Medical waste facility to pick location

PITTSFIELD – The siting of a medical waste facility in central Maine came one step closer to fruition Tuesday as the Maine Hospital Association confirmed land negotiations are under way.

Jack May, Sebasticook Valley Hospital administrator and the lead player in locating the facility, confirmed Tuesday morning that an offer had been made for a property, but he would not say whether it was in Pittsfield or Newport.

“As you can imagine, the negotiations are sensitive,” May said.

The administrator confirmed that Steven Michaud, MHA president, has signed an agreement for the organization’s wholly owned entity, Associated Health Resources, to work with People’s Heritage Bank on the project financing. AHR also has signed an agreement with Hydroclave Corp., which will supply the equipment and subcontract the management of the facility to the SteriLogic Corp. of Syracuse, N.Y.

“We are currently in the formal site location negotiating phase,” SteriLogic President Chris Kerr said Wednesday afternoon. “This project creates a landmark relationship.

“For the first time, SteriLogic, Maine’s hospitals, and central Maine communities are sitting on the same side of the fence, partnering to bring an innovative model to the state of Maine,” he said. “This concept can serve as a template for other areas of the country.”

The multimillion-dollar facility, estimated between $4 million and $6 million, would handle medical waste from the 39 members of the Maine Hospital Association, collectively saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars in disposal costs. The facility would be the first of its type in the United States and would serve hospitals from Portland to Fort Kent.

May said Tuesday that some Maine hospitals will save more than $20,000 annually by using the new facility, while others the size of SVH would save about $6,000. “Overall, there will be at least a $300,000 annual savings for the 39 MHA members,” May said.

“For the past five or six years, disposal prices went up 10 to 20 percent each year,” Kerr said.

MHA members decided to combine their resources and build their own plant, saving money by not paying for expensive out-of-state disposal.

The two locations confirmed as possible sites are in the industrial parks of Pittsfield and Newport. Both communities have lobbied heavily to lure the business to their town. Pittsfield councilors even changed their local ordinances to include medical waste facilities.

At a recent public hearing in Pittsfield, Kerr noted, “This will be the first full-blown facility of its type in the U.S.” Such facilities already exist in China, Egypt, India and the United Kingdom.

The waste to be treated includes blankets, linens, sharps and needles. Nothing will be incinerated, which is prohibited by state law.

“We will look more like UPS than a regular refuse company,” Kerr said. “The [treated] waste that comes out of our plant is a lot less volatile than what comes out of your kitchen.”

The facility would be regulated by nine different agencies, according to Kerr. One to two trucks a day would serve the business, which uses steam to superheat a stainless steel hydroclave to 270 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once treated, the waste is shredded into a confettilike consistency and then trucked to a nearby landfill. Pathological waste would not be treated at the facility, Kerr said, but instead would be frozen and sent to an out-of-state incinerator.