“Clean Up Day” is right around the corner on Saturday, May 4th from 9am to 10am. The Town will have contractor bags in front of Rangeley Lakes Builders Supply at 2742 Main St.
The Town will also set up cones every half mile between Rangeley and Oquossoc.
Should you be inclined, simply pick up your contractor bag and head on over and park at one of these cones. From there, simply walk along one side of the road, picking up trash as you go, cross the street, and walk back to your vehicle, again picking up as you go. This will mean you have cleaned up your chosen mile!
If you don’t have a truck, you may leave your bag along the roadside to be picked up.
As per Traci Lavoie of Rangeley Town Office, “If you’re more interested in cleaning your neighborhood, just make sure your full bags are left somewhere to be picked up if you can’t take them to the dump yourself. I will do my best to find trucks to gather the full bags that cannot be taken by individuals. WEAR BOOTS & BRING GLOVES – good ones, not those silly nitrile ones – this is dirty work.”
Got me thinking about the where the trash goes and the Rangeley Transfer Station.
The good ole “Bargain Barn”, where many a treasure has been found. Stephanie Dellavalle
Last time I was there I dropped some items off at the good old bargain barn. I ran into Carmen Steward who let me know that just the previous day all of the tables were completely cleared off and here we were looking at each table piled high.
He then proceeded to ask me if I needed a job. It turns out they are looking for some part time help. I’m not going to lie, I considered it! I already have one and a half jobs now but hey, sounds like fun. Kind of like an ongoing yard sale, the old bargain barn is. One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, right?
Well, how much work would this actually entail? I spoke to Rangeley Transfer Station Supervisor Richard Brown and asked how often it gets cleared up.
I suppose I should have known that Brown would give me the simplest answer possible.
“We try to clear it out whenever it starts getting too cluttered.”
I tried a follow up question. I thought he would tell me about the hordes of people hoeing out their camps in July. I thought he could, you know, give me some exaggerated answer with high volumes of traffic or something.
Instead, “Yeah, yeah, the summer is pretty busy.”
I recalled how I worked with Brown back in the day when I was board secretary for the town. Brown would provide the video set up. He wasn’t very dramatic then either. I’ll be honest. I’m not used to it. Usually when I do interviews people try to… let’s say, embellish.
I’m no quitter, so again I tried to dig up some dirt.
Me, “Right. Well, is there anything else that you think I should know about what went on over the years? Like, it seems like you’re a pretty mellow guy, so I feel like over 30 years you wouldn’t have stayed if it wasn’t your temperament, or you weren’t suited for the position. BUT you know, there must have been some time where, you know, maybe people were overly upset about something or are people mostly friendly?
Brown, “Yeah, people are mostly friendly.”
Yup, Brown is just not a trash talker. So I gave up and tried to get down to brass tacks. I just wanted to get some things straight, and thankfully, he did straighten me out about the following things.
· STICKERS REQUIRED. YES, you still need stickers to enjoy the services of the Rangeley transfer station.
· ZERO-SORT RECYCLING- You no longer need to sort your recyclables with Zero-Sort Recycling. So, toss all your cardboard, aluminum, plastic, newspapers, magazines, and glass together into the recycling bin.
· REDEMPTION deposits are currently being donated to the Rangeley Fire Department. (Thanks for picking those up, Dennis Marquis!)
· CAPS ON- Ever wonder whether to toss those caps separately? The answer is no. They are small and there is a danger of disrupting the recycle machinery, so keep your caps on your bottles.
· SCREENS- It costs 1$ for monitors/tv screens and $4 for desktop computers.
· USABLE ITEMS in the bargain barn please. (Like you could drop off junk, but not junky junk).
· LARGER TRASH- Oversized bulky waste, like lumber, paneling, unusable furniture, shingles, metal, asphalt, tires, trees and brush? There is a separate place for all of it, so please ask if you’re not sure.
· BATTERIES- Regular batteries don’t contain anything hazardous anymore, so they go in the regular trash, but rechargeable batteries should be given to whoever is on duty. (They are sent out to a company out of town to process).
· OIL- Cooking oil and motor oil are both accepted. (One goes to a company to recycle for things like cosmetics (!!!) and another for a worm farm.) Now there’s the dirt I was looking for! (But that’s a whole other story.)
Thanks to Richard Brown for his many years of service! You are greatly appreciated!
From left, Richard Brown and Carmen Steward Stephanie Dellavalle
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