Solid Waste and Recycling 

The Bar Harbor Solid Waste Facility (Transfer Station and and Recycling Center) is a section of the Department of Public Works.  Bar Harbor takes a proactive stance towards recycling. Our solid waste / recycling facility is located at 8 and 9 White Spruce Road in Bar Harbor.


Report: Evaluation of Transfer Station Operations, Feb. 2025


A permit is required to dispose of solid waste and recyclable items as described below:

Resident / Property Owner:  The permit will be issued as a sticker which must be affixed to the inside driver's side windshield.  Resident / Property Owner shall show a current local vehicle registration with plate number.  If the vehicle is not locally registered, person must show a current local utility bill or tax bill.  Resident / Property Owner permits are issued at the Solid Waste Facility and the Finance Department at 93 Cottage Street.

Vacation Rental Properties:   A permit sticker inserted in a hanger may be issued to the property owner (for the guest) at a cost of $20 per issue, or re-issue, to be renewed annually.  The Vacation Rental must be registered with the Town of Bar Harbor.  The information collected is:  the sticker permit number, map / lot number of the rental, and the property owner name.  Stickers allowed will not exceed the number of vacation rentals approved and registered.  The hanger is hung on the rental client vehicle's rear view mirror.  Vacation Rental permits are issued only at the Finance Department at 93 Cottage Street
 .


Recyclables


The Bar Harbor Recycling Center is a single sort operation.  There are two single sort machines, both of which can receive your single sort items (see the list of accepted items below).

Currently, white goods and scrap metals are accepted at the Public Works Facility in Hulls Cove, off Crooked Road.  Also, leaves and grass clippings may be deposited at this facility.  BRUSH of any size is NOT allowed.  This is a gated facility, and access is on Monday through Friday, from 6:30 AM to 4:00 PM, and Saturday mornings from 8:00 AM to 12 noon (Saturdays from May to October).

Large items are NOT accepted in Bar Harbor and must be taken to Eastern Maine Recycling (EMR) in Southwest Harbor on Long Pond Road: the fee-based large items include carpets, furniture, mattresses, brush, wood, stumps, construction debris.  EMR will apply the disposal fees to each customer.


An annual hazardous waste collection event is offered off-site, typically in the fall (the event is publicized when scheduled).


Bar Harbor's Recycling Center WILL accept the following single sort materials.  Please EMPTY and RINSE all containers and FLATTEN and BREAK DOWN cardboard boxes:


  • Clean corrugated cardboard
  • Newspapers / inserts, catalogs, and magazines
  • Office paper, junk mail, envelopes, paper bags, books and phone books
  • Mixed paper, cereal boxes (remove liners), and similar types of cardboard, egg cartons, cleanpaper coffee cups
  • EMPTY milk and juice cartons, drink boxes
  • EMPTY Plastics (#1 and #2) - water bottles, milk jugs (it is not necessary to remove rings), detergent bottles, rigid containers with a #1 or #2
  • EMPTY - clean aluminum foil, tin and aluminum cans, aluminum containers, aerosol cans, pots and pans; NO caps.
The following items are NOT accepted as single sort and will be accepted with household trash:

  • Glass, needles / sharps, knives and other blades
  • Plastic bags (including snack bags and cereal box liners), plastic lids and liners from #1 or #2 containers, plastic wrap or film, rope, string, chain
  • Plastic plant pots
  • Paper napkins or paper towels
  • Styrofoam cups or containers
  • Bubble wrap
  • Batteries - button-cell or alkaline
  • Light bulbs of any kind (including LED), except those listed below
The following items will be accepted in bins and areas so marked:

  • Fluorescent / mercury bulbs
  • TVs, computers, monitors, electronics (after entering the Recycling gate, deposit on the right behind the propane deposits)
  • Propane tanks (empty)
  • Waste oil
  • Rechargeable batteries (see attendant to deposit)





  • Aluminum cans