Lawmakers endorse bill that would end loophole allowing out-of-state waste into Maine's state landfill

MAINE PUBLIC • February 7, 2022

Maine lawmakers are one step closer to closing a loophole that allows construction and demolition waste from other states to end up at the state-owned landfill in Old Town. The Environment and Natural Resources Committee voted 11-1 on Monday to recommend a proposal that would end those exemptions. It'll now be considered by the full Legislature. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Anne Carney, a Democrat of Cape Elizabeth, said that the legislation is meant to restrict a business called ReSource Lewiston that has imported hundreds of thousands of tons of construction debris from other states to Maine over the last decade. It generally removes a small amount of that waste to sell as recycling and sends the rest along to the Juniper Ridge Landfill.