PORTSMOUTH — On Monday police caught up with a man who had apparently never heard the Arlo Guthrie song “Alice’s Restaurant,” which warns against the illegal dumping of garbage that bears one’s name.

At about 8 a.m. on Monday, Patrol Officer Patrick O’Neill responded to a complaint of illegal dumping at the town’s transfer station on Hedly Street.

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When he arrived Officer O’Neill was met by Derek Sabourin of Patriot Disposal, which is subcontracted by the town to carry out the day-to-day operations of the dump. Mr. Sabourin said he arrived to work that morning to find six household trash bags on the ground next to the guard shack inside the transfer station’s enclosed fence.

Mr. Sabourin had already looked through the trash and found several pieces of mail bearing the name of an Islington Avenue man. A quick visit to Town Hall revealed that the man had an active 2015 transfer station sticker, police said.

Officer O’Neill’s next stop was Islington Avenue, where the man met him at the front door. He explained he had gone to the transfer station the previous day (Sunday), because he believed it was open until 7 p.m. due to the recent change in hours to accommodate construction work.

When he arrived, however, the gate was closed; by then, the station had already gone back to its normal operating schedule.

Undeterred, the man threw the bags over the fence, police said.

“(He) apologized and stated it would not happen again,” Officer O’Neill stated in his report.

The man was not charged and the matter was closed.