Progress Report: Holding the Line at Juniper Ridge

CONSERVATION LAW FOUNDATION • June 12, 2026

For years, Casella Waste Systems’ Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town and Alton, Maine, has contaminated nearby communities, including the Penobscot Nation, whose families have stewarded these lands and waters for generations. Residents report severe air pollution, foul odors, and accidental fires that rain ash into yards, causing burning eyes and sore throats – not to mention landfill runoff tainting the Penobscot River with toxic “forever chemicals.” Casella’s push to expand the landfill even further – to add space to handle the equivalent of 8.6 Empire State Buildings worth of trash – threatens to worsen current environmental hazards. The company insists neighbors will benefit. They won’t.