OXFORD – The Board of Selectmen on Thursday unanimously approved allowing Town Manager Michael Chammings to contact the state Department of Environmental Protection to determine the town’s cost to restart the disposal of demolition debris at its transfer station.
The town used to dispose of demolition debris at its transfer station, but has not been doing so for at least three years because it was cost-prohibitive, board Chairman Floyd Thayer said. “We’ve had some requests from people who have said, Hey, we’re paying taxes here and we don’t have a place here to take demolition debris,'” Thayer said.
Most demolition debris is created by homeowners when they undertake projects such as tearing a shed off their house. Currently, homeowners in Oxford take demolition debris to Mid-Maine Waste Action Corp. in Auburn.
Demolition debris includes items such as dirty wood, Sheetrock and old windows and doors. The state has revised some of the disposal requirements for demolition debris. It must be disposed of in sealed containers that sit on cement pads so they do not touch the ground.
Oxford does not have the required disposal facilities, so the town would face a cost if it were to begin accepting the debris again. Thayer said some towns in Oxford County do store demolition debris at their transfer stations.
Selectman Dennis Sanborn said Oxford had explored the possibility of taking demolition debris to the transfer station in Norway, but it was too expensive. “They wanted something like $1,500 a month for us to go up there,” he said.
At the last regular meeting Oct. 20, Selectman David Ivey asked that Chammings put the issue on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting. Chammings said at the October meeting that demolition debris disposal would be expensive.
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