PORTLAND, Maine — A Portland resident is upset after she said her recycling was tossed in with the trash, and she caught it on camera.
The woman said it has happened before and she wants something to be done.
Public works officials said the video is disappointing, and now under investigation.
Mel May said she does her best to “go green.”
“We have like maybe one garbage bag every two or three weeks,” May said.
So she said it’s frustrating to see her efforts tossed in the trash.
“I just happened to grab my phone, I was like, ‘I’m going to check it out this time,’” May said.
In the video you can see a public works employee put garbage into the back of the truck, and then throw the recycling in with it.
“It really was horrible to see it,” May said.
Interim public works director Robert Leeman said the department does not condone this, and they are trying to get to the bottom of it.
“We need to make sure that the employee who did that didn’t have permission or was told to do that by somebody else,” Leeman said.
He said the only time they allow combining trash with recyclables is when the roads are unsafe.
“When we get into icy situations in the winter and it’s unsafe to have two big trucks going down a road, there are times we do that in tight areas for safety reasons,” Leeman said.
The city said this is an isolated incident, but May said this has happened before.
“We pay for this service, so we’d really like to have the service,” May said.
The city added that recycling rates are up right now in Portland.
Public works officials said any other residents with concerns should report them.