PROBUS Club learns about waste, recycling

5 years ago

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Central Aroostook PROBUS Club held their monthly meeting on the campus of Northern Maine Community College at Reed Commons on June 20.

President Dave Maxcy introduced the guest speaker, Presque Isle City Manager Martin Puckett, who gave a very complete and informative talk on Aroostook Waste Solutions, located at the Presque Isle Landfill. 

A pamphlet is available at the city office which gives a full list of permits required, fees, and the universal waste products that can be disposed of at the landfill and the hours that the landfill is open for use.

Puckett also gave details on the city’s recycling igloos. These are picked up and emptied once each week and the contents are taken to the Tri-Community Landfill in Fort Fairfield. Here the contents are pressed into bales, tied and stacked in the warehouse, where they will be eventually sold. 

Pamphlets are also available in the city office explaining all five igloos and the contents to be dumped into them for the recycling process.  The igloos are being used successfully in Presque Isle and the results are very positive as efforts are being made to recycle in the city.

Previously recycled materials often were sold to China, said Puckett, but they have recently become very particular about items purchased for recycling other then cardboard, which has been easier to sell. For all other products, their prices have dropped.

Presque Isle and Caribou each have a 40 percent share in the tri-community recycling sales. The smaller communities nearby each have a 10 percent share. The Tri-City Landfill board of directors conducts all business concerning the waste and recycling business that takes place, the town manager said.

Janet Snow gave a reading on yoga: “Practice Makes Perfect” by Allan Magaziner, DO.

Probus welcomes any citizens who are interested in learning more about Presque Isle and surrounding areas who wish to become members of this club. It requires no work, only an avid interest in the community and all that takes place within.