Biddeford cracks down on repeat recycling offenders

BIDDEFORD  — Residents who repeatedly toss inappropriate items in their recycling bin may get their recycling services revoked.

Last week, the City Council approved an amendment to the City’s recycling ordinance that allows the Public Works Department to revoke recycling services from repeat offenders in a three-strike system. The new ordinance goes into effect next month.

The first and second times in a 12-month period a recycling period a household’s recycling container is found contaminated, the container will be removed from the curb and placed on the resident’s property with a notice explaining the city ordinance. The household will also receive information explaining the city’s recycling rules.

If a resident is found to have a contaminated recycling container three times in a 12-month period, the household will no longer receive recycling collection services from the city and will be required to lease a larger trash bin and pay the associated fees. Currently, there is a $122 yearly fee for an upgraded trash can, said City Spokeswoman Danica Lamontagne.

“This change isn’t intended to punish those who make a small accident when judging whether or not something is recyclable,” said Jeff Demers, Director of Public Works in a written statement. “This is a mechanism for our staff to be able to address those who use their recycling bin as a second trash can and are not even attempting to recycle correctly. When they misuse the system, these individuals are causing extra expenses for all other households who put in the time and effort to recycle correctly.”

Casella Waste Systems, the company the picks up the city’s recycling, conducted an audit earlier this year and found a 19.4 percent contamination rate. At this contamination rate, the City of Biddeford currently pays a fee of $31.99 per ton of contaminated recycling, said LaMontagne.

In April, when the audit came out, it was reported that the city had paid nearly $4,400 in fees for the 137 tons of contaminated recycling collected in the month of March. According to the audit, contaminants included sandwich bags, potato chip bags, clothing, electronics and Styrofoam.

The Public Works Department, in partnership with Casella, has undertaken several educational efforts to refresh residents on the rules of the recycling program, including a bin-tagging exercise this summer to show residents how their recycling measured up to the rules of the program, said Lamontagne. Residents with too much contamination of recyclables did not have their bin emptied until non-recyclable items were cleaned up.

“Remember, when you’re decided whether to recycle something, the best philosophy to follow is ‘when in doubt, throw it out’,” said Demers.

He said residents can also call the public works department at 207-282-1579 with any questions regarding what items are recyclable. A printable list of accepted recyclables can be found on the City of Biddeford website at www.biddefordrecycles.org.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.