CHINA: Most residents agree with $2 stickers at transfer station

by Mary Grow

China transfer station staff and Palermo representatives on China’s Transfer Station Committee agree that the majority of residents of both towns are cooperative about paying $2 for their 2025 transfer station windshield stickers.

As usual, some complain, they reported at the committee’s Jan 14 meeting.

The point of requiring the stickers on the windshields of vehicles registered in China or Palermo is to prevent China taxpayers from paying to dispose of out-of-town trash. Palermo and China have an agreement under which Palermo contributes money annually to the China facility and Palermo residents use special trash bags that they pay for.

China Town Manager Rebecca Hapgood explained that the sticker requirement sometimes gets complicated. A not uncommon case, she said, is when an older China resident (and taxpayer) has an out-of-town family member – whose vehicle is ineligible for a China sticker – transport the resident’s trash.

Committee member Benjamin Weymouth asked how often these sorts of issues arise.

“More than you’d expect,” Hapgood replied.

Transfer station manager Thomas Maraggio agreed, estimating irregular situations several times a week.

Before vehicle stickers were reinstated, transfer station users had placards to hang on their rearview mirrors, which could be removed and shared. Maraggio said trash volume went down after the change to stickers.

Stickers are available at both town offices and at the transfer station. Town office staff can look up vehicle registrations; transfer station staff cannot, and need to see the document.

Hapgood and Maraggio mentioned pending projects, possible grants to help fund some of them and preliminary suggestions for the 2025-26 budget request.

Maraggio said the station’s scales, used to weigh demolition debris and brush, are 20 years old and have an expected lifetime of 20 years. He has no cost estimate for new ones.

Hapgood said the transfer station staff consists of three full-time employees and one part-time employee. Public works staffers help when needed.

She and committee chairman J. Christopher Baumann emphatically rejected the apparently-overheard comment that employees “stand around” doing nothing. Baumann said he stops by frequently, and always finds them busy.

Director of Public Services Shawn Reed praised employees for keeping the transfer station clean and saving taxpayers money, for example by taking furniture apart to salvage recyclable metal parts.

“They do an amazing job,” Reed said.

Palermo representative Chris Diesch suggested the committee review the transfer station mission statement, last updated in the fall of 2021. After a brief discussion, the issue was postponed to a future meeting.

On Baumann’s recommendation, the China town office later sent committee members a list of half dozen ordinances, policies and other relevant documents that are on the town website, chinamaine.org.

The next China Transfer Station Committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the town office meeting room.