On July 14, I took some yard waste up to the compactor. One of the workers came over and said, “no, you can’t dump that.” I had branches and such cut to the right size, but I had put it into a tarp, tied it and put in the trunk of my car. I had to leave the trunk open to drive there but that was OK.

Now, mind you, I had no intention of dumping the tarp. I was going to untie it, dump the debris in the container and bring the tarp home and refill it. Absolutely not!

It has to be tied in bunches in brown paper bags or in a barrel (that you can dump). Of course, I also couldn’t have had a friend bring it up in their pickup, as they don’t live in Portsmouth so don’t have a sticker.

Oh yes, I do have a sticker that I paid a good price for (close to $200 for the year). I’ll end up making several trips to get it in separate bundles, which means money for gas plus the gas used.

We have to pay for the sticker, then spend more money on specific bags to put trash in (orange plastic bags) and not use white plastic bags. White plastic bags aren’t acceptable! Color is very important!

Oh yes, and then you have to spend more money for brown paper bags for yard cleanup. That’s large brown bags, not the normal size you get when shopping.

The tarp I could have picked up and dumped, but a barrel I wouldn’t have been able to lift and dump. Also would have had to make two trips using the tarp, but now it is going to be five or six tied bundles. 

No thought is given to peoples’ purses! Portsmouth is made up of many retired persons living on fixed incomes trying to do the right thing. We don’t have the money to keep buying and buying to throw out our trash.

Pay for the sticker, pay for the orange plastic trash bags, pay for brown paper bags for leaves, branches, etc. I expect within a year or two they are going to come up with something specific to dump recycled items in, and of course that is going to cost more money. We already pay high taxes — for what?

Oh yes, and now they are trying to make everyone put in new septics to the tune of at least $25,000. Mind you, it’s been inspected and told it is in excellent condition, but not good enough. You keep it pumped yearly, but that isn’t good enough either.

I just want to know where it is going to end? Anybody out there agree with me?

Oh yes, you can use roadside trash pickup, but that ends up costing more than the compactor — special trash barrels that the driver of the truck can pick up without getting out of the truck plus the compactor requirements on bags, etc. 

I happen to like the Town of Portsmouth, but it sure is getting tough living here lately.

Thank you for listening to me. I’m sure many agree with me, and I’m sure many don’t. Again, thanks for letting me spout off.

Mary Martin

Portsmouth