Down in the dumps

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    In a move that surprised more than a few people, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection has rejected a proposal to build a massive landfill in the town of Argyle.

    Technically speaking, the DEP said there would be no public benefit gained by the new site, so don’t bother spending a gazillion bucks on engineers and lawyers.
    Apparently, backers of the dump thought that Argyle was far enough off the beaten path that no one would object to the scheme.
    Some residents, however, told the Municipal Review Committee, DEP, EPA and a number of town governments that all hell would break loose if a spade of dirt was turned in their community for a dump site.
    So how did we get to this point? It’s been a problem in the making for about 10 years.
    The 178 towns that make up the Municipal Review Committee fed the Penobscot Energy Recovery Center enough waste in the early days to allow the company to make a profit.
    But then a funny thing happened. Towns started recycling. Many boasted of 60 or 70 percent participation rate.
    It was touted as a win-win situation since the recycled waste could be sold and the amount of trash taken to landfills decreased.
    Unfortunately, there was one loser in the win-win equation: PERC. With less local waste coming in, the plant couldn’t run efficiently enough to make a profit.
    So they started bringing in out-of-state trash. As expected, people complained to lawmakers. “Where is this stuff coming from and what’s in it?” was a common concern.
    Unfortunately, there was little the Maine Legislature could do about it.
    The federal Commerce Law specifically prohibits states from banning most items from crossing their borders. Major exceptions are booze and cigarettes. But several court decisions have deemed trash as commerce.
    PERC is scheduled to be phased out by 2018. Thus, MRC felt it needed a place to store trash that it couldn’t recycle. Argyle was high on their list.
    But the DEP says that there is adequate room at existing sites, like Juniper Ridge, to handle the overflow after 2018. And if towns continue to recycle, there will be less trash to pick up in the first place.
    I can’t fault MRC for trying to cover its bases. But you do have to wonder why their assessment of the waste crisis four years down the road is quite different than the DEP’s.
    Waste disposal has been a hot topic in Maine since the first secure landfill was built and the last burning dump shut down. In some communities, tipping fees are higher than the cost of running their fire department.
    No one wants to live near a dump, but we’re living in a throw-away society where nearly everything bought in a grocery or convenience store is wrapped in plastic.
    Burying waste in a secure landfill is a good temporary solution until you run out of space.
    Juniper Ridge will fill up someday. So will Pine Tree Landfill in Hampden.
    Maybe by then, we’ll find a way to either generate less waste or dispose of it safely.
    But for now, don’t try to take it to Argyle.
Mike Lange is a staff writer with the Piscataquis Observer. His opinions are his own and don’t necessarily reflect those of this newspaper.