The city encourages Residents to recycle as much as they can. The more you recycle, the fewer bags you will need to purchase and the more money you save. Curbside collection will not pick up containers that weigh more than 50 pounds. Residents may use as many containers as necessary. - Curbside recycling is only available to Residents with properties that contain four (4) units or less - Commercial properties (as designated by the Assessing Office) are not eligible for curbside recycling - Properties containing five (5) units or more are considered commercial and therefore not eligible for curbside pick up - The Transfer station accepts only residential recycling materials. Commercial operations should contact a third-party for recycling service

Simply buy orange, City-approved bags at retail stores throughout the city, and dispose of your trash in these bags as you normally would. Only the trash you put in these bags will be collected curbside or accepted at the transfer station.

“PAYT” stands for Pay-As-You-Throw. The Pay-As-You-Throw system is one in which Residents pay a basic fee to cover the fixed costs of trash management and also a user fee for the amount used—much like the way we use and pay for electricity, water, or gas. Sanford’s PAYT program is based on a pay-per-bag basis.

In general, Sanford’s PAYT program may bring municipal, residential, and environmental benefits. The City benefits from savings in reduced tipping fees. Residents may benefit because A) the program is more equitable. Prior to September 16, 2013, every household, regardless of size, paid the same. With the current program, people who generate less trash will pay less by using fewer bags, and people who generate more trash will pay more by using more bags. It encourages people to recycle. And B) with the choice of how much they want to recycle, Residents now have more control of their trash disposal costs. Finally, environmental benefits come from a slowdown in the growth of landfills, as well as reduced greenhouse gas emissions and water and soil contamination.

If large families buy more than smaller families, they will have more to throw away and will have to buy more trash bags. This program will give them a chance, and a new incentive, to lower their costs by recycling everything they can.

To the contrary, pay-as-you-throw gives low-income residents the opportunity to control their expenses for solid waste disposal—an opportunity that they previously did not have.

Sanford’s single-family homes and multi-family dwellings that include up to four units participate in Sanford’s PAYT program. Buildings of 5 or more units will continue to pay their own disposal costs.