PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • October 26, 2023
In 2022, the state passed L.D. 1639, which closed a longstanding loophole in state trash law that allowed out of state trash to be combined with Maine trash at waste processing facilities and then disposed of in Maine landfills. This loophole allowed Massachusetts to dump toxic materials in the Juniper Ridge landfill in Old Town. Much of this responsibility falls on ReSource Lewiston, which dumped hundreds of thousands of tons of trash over the past decade. While this loophole is closed and out of state trash is no longer being landfilled, there was still a significant amount of time that most of the trash being dumped was from out of state. In the event of any negative environmental effects from this trash, ReSource Lewiston and any other company from Maine or other states should be responsible for the cleanup. It has become evident that this landfill is a ticking time bomb packed with dynamite from out of state. ~ Jackson Giumarro, Freeport