PITTSFIELD – Pittsfield town councilors temporarily solved the costly problem of pallet disposal at the transfer station Tuesday night when they unanimously approved an emergency ban on them.

The action was taken at a special council meeting and is effective immediately.

Pallets have been overwhelming the facility, and councilors were forced to approve overspending the recycling budget this week to have tons of wood debris chipped.

The wood waste storage pad filled up too quickly after it was chipped and removed in April, causing Solid Waste Director Don Chute to close the facility until the three-story-high pile of debris could be removed.

A chipping company has been on site this week, Chute reported, and so far has removed eight truckloads, each weighing 30 tons.

It is costing Pittsfield taxpayers $25 a ton to have the debris removed. “There are still three to four truckloads on the ground,” said Chute, but as of Tuesday, the brush- and woodpile was opened back up for business.

But councilors feared that local businesses quickly would overrun the pile with thousands of wooden pallets, as they had done in April, so they have passed the temporary ban.

“Businesses have the same problem we have,” Chute told the council. Recycling businesses that once took the pallets have all gone out of business.

He said trees and brush also are coming to the facility in large amounts. “You should be able to see all the way to Waterville by now with the number of trees coming in,” he joked.

Because of Maine Department of Environmental Protection regulations, Pittsfield is not allowed to burn the wood. The transfer station, although it built a burn pad in 1996 with $40,000 in state grant funds, is too close to the bordering wetlands.

Chute said he will have a complete list of what other Maine communities are charging for wood debris disposal by the next Town Council meeting on July 15. The council will then make comparisons and set up the town’s own fee schedule.

The council also plans a special emergency council meeting at noon today to accept a $131,550 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Maine Department of Transportation. The town’s share of this funding, which will go for airport renovations, is $6,578.

Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said that FAA requirements would allow the town to accept the grant up to July 25. But the town’s attorney is leaving on Saturday for vacation and therefore a special meeting is required.