
Over 5000 Trash Bins Are Coming to Windham, Maine Residents With More on the Way
In November of 2022, the Windham, Maine Town Council voted unanimously to an agreement with Casella Waste to switch to an automated trash collection system, which means that residents would no longer need to bag their trash in blue bags purchased at local stores or the Windham Town Office.
Casella wanted to change the way it collects trash by using trucks that automatically dump trash into them with a lift system shown in this Facebook post from Casella Waste Systems.
The significant change with an automated collection system is that the blue bags used in Windham's "Pay As You Throw" system would go away. That's where you purchase special blue bags and the revenue from those purchases goes toward the cost of trash collection for the town rather than it being a part of your annual property tax.
Under the new system, residents are getting two trash bins paid for by the town, one for trash and one for recycling. Each would be able to be picked up by the arm of the truck, dumped out, and placed back down on the curb.
The original plan was to start delivering the new bins to residents in the fall of 2023, but the transition got pushed out by a year and the switch has now begun.
I love the blue bag system. I'd much rather pay only for the trash I dispose of than a flat fee in taxes. But I get that this makes trash collection smoother and quicker than the old system.
5553 bins were delivered to residents as of August 29. Bins will continue to be delivered until all residents who live where Casella picks up trash have the new bins.
The new collection system starts on September 9. If you have any leftover Windham trash bags, the town will buy back unused bags.
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