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Maine is running out of places to put its garbage. We’re producing growing amounts of waste, recycling rates have stalled and landfill alternatives, especially in the Bangor region, haven’t been available in recent years.
There are big opportunities to reduce the amount of garbage produced and sent to landfills. However, Maine needs places to dispose of its trash now.
That’s why Casella, the company that runs the only state-owned landfill — Juniper Ridge in Old Town — has applied to state regulators to expand the landfill now. At current disposal rates, the company expects Juniper Ridge to be full in 2028, five years sooner than predicted.
If approved, the expansion would add about 60 acres to the landfill and extend its operating capacity by 11 years.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection must decide whether the proposed expansion provides a benefit to the public. Its consideration of the application has been extended by a month, until Sept. 23. Public comments on the proposed expansion are being accepted until Sept. 5.
If the department determines there is a public benefit, the Bureau of General Services, which is the state agency that contracted with the Casella subsidiary, New England Waste Services of Maine LLC, to operate the landfill, can then apply for a permit for the expansion.
We believe there is a public benefit to the proposed expansion. However, that benefit mostly derives from the fact that there are not viable alternatives for the disposal of the growing amounts of waste generated in Maine. According to a January DEP annual report on waste, the amount of waste sent to Maine’s landfills increased by nearly 50 percent between 2018 and 2022.
Finding a public benefit does not negate the need to continue to pursue other strategies such as increased recycling and reuse, reducing the acceptance of waste from other states, and the identification, permitting and construction of additional waste disposal sites.
Towns are sending additional waste to Juniper Ridge in part because both a waste-to-energy plant in Orrington and a waste processing facility in Hampden are idle. Both are expected to be fully operational next year. The 2020 closure of the Hampden plant also means that many communities are sending recyclable materials to Juniper Ridge, which adds costs to the municipalities and adds to the space crunch at the landfill.
In addition, the state must redouble efforts to identify ways to better clean and dispose of sludge, some of which is contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. Landfilling this waste, which had for many years been identified and used as a type of fertilizer, may not be a sustainable, long-term solution.
The Penobscot Nation has repeatedly raised concerns about water contamination from runoff at the landfill. Those concerns were heightened when PFAS-contaminated sludge was added to the landfill. In addition, landfill operators have said that disposing of sludge there means they must import more out-of-state waste to stabilize the landfill. Accepting this waste also speeds the filling of the disposal facility.
Simply put, Maine needs more space for its waste. An expansion of Juniper Ridge, however, cannot be a reason to slow the development and reopening of alternative waste handling facilities. Nor can it slow efforts to boost recycling and to remove PFAS from the waste stream and landfills where it poses a risk to the state’s waterways.
