Dixmont, ME Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

Two provisions of the Dixmont Site Plan Review Ordinance govern commercial waste containers. Section 8.3 lists what the applicant must submit about the proposed development activity, and item 4 calls for provisions for handling all solid wastes, including hazardous and special wastes, and the location and proposed screening of any on-site collection or storage facilities. Section 9.18, Solid Waste Disposal, is an approval standard (AS): the proposed development must provide for adequate disposal of solid wastes, and all solid waste must be disposed of at a licensed disposal facility having adequate capacity to accept the project's wastes.

Section 9.22, Buffering of Adjacent Uses, adds a screening standard that reaches "mechanical equipment and service and storage areas." Buffering must be designed to provide a year-round visual screen and can consist of fencing, evergreens, berms, rocks, boulders, mounds, or a combination. Areas adjacent to service, loading, or storage areas should be screened by dense planting, berms, fencing, or a combination thereof with a width of a minimum of five (5) feet. The ordinance does not say whether a dumpster counts as a service or storage area, so the Planning Board decides that question on each plan.

The review applies to a new nonresidential building or structure greater than 2,500 sq. ft. within any five-year period, any structure greater than 40 feet in height, expansion of an existing nonresidential use by more than 2,500 sq. ft., a new nonresidential use, and nonresidential paved area of more than 2,500 square feet. Single-family and two-family dwellings are exempt under Section 2.2. Under Section 6, the Planning Board can approve, disapprove, or approve with conditions. Mobile home parks have their own refuse terms: collection at least weekly, handled by the park operator.