Recycling services on pause in Thetford

Coordinator Susanne Simon, left, and Ellen Stone talk to customers to make sure they know that recycling drop-off is temporarily unavailable as they arrive at the transfer station in Thetford, Vt., on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. On Thursday the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources informed the transfer station that they would have to cease operations until the end of the public comment period for their certification renewal process. “Technically we’re in compliance,” Simon said, noting that the suspension of services was due to late paperwork. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Coordinator Susanne Simon, left, and Ellen Stone talk to customers to make sure they know that recycling drop-off is temporarily unavailable as they arrive at the transfer station in Thetford, Vt., on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. On Thursday the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources informed the transfer station that they would have to cease operations until the end of the public comment period for their certification renewal process. “Technically we’re in compliance,” Simon said, noting that the suspension of services was due to late paperwork. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Alex Driehaus

Caution tape blocks access to recycling bins at the transfer station in Thetford, Vt., on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. The transfer station’s certification renewal should be complete by early March, and in the meantime Town Manager Brian Story said he hopes to find a temporary contractor to resume recycling next weekend. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Caution tape blocks access to recycling bins at the transfer station in Thetford, Vt., on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. The transfer station’s certification renewal should be complete by early March, and in the meantime Town Manager Brian Story said he hopes to find a temporary contractor to resume recycling next weekend. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Alex Driehaus

Sandra Marsh, left, with Quinttown Container Service, greets Steve Tofel, of Thetford, Vt., as he drops off his bag of trash at the transfer station in Thetford, Vt., on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Trash and food scrap services are still available because they are handled by outside contractors, rather than the transfer station itself. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.

Sandra Marsh, left, with Quinttown Container Service, greets Steve Tofel, of Thetford, Vt., as he drops off his bag of trash at the transfer station in Thetford, Vt., on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Trash and food scrap services are still available because they are handled by outside contractors, rather than the transfer station itself. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Alex Driehaus

By FRANCES MIZE

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 02-02-2024 5:47 PM

Modified: 02-03-2024 5:08 PM


THETFORD — On Saturday, recycling services won’t be available at the Thetford Transfer Station.

Trash and food scrap services will be available as usual, and Town Manager Brian Story expects recycling to resume next weekend.

The suspension of services comes as the transfer station is going through a certification renewal process with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. The station’s certification, which lasts 10 years, expired in June, Story said. The materials for the application were submitted in January, and the department lists it as complete, but it remains in the public comment period.

“I wish things had gone faster but they didn’t, so we’re at the mercy (of the Agency of Natural Resources),” Story said. “There was a lot happening earlier in the year so it didn’t get done as quickly as it could have under other circumstances.”

Story expects the transfer station to be running normally by early March. But until then, once recycling services resume, residents won’t notice much of a difference, he said. 

In the meantime, recycling at the Hartford Solid Waste and Recycling Transfer Station and the Lebanon Solid Waste and Recycling Facility are available to Thetford residents for a fee.

■The Hartford transfer station is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The scale closes at 3:30 p.m. Single day permits are $10.

■The Lebanon solid waste facility is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with scales closing at 3:15 p.m. It’s open on Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., with scales closing at 1 p.m. For the Lebanon facility, users must register for an annual permit in advance for $5. That can be done at the following link: tinyurl.com/355n8p5t

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■The Thetford Transfer Station is open Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Frances Mize is a Report for America corps member. She can be reached at fmize@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.