
The Casco-Naples Bulky Waste and Transfer Station recently reopened, finishing a project to modernize the site the towns began planning in 2020. Rory Sweeting / Lakes Region Weekly
After four months of renovation, the Casco-Naples Bulky Waste and Transfer Station reopened to full operations on Jan. 11.
The project took place over two phases, with the transfer station seeing renovations from September to October in 2024, while the bulky waste facility was closed from October to January.
According to Casco Town Manager Anthony Ward, the the renovation project dates back to 2020, when the towns started having dialogue and reaching out for designs. Both towns approved their portion of the bonded project in their 2022 town meetings and put out a proposal to move forward with it in 2024. At that point, Ward said that the towns approved a budget of $1.6 million, down from the original bid of $2.9 million, while also requiring engineers to complete a redesign to fit the budget. Ultimately, the project was successfully modified, and work began on the transfer station in September, and on the bulky waste facility the following month.
The majority of the issues addressed with the bulky waste project dealt with drainage issues and retention ponds, as required by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The project also revamped the bulky waste storage area to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, which require 42-inch walls to prevent people falling over, and changed the gravelling around all of the bins.
In addition to the physical renovations, the station will also roll out a new digital coupon system in the spring, replacing the current system of coupons for 20 lb increments. According to Ward, residents will be issued a placard that will be scanned by a digital reader. The digital reader will also scan items that residents bring in, automatically recording their weight. This system will automatically determine how much weight is dropped off at the bulky waste station, and keep track of the weight used by each owner via software. Ward said that this system would relieve the need of having physical coupons for residents using their allotted weight at the bulky waste facility.
Ward praised the collaboration between Casco and Naples on the project, noting both towns ultimately had the same objective of completing as much renovation on the two facilities as they could within the budgetary constraints.
“To me,” Ward said, “it shows an example of how communities can work together and minimize expense to one town while working collaboratively.”
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