BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 13, 2024
We are as wasteful as ever. Mainers create about 1,375 pounds of waste on a per capita basis each year. Juniper Ridge is the only state-owned landfill operating. The DEP projects that waste generated in Maine will reach 2 million tons by 2034, long after Juniper Ridge is expected to close. And with only two of the state’s three trash-to-energy plants currently operating, we’re not even hitting our waste reduction goals. Four years is not much time to come up with an alternative; and expanding its current capacity is really the only option we have. The DEP is expected to issue its decision Aug. 23 regarding the public benefit of the proposed expansion. It should find that it is beneficial and Maine should grant the expansion. It buys us time. ~ Sen. Peter Lyford