BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2021
The city of Old Town wants to shutter its remaining unlined landfill, but how it plans to close it would be a first for the state, if approved. Typically, towns elect to cover a landfill and seal the contents in the ground, but Old Town officials want to completely unearth a pile of garbage and haul it 4.8 miles down the road to Juniper Ridge Landfill. The move would mark a departure from the way Maine towns and cities have handled the closing of landfills since the state started encouraging it more than 30 years ago. City Manager Bill Mayo said landfills like the one Old Town wants to get rid of are a potential liability as they are generally unlined — meaning as the materials inside the pit decompose they could produce dangerous chemicals or toxic materials that could go straight into the ground, contaminating soil.