LIVERMORE — When people dispose of unwanted items on the side of the road, including trash, furniture and mattresses, they are committing a crime, town administrative assistant Kurt Schaub said Tuesday.

There are a number of good Samaritans in town who mean well when they either alert town employees to the items or pick up the items and bring them to the town’s Transfer Station, he said. The problem with that is the town does not have a budget to cover roadside trash, he said.

The town charges fees to residents for bulky waste, tires and other items that cover the town’s cost of disposing of it, he said. For example, the town recently received a bill for $96 to dispose 48 tires residents dropped at the station, he said. The town charges residents $2 per tire for disposal.

The disposal fees are designed to cover the town’s expense to get rid of the items, he said.

“The concern we face is that the disposal costs for these items can add up quickly, and we simply do not have a budget for roadside waste,” Schaub said. “Dumping trash on the side of the road is a crime and, if people see it, they need to contact law enforcement.“

This is a delicate matter since no one wants to discourage community-spirited people from wanting the town to look good, but the problem is it is rarely looked upon as a crime, which it is, he said.

He suggested people call the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office at 753-2500 to report the crime.

dperry@sunjournal.com