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- Category: Current Issue
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM — Travis Sirrine, highway superintendent, reminds residents that starting next week, the week of July 4, the new prices for trash collection kick in.
The price of stickers is doubling. Blue stickers (for 30-35 gallon bags) will be $2. Yellow stickers (for 13-20 gallon bags) will cost $1.The appropriate sticker must be used for the appropriate sized-bag regardless of how full the bag is. The stickers are to be put on the top portion of the bag and the bags must be placed, by 6 a.m., at curbside as close to the road as possible.
Stickers will be available at Modern Lumber, Stop n’ Shop, Global Fuel on School Street, the Town Clerk’s Office, the Putnam Public Library, the Sunoco Gas Station, Price Chopper and Putnam Supermarket.
Sirrine said the rates had not been adjusted in about 20 years and that the amount collected from the sale of trash stickers “is nowhere near” the actual cost. The balance is funded by the town budget. Sirrine said that Town Administrator Elaine Sistare surveyed other towns and discovered, even with the new prices, Putnam residents have a “remarkably good deal.”
A refresher on the rules (complete information is on the town’s website):
Recycling – No Stickers Required
Newspapers/magazine, metal cans, cardboard, plastic bottles, glass – food and beverage, junk/office paper. The blue recycling bins are available at the town clerk’s office from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Fridays. No charge for recycling bins. Plastic bags and shredded paper should be placed in the trash.
Metal Collection
For large metal and appliances the town will collect these items during the last full week in March and the last full week in August. Metal and large appliances should be out at the beginning of the week. No stickers needed. In addition, metal can be brought to the highway garage anytime and placed in the shed outside the gate.
Brush and Tree Limbs
Brush and tree limbs are collected the last full week in April and the last full week in September. No land clearing. According to the Highway Department, in the event of a major storm, the town will chip brush at curbside town wide as soon as possible. Leaves are vacuumed at curbside starting the last Monday in October until Dec. 1 or until interrupted by inclement weather.
Not Curbside
NOT available for curbside pickup: Mattresses, electronics, scrap metal and appliances. Electronics, which includes, TVs, computers, printers, monitors, stereos, VCRs, keyboards and mice can be placed outside the Putnam Highway Dept. on Fox Road anytime in the shed outside gate.
Mattresses and box springs should be clean and dry and they are accepted at the highway department from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to noon on the first and third Saturdays of the month. No mattresses are accepted on holidays.
Collections at the Highway Department are for Putnam residents only. Do not drop unauthorized items there. Cameras have been installed and violators will incur dumping charges.
The number of $2 stickers for large bulky waste items: wood headboard and footboard set, 2; chest of drawers or bureau, 3; couch/loveseat/wood desk/recliner, 3 (remove metal frame from pull-out sofas and recliners); stuffed chair, 2; wood dining table (in pieces), 2; wood chair, 1; other wood furniture fewer than 50 pounds, 2; rugs, 3’ in length, rolled and fewer than 35 lbs., 1. The rules say only one item per household per week to be placed at curbside for collection.
Tires require $3 worth of stickers per 16-inch or smaller rim size. Truck tires require $5 worth of stickers. They can also be placed in the shed outside the highway department gate anytime.
Metal Collection
For large metal and appliances the town will collect these items during the last full week in March and the last full week in August. Metal and large appliances should be out at the beginning of the week. No stickers needed. In addition, metal can be brought to the highway garage anytime and placed in the shed outside the gate.
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