LEWISTON — Residents will change over to a new Cart2Curb trash and recycling collection system starting this fall.

The move marks the city’s first change to trash collection in about 40 years. Public works officials said it reflects an industrywide shift toward prioritizing worker safety through automated collection. This summer, Auburn is installing the same system.

According to John Kuchinski, environmental services superintendent for public works, waste collection ranks as one of the most dangerous jobs in North America.

“It’s not just Lewiston, it’s nationwide and it’s just the way the trash collection industry is going,” Kuchinski said. “There are so many fatalities and injuries of people picking up waste.”

Here are five things to know.

Your old trash cans are going away

By September, most residents will have received new wheeled trash and recycling carts from the waste management company Casella. 

The new system will be a hybrid collection model, with some neighborhoods seeing automated side-loading truck collection and others, specifically those with narrower streets, continuing to get manual collection. 

Automated collection, which uses a mechanical arm on the truck to pick up carts and dump their contents in the truck, will be done via a split-body truck that takes trash and recycling at the same time. 

Kuchinski said the new system does not yet have a start date, but carts are scheduled for delivery in the next several weeks.

New collection system, new rules

All residents will be required to use the new carts.

“One of the more important reasons for everyone to have these carts is to reduce the litter around the city,” said Megan Bates, public works’ deputy for maintenance and operations. “All of the trash and recycling needs to be in closed containers and nothing can be left outside or on top of the containers.”

Property owners can face fines for repeated violations, though officials said Casella will take the first few weeks of the new collection system to help residents become accustomed to the new service. Educational notices and adjustments to bins will be provided during that period to help residents learn the ropes.

“Casella’s going to be going in front of the trucks and adjusting and providing helpful feedback to the homeowners,” Kuchinski said. “They’re going to be providing notes and stickers to each customer about corrections if the containers are not facing the right way, or they’re too close together, or something like that.”

During winter, residents should wait until morning to put their carts on the curb if snow is forecast overnight, officials said. Carts should be out in a cleared space similar to what is required for mailboxes. Carts should be taken away from the curb as soon as possible after collection.

All trash must be bagged before being put in the carts, and recycled items should be empty, clean and placed loosely in the recycling cart. Cart lids must be closed completely, with no trash or recycling sticking out. Extra bags alongside the cart will not be taken. Trash not fitting in the cart must be held until the following week or can be taken to Lewiston’s solid waste facility at 420 River Road. 

Whether receiving automated or manual services, rules must be followed in the same way. 

The carts stay with the property

Casella owns and manages the carts. The company should be called first if residents have service questions, Bates said. Residents will be able to reach customer service by calling 1-207-518-8653.

“We just really want people to know that there is someone on the other end of the phone,” Bates said. “They just need to dial and those people will be more than happy to help.”

Single-family homes, duplexes, multiunit buildings and accessory dwelling units will receive carts. Those carts belong to the addresses they are delivered to; each cart has a serial number tied to the address. Renters will participate if their landlords use the city’s collection program. That means if you move from your current address, the carts stay with the property. 

Residents should only mark their carts with city-provided stickers and should not paint or permanently mark them. Damaged carts will be repaired or replaced by Casella; stolen carts first require a call to Lewiston police before replacement can happen.

Not all waste goes in the bins

While most trash and recycling will depart via carts, some items will require alternative disposal. Bulky items like furniture and appliances and other items like rechargeable batteries and old trash bins must be disposed of at the city’s solid waste facility. Items like paint and Christmas trees will have separate disposal requirements. 

The city will continue its annual leaf collection with paper leaf bags this fall. 

What comes next?

Casella will begin to roll out its new service by delivering around 23,000 carts over a three- or four-week period beginning in early August. 

The company will send postcards to participating addresses in advance followed by a resource guide and other information that will be attached to new carts in a bag. A separate postcard will come to residents when Cart2Curb is scheduled to begin. 

Pickup days may change from the current schedule, so be sure to look up your address on the town’s map to learn when your collection day is. 

Kuchinski said the city is aware that the change will be confusing for some residents. But, he said, for the sake of worker safety and consistency, it is the right move.

In doing so, Lewiston will join not only Auburn but other communities, such as North Yarmouth, Durham, Cumberland, Westbrook, Biddeford and others that use the automated system.

“Municipalities have been doing this for over a decade, for over 15 years even,” he said. “This has been around for a long time.”

Residents can also attend one of four remaining “Trash Talks” with the city to have questions answered. The talks will be held:

• 5:30-7 p.m., July 22, at the Geiger Elementary School cafeteria at 601 College St.
• 5:30-7 p.m., July 29, at the Clarion Conference Center at 490 Pleasant St.
• 5:30-7 p.m., Aug. 6, at the McMahon Elementary School cafeteria at 151 North Temple St.
• 5:30-7 p.m., Aug. 12, at Hoppers at Apple Valley Golf at 316 Pinewoods Road.