OTHER PEOPLE’S TRASH

Maine, according to recent reports, has many more school administrators and government employees than the national average. It turns out the state also generates a lot more trash, which can’t be blamed on all the bureaucrats simply tossing out more paper.

Maine’s numbers are likely so high because the state takes in a lot of construction and demolition debris – the wood, piping, shingles, fixtures that come from renovation and building projects – from its southern neighbors. Although the debris is helpful to power biomass boilers that produce electricity, it is also filling up the state’s landfills. The news last week that the Pine Tree Landfill in Hampden will begin closing next year, earlier than expected, highlights the problem.

It also shows why the work of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Solid Waste Management is so important and should be completed before state agencies make decisions on trash processing and handling. Two areas the commission was tasked with reviewing will consume most of its time: out-of-state waste and construction and demolition debris.

They are closely related.

There is confusion about Maine’s ability to regulate out-of-state waste. Because of interstate commerce laws, state officials say state laws can’t be made to ban out-of-state waste. However, landfill owners can limit or bar out-of-state waste through contracts. That is what Maine has done with its new landfill in Old Town. However, waste processed in Maine becomes in-state waste and can be taken to any landfill.

According to the State Planning Office, which monitors waste issues, Maine imported 138,000 tons of municipal solid waste in 1997. By 2003, that had risen to 447,000 tons. Maine generates 8.7 pounds of waste per person per day, almost double the national average of 4.4 pounds reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The State Planning Office says Maine numbers are higher for three reasons. First, a lot of tourists come here. Most of them, however, aren’t carting a lot of garbage. Second, the office suggests it’s the nature and character of Maine’s residents’ lifestyles. However, since the average median income here is lower than the national average, Mainers probably aren’t buying more and throwing away more than the nation.

The third reason is the most likely – Maine includes construction and demolition debris in its definition of municipal solid waste when the EPA does not.

Construction and demolition debris is the reason the Hampden landfill is filling up four to five years faster than expected, says Bob Duchesne, chair of the blue ribbon commission and a Democratic state representative from Hudson. He suggests that the state write a stronger definition of what qualifies as in-state vs. out-of-state demolition debris and that it seek ways to limit the disposal of debris from out-of-state.

The first step is to require documentation of where trash originated, where it was processed and where it is headed. A second could be to assess a fee to landfill the debris and then reimbursing towns or other entities that bring in only debris that came from Maine.

Before the state makes further decisions on trash handling and processing, it should let the commission finish its work and recommend changes in state policy to lawmakers.