courtesy of Sigrid Houlette, Environmental Planner for the Northern Maine Development Commission

     The State Planning Office’s slogan for Maine Recycles Week, November 8 – 15, 2001, is YIMBY! (Yes, In My Backyard).   In keeping with that Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC) is bringing a new form of recycling to your "backyard".   Introducing the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC) collection system.

     As part of Maine Recycles Week, a number of the municipalities in the County, in conjunction with NMDC, have signed up to begin collecting rechargeable batteries through the RBRC.   What does this mean for you?   A simple, convenient way of recycling the following four types of rechargeable batteries: Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion), Small Sealed Lead (Pb) batteries.

     From November 8^th onwards, look for this seal and the recycling boxes on the counters of your town office and/or at your local recycling center.   See below for participating locations:

     Town Offices: Amity, Bancroft, Bridgewater, Caswell, Castle Hill, Chapman & Mapleton, Dudley, Eagle Lake, Fort Kent, Grand Isle, Haynesville, Hersey, Hodgdon, Houlton, Linneus, Littleton, Mars Hill, Merrill, Monticello, New Limerick, Oakfield, Perham, Portage, Reed Plt., St Agatha, Stacyville, Stockholm, Wallagrass, Washburn, Weston, Winterville, Woodland

• Ashland, Garfield, Masardis, Oxbow via Aroostook Valley Solid Waste Disposal District Transfer Station
  

• Fort Kent, Frenchville, Madawaska, St Agatha via Northern Aroostook Regional Transfer Station
  

• Eagle Lake, New Canada, Wallagrass, Winterville via Northern Aroostook Solid Waste Association Transfer Station
  

• Amity, Crystal, Dudley, Dyer Brook, Hammond, Hersey, Island Falls, Merrill, Moro Plt., Mt Chase, New Limerick, Patten, Smyrna, Webbertown via Northern Katahdin Valley Waste Disposal District/Dyer Brook Transfer Station
  

• Castle Hill, Chapman, Mapleton, Perham, Presque Isle, Wade, Washburn via Presque Isle Recycling Center
  

• Benedicta, Sherman, Silver Ridge, Stacyville via Sherman Transfer Station
  

• Bridgewater, Hodgdon, Houlton, Linneus, Ludlow, Monticello, Oakfield via Southern Aroostook Region/Boyd’s Transfer and Recycling Center
  

• Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Limestone, Allagash, Blaine, Cary Plt., Caswell, Connor, Cyr Plt., Easton, Grand Isle, Guerette, Hamlin, Nashville Plt., New Sweden, Portage, Sinclair, Stockholm, Westfield, Westmanland, Woodland via Tri-Community Recycling and Sanitary Landfill
  

• Van Buren at the Van Buren Transfer Station

Also, look for the RBRC collection systems at the following local businesses: 

Caribou - P L Willey Co; Dow, Hebert & Plourde Inc./Radio Shack and Appliance Servicenter; 
Fort Kent - Charette Building Materials and Music Haven Inc; 
Houlton - Pac Electronics/Radio Shack and Wal-Mart;
Madawaska - Music Center; 
Presque Isle - Rathbun Lumber Company, Wal-Mart, Sears Repair Services, Northstar Welding and US Cellular;
Sherman Station - Millyard Building Center.

Also, after November 8^th, check out NMDC’s NEW Waste Management web site for this and other relevant information:
http://www.nmdc.org/wastemgmt/  

Remember, if it’s Rechargeable it’s Recyclable! 

And, don’t forget the other RR’s – Reduce and Reuse, not only during Maine Recycles Week, November 8-15, 2001, but every day of the year!

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For more information on Maine Recycles Week or the RBRC contact:

Sigrid Houlette, Environmental Planner, NMDC 
via phone: 498-8736,
 or Toll Free in Maine: 1-800-427-8736,
or by email: shoulette@nmdc.org.