Mountains of toxified construction and demolition debris from outside Maine’s borders are being disposed at Juniper Ridge Landfill – hundreds of thousands of tons every year. Currently, any waste coming from another state to a processing facility in Maine can be defined as Maine waste. L.D. 1639, strongly supported by citizens, tightens that industry get-out clause.

The state owns Juniper Ridge Landfill and is supposed to preserve disposal space for Maine waste. Pushback is coming from Casella Waste Systems, Inc., which operates Juniper Ridge Landfill and dominates processing and disposal of construction and demolition debris waste in our state.

In 2004, Casella fronted $26 million so the state could purchase Georgia-Pacific’s West Old Town landfill to keep the mill running and provide long-term disposal capacity for Maine. Casella could bring in construction and demolition debris to fuel Georgia-Pacific’s boiler. The mill soon closed, but Casella had finagled increased tonnage limits on construction and demolition debris brought into the state.

With little public input, the state allows Casella ever-increasing construction and demolition debris tonnage disposal at Juniper Ridge. Weak regulation has made Maine the target for processing and disposing construction and demolition debris. Construction and demolition debris-laden trucks from across the region roll over Maine citizens’ rights to clean air, water and lands.

L.D. 1639 would require that any waste imported and disposed in Maine can be no more than the waste actually generated within Maine’s borders. Tell your legislators to pass L.D. 1639 and protect The Way Life Should Be for all Maine citizens.

Jacquelyn Elliott
Waterboro