BIDDEFORD — Maine Energy Recovery Co. will close its incinerator in Biddeford by the end of the year and shift waste processing to a new facility in Westbrook as it waits for permission to send trash to an Old Town landfill.

Casella Waste Systems, the Vermont-based parent company of MERC, this week gave 60-day notice to its 75 employees at the Biddeford facility and said it will cease operations there by Dec. 31. The process to dismantle the waste-to-energy incinerator will begin soon after.

Joe Fusco, vice president of Casella, said he expects the sale of the MERC facility to the city of Biddeford to be complete around Nov. 15. The Biddeford City Council voted in July to buy the facility and land for $6.65 million. It has long been a source of complaints about odor and noise, and its removal will help stimulate economic development, according to city officials.

With the closure of MERC, Casella’s long-term plan is to bury trash processed in Westbrook at Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. To do so, the company needs to secure licensing that will allow Juniper Ridge to accept waste now processed in Biddeford. While that issue is pending with the Department of Environmental Protection, trash that previously went to Biddeford will be processed in Westbrook before being sent to other Casella facilities, Fusco said.

Fusco said the Westbrook transfer station currently is under construction and will be complete by the end of December. MERC employees who lost their jobs will be given first consideration for positions in Westbrook, he said.

Casella is confident it will receive the license amendment necessary to send to Juniper Ridge waste that originates in Maine, Fusco said.

The state’s Bureau of General Services, which owns Juniper Ridge, and Casella, which operates the landfill, submitted an application in September to amend the solid waste permit. The acceptance of the application as complete on Oct. 3 triggered a 20-day period in which people could request a public hearing. Six parties requested a public hearing, including the city of Auburn, said Samantha DePoy-Warren, spokeswoman for the DEP.

The public hearing will be held early next year in the Augusta area because it is centrally located between Old Town and Biddeford, DePoy-Warren said. Before the public hearing is set, the department will decide who qualifies for intervener status, which allows interested parties to become a formal part of the process, she said.

The department also is accepting public comment and, as of this week, had received more than 100 letters. The letters come from city officials, organizations, companies and individuals from Biddeford to Old Town.