To avoid fees tied to 'contamination' of loads, residents will have to drop off and sort materials at a Waterville site.
The Town Council unanimously approved the decision at its meeting last week.
Town Manager Mike Heavener said that mixed-use loads had been contaminated with nonrecyclable materials “very frequently” and that the system was no longer cost-effective.
The town’s recycling is ultimately transported to ecomaine in Portland for processing. Ecomaine charges extra fees if deliveries contain over 5 percent of nonrecyclable material or contamination. Global buyers of ecomaine’s recyclables – mostly China – once accepted contamination rates of up to 40 percent, but raised the market standards this year, which necessitated the fees.
“I had my wife do some undercover work. She took some stuff over just to see if it was user-friendly, and she liked it,” Heavener told a small audience at the council meeting.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t use it. I’m just saying that’s one thing that’s going to be hard,” he said.