other at the Transfer Station and can be easily separated on site. Boxboard, office paper, and junk mail are recycled together. Please keep junk mail and office paper separate from newspapers, magazines, and cardboard.