AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) The Maine Legislative gave final approval Tuesday to bill aimed at closing a loophole that allowed out-of-state garbage to be dumped in a state-owned landfill.
The proposal goes to the governor’s desk after the House voted 102-25 in favor of the bill. It passed unanimously in the Senate last week.
The bill would close a loophole that allowed trash from Massachusetts and New Hampshire to be processed in Maine, reclassified in Maine waste and then dumped in the Juniper Ridge landfill, near Old Town.
The Juniper Ridge landfill was bought by the state in 2004 and has a sign that says, “Juniper Ridge Landfill only accepts waste generated in Maine.”
But about a third of the waste dumped there comes from out of state because of the loophole, according to the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Juniper Ridge is operated under contract by Casella Waste Systems.
