Recycling station to close in Hermon

HERMON – Residents used to dropping off recyclable material in dumpsters at the back of the town office on the Billings Road may have been surprised, lately, to see a sign alerting them that they will have to change their habit after June 30.

Because of the expense, Hermon is getting out of the recycling business, according to Town Manager Steve Tuckerman.

After June 30, people can take their plastic jugs, tin cans, newspapers and cardboard to the Bangor Public Works recycling facility on Maine Avenue or throw the stuff out with the regular trash.

“The hauling was killing us,” said Tuckerman. The outgoing town manger said it cost the town $125 per ton to haul recyclable material. The cost included rental of the two trash containers behind the town office. Trash hauled from curbside to the Penobscot Energy Recovery Facility only cost $45 per ton.

“For every ton of recyclable, we lose $80,” Tuckerman said. In response to a question, Tuckerman said the account was “big time in the red.”

Worse than the cost is that people often failed to put recyclable material in the proper container, Tuckerman said. “Even if two items are recyclable, if they mix them up, they’re not recyclable,” he said.

For instance, combining newspapers with cardboard calls for further sorting at the recycling plant and adds to the cost for the town.

The town collects, on average, 70 tons of recyclable material per year. Savings from getting out of the program are estimated at $5,600 for the 2002-2003 budget year, according to Tuckerman.