Rubbish and Recycling
Trash and recycling collection is conducted weekly by Pine Tree Waste, a local company contracted by the City, and hauled to ecomaine, a non-profit, community-owned recycling and waste-to-energy plant in Portland.
Each residence is issued two barrels – green for rubbish and blue for recycling. On your collection day, place barrels curbside, front-facing, by 7am and remove emptied containers by sunset the same day. Please note that yard and construction debris is not accepted in barrels. There is no large-item curbside pickup in South Portland.
**NEW!** Use the interactive tool below to access new features: Check the pickup schedule for your address, add trash set-out reminders to your calendar, sign up for alerts such as disruptions in service. The Waste Wizard feature will help you answer “how should I dispose of this?” questions.
South Portland participates in a single-sort recycling program and encourages all residents to reduce the amount of waste you generate by recycling. Not only is recycling an environmentally-conscientious action, but it saves you money by saving the City money in solid waste tipping fees. Refer to the chart below for general recycling guidelines. Additional information, along with a submission form for questions about items not listed, can be found on ecomaine’s website.
Leaf and Christmas Tree Pick-up
Leaf pick-up is conducted annually during a 4-week period in the fall, usually in November. Leaves should be placed in biodegradable paper bags (no plastic bags, please), and left curbside until collected.
Christmas trees are collected for approximately 3 weeks following Christmas.
Both collections will be picked up by Public Works crews, not Pine Tree Waste. Please set leaf bags and trees curbside, but away from your trash barrels. Specific dates of both collections will be advertised in the Portland Press Herald and the South Portland Sentry, as well as on the city website and via South Portland’s e-community newsletter. If you should miss the collection dates, these items can be brought to the Transfer Facility, free of charge.
Hazardous Household Waste Collection
Public Works coordinates with Water Resource Protection to conduct an annual Household Hazardous Waste collection. Traditionally held in October, this drop-off day is offered free of charge to South Portland residents for the collection of HHW such as oil-based paints, pesticides, solvents, cleaners and other chemicals which could harm our environment if disposed of improperly. Drop-off date will be advertised in the Portland Press Herald and the South Portland Sentry, as well as on the main page of the city website, South Portland Public Works’ Facebook page and via South Portland’s e-community newsletter.