Gov. Janet Mills signs law to close loophole that allows out-of-state debris

SUN JOURNAL • April 19, 2022

A measure aimed at reducing out-of-state construction demolition debris pouring into Maine, most of it flowing into a Lewiston recycling firm, cleared the Legislature this month and was signed into law Monday by Gov. Janet Mills. The new law, which takes effect in February, will have a major impact on ReSource Waste Services in Lewiston, a firm that takes in solid waste from Massachusetts demolition work and recycles much of it. Basically, over the next four years, it strips the company from transforming imported waste into “waste generated in Maine” by funneling it through the Lewiston facility, a loophole in the current law that had allowed the company to flourish but also added considerably to the volume of material sent to a landfill in Old Town.