BUCKFIELD — Town Manager Glen Holmes told selectmen Tuesday that the Swap Shop at the Buckfield-Sumner Transfer Station on Route 140 has received a $2,000 grant from Maine Community Foundation. The money will pay for enclosing the shop for the winter.

The board approved taking $3,000 from the Transfer Station recycling account, if Sumner approves, to pay the balance of the construction cost. Holmes will attend the next Sumner selectmen meeting to present the proposal.

Monetary donations at the Swap Shop and pledges of support will be used to repay the recycling account. Currently, people drop money in a jar at the shop as a token of appreciation for merchandise they take home.

The shop accepts books, clothing, dishes, appliances, furniture, toys, and whatever people are not using anymore that is still usable. Nearly 1,000 pounds of items are recycled at the shop each week.

In other news, Joe Kazar, executive director of Mid-Maine Waste Action Corp. reported the plant in Auburn is fully automated and operated 24/7, converting trash to sterile ash, which is sent to the landfill. The plant produces 22 million kilowatts of electricity per year, he said.

The board approved Holmes looking into a new computer system for the Town Office.

Editor’s note: Mary Standard is director of the Swap Shop.