Portsmouth expands recycling services

A one-year pilot program introduced by Portsmouth’s Department of Public Works is allowing city residents to divert more waste from landfills. Hardcover books, software, videos, CDs, DVDs, records, games, comic books and sports cards can now be deposited in special bins at the Portsmouth Recycling Center on Peverly Hill Road.

“This is a great venue to divert (these items) from the landfill, and at no cost to the city,” said Silke Psula, the city’s solid waste coordinator. In fact, Portsmouth will actually make money through the program. The city will get seven cents per pound for any haul of recycled material weighing more than 800 pounds.

More importantly, the new program will help reduce the amount of waste going to landfills. “The key is, we’re keeping it out of the landfill, saving on disposal costs and saving space in the landfill,” Psula said.

The city has contracted with Got Books, Inc. to help manage the program. Got Books is a for-profit professional fundraiser that’s supplying the city with bins and pickup service for reusable goods. Based in Massachusetts, Got Books takes the materials to a warehouse in North Reading, where they are offered for sale. The warehouse is open to the public, and 50 percent of proceeds from book sales go to charity groups.

The pilot program started in September and will last one year. At the end of the year, the city will decide whether to continue the service.

“We’ll try the endeavor, see how the relationship is, how smooth it goes, and at the end of the pilot period, we’ll reassess it,” Psula said.

The new program will not be part of curbside recycling. Residents must bring the materials to the recycling center, which is open Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Kittery approves funds for open space

Kittery town officials recently approved $50,000 in town funds to go toward the purchase of a parcel of conservation land on Chauncey Creek. The Town Council voted unanimously on Monday, Sept. 24, to appropriate money from the town’s Open Space Fund to the Kittery Land Trust, which is in the process of purchasing a piece of the Fairchild property.

“We’re buying the development rights to a piece of property on Chauncey Creek,” said Melissa Paly, president of the Kittery Land Trust. “The owner will continue to own it, but he is selling the development rights to the Kittery Land Trust.”

The land will remain undeveloped in perpetuity. The property includes 17 acres of land, with 1,900 feet of shorefront, extensive wetlands habitat, a bank of tall pine trees and a view across the creek, which Paly described as evocative of Maine.   

“Investing in open spaces is every bit as much of an investment in a community as any other investment. It doesn’t require roads, services, paving or plowing. It’s a good economic decision, not just a good environmental action,” Paly said. 
The Open Space Fund contained $50,000 of public money, and the town handed over all of it to the Land Trust to purchase the open space.

“We were so excited, and to have unanimous support from the Town Council gives us a lot of confidence that the town is concerned with protecting what remains of our natural areas,” Paly said. The 17 acres could have supported four house lots, meaning the current owner could have made significantly more money by selling the property to a private developer, she noted.

The property will cost the Kittery Land Trust $600,000, which includes $530,000 for the actual property, plus an additional $70,000 in legal fees, surveying and other costs. The Kittery Land Trust has secured $300,000 in funding from the Mount Agamenticus to the Sea Conservation Partnership. The Land Trust hopes to raise the remaining funds through possible federal funding and public donations to the “Campaign for Chauncey Creek.” The Kittery Land Trust is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary.