MAINE PUBLIC • May 17, 2021
A bill before the Maine Legislature would close a loophole that allows out-of-state trash to end up at a state-owned landfill in Old Town. The bill's sponsor, Democratic Sen. Anne Carney of Cape Elizabeth, told fellow lawmakers Monday that the loophole results in thousands of tons of trash ending up at the Juniper Ridge landfill norther of Old Town each year, putting nearby communities such the Penobscot Nation at risk of pollution. Paula Clark, director of the state's division of materials management, says that Maine waste processors took in 259,000 tons of construction and demolition debris last year, and that the vast majority of it was from out-of-state and eventually landfilled. Business interests, waste handlers and some communities have come out against the bill.