But instead of paying the fee, some people apparently just dumped their tires by the roadside, according to Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) Supervisor Tracy Lord.

On Dec. 6, a few days after the notice was posted in the paper, the DOT crew picked up 22 tires along with other debris on Route 15 between Greenville and Monson.

That was bad enough, said Lord, but the "insult to injury" came when the DOT crew tried to take the tires to the Greenville landfill. "The attendant told us that we'd have to pay the disposal fee, too," said Lord. "We've always had a good relationship with the town. This is ridiculous."

Greenville Town Manager John Simko said that the landfill attendant was later told to count the number of tires taken off the truck so that the state could be billed for the costs. "The truck driver or his supervisor shouldn't have to take it out of their pocket," said Simko.

But the town manager defended the decision to charge the disposal fee to the DOT. "The origin of the tires isn't the issue. The fact is that we spent $10,350 last year getting rid of tires and metal. It doesn't matter if they came from the DOT or the local Brownie Troop," said Simko.

Lord says that town officials should have consulted with other agencies before they imposed the fee. "This is unheard of. We can dump tires at the Rockwood landfill once we separate them from the load, but it doesn't cost us anything," said Lord.

Lord said that along with tires and trash, the crew also found old auto batteries and petroleum products on the road, which are also causing headaches at the Greenville landfill. "If we keep tying up my crew picking up people's junk, that means other work isn't getting done," said Lord.

Simko said that in his view, there is always "an initial resistance" when new rules go into effect on trash disposal. "We've had a good relationship with the DOT for years, and I don't see that changing. I think Tracy and I can work this out," said the town manager.