Panel hears Old Town landfill overview

ORRINGTON – An overview of waste reduction and recycling initiatives relating to the West Old Town Landfill deal was presented on Wednesday to the Municipal Review Committee Inc. at its board of directors meeting.

Sam Zaitlin, a consultant for Casella Waste Systems Inc., painted a “broad outline” of reduction and recycling enterprises that are being considered at the site.

The MRC represents more than 160 Maine communities that deliver trash to the PERC combustion facility in Orrington.

Ash from the PERC plant that currently goes to the Pine Tree Landfill in Hampden is scheduled to be transported to the West Old Town facility instead once it is operational.

The three-way landfill deal among the state, Georgia-Pacific Corp. and Casella was designed to help keep the Old Town paper mill open while addressing the state’s waste disposal problem.

The state bought the site from G-P for $26 million and chose Casella, which runs the Pine Tree Landfill, to operate it.

Another Casella-operated landfill in Ontario County, N.Y., is being used as a model for the Old Town site because of their similarities in size and function.

As one of the state’s requirements for the operator, Casella must consider recycling and waste reduction as part of its operation plans.

Zaitlin outlined five general areas at which Casella is looking to reduce and recycle waste streams:

. An active gas management system, already scheduled to be constructed, would utilize the methane and hydrogen sulfide that is collected from the landfill via a pipe system. The gas then would be pumped to a central location and burned off where it would be converted to electricity.

The power generated is a green source of power, meaning it is renewable and is being heavily promoted by the state.

. Heat generated from the landfill would be pumped into a greenhouse and likely used to grow hothouse tomatoes. A similar system is being used in New York, where the landfill has a contract with a local supermarket chain.

“It makes economic sense,” Zaitlin said. Residents get fresh produce that doesn’t have to be shipped a long distance, and additional jobs are created, he said.

. A single or dual stream recycling system would make glass recycling much more efficient, according to Zaitlin. Instead of having to separate three grades of glass, all three can be recycled together and turned into brown bottles.

. The operators also are looking into European technology that deals with electronic waste disposal. A final decision on how to deal with e-waste has not been made, but Zaitlin said it is an initiative into which Casella is looking.

. Casella owns New England Organics in Unity and will be exploring options for dealing with organic waste that doesn’t need to be placed in a landfill.

“It clearly makes sense for us to look at organic material,” Zaitlin said.

MRC board members said they were pleased with the report and plan to continue to work with Casella and the State Planning Office in outlining recycling and waste reduction initiatives at the West Old Town Landfill facility.

“There’s a lot to be defined and filled in,” Zaitlin said. Casella has postponed some work at the landfill site while the Board of Environmental Protection hears appeals. That hearing is expected to take place sometime in the next two to three months.