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John W. Casella, Chairman and CEO of Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Recent articles in Maine continue to portray ReSource Lewiston and Casella Waste Systems as two companies scheming to hurt Maines environment and its economy for their own benefit. The reality is that Maine’s economy would be affected if these two companies didn’t work together.
ReSource Lewiston recycles or repurposes nearly 200,000 tons annually of demolition and construction debris. All that material would be considered waste if it weren’t for this facility. The material that is reclaimed can be used to generate electricity, make medium-density fiberboard, create new cardboard, drywall and other miscellaneous materials.
Material that cannot be recycled is first used to cover, shape and grade the Maines Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town. This reduces the need for that facility for virgin soils. Next, larger material that cannot be recycled is used as bulking agents to allow the landfill to safely dispose of Maines sludge material from wastewater treatment facilities. Without bulking agents, the landfill wouldn’t be able accept as much sludge. This would mean that the material would need to travel longer distances to other facilities. This would have negative impacts on local municipal budgets.
ReSource Lewistons recycle material is not out-of state waste. It is the result of the reverse manufacturing process by a Maine company allowed to operate a business designed to renew resources. This is Maine waste. The definition of Maine waste, and is safely disposed of in Maines state landfill.
In the meantime, all Maine’s hazardous and medical wastes, as well as electronic waste, are being sent out of state. A few other states have also taken this initiative. municipal waste is transported to New Hampshire, and some of its recycling goes to Massachusetts.
This is a brief description of what happens every single day in New England. It shows the interdependence between many parts of a large regional waste and recycling management infrastructure. Each state relies on the infrastructure of another to make modern living possible.
Casella is proud of the hard work we’ve done and the investments that we made in building and maintaining this public infrastructure.
Some will argue that this is a bad system. They will argue that waste or recycling shouldn’t cross borders. States like New Hampshire, for instance, shouldn’t dispose waste from Massachusetts.
This argument is ironic because some of the same people are involved in it. Currently fighting to block the permitting construction of disposal and recycling infrastructure in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
We have the ability to access goods and services that were unimaginable for our grandparents as a society. Our air and water quality is better, we recycle more and waste less, and we have a modern, sophisticated waste and recycling infrastructure that makes this possible.
We are almost always better off today than we were 40 years ago or 50 years ago.
Some people like to tell others that things arent going well and that they are only getting worse. They continue to sow fear and discontent among others, trying to perpetuate the myth that something is wrong. This kind of narrative does little to address the real challenges we face in achieving our collective goals, a circular economy, and a protected environment.
In a region like New England, where recycling facilities and disposal capacity are in high demand, it makes no sense to create unnecessary borders about how we manage recycling. We can reduce the infrastructure required to provide maximum economic and environmental benefits to the communities we serve by allowing shared resources to cross state boundaries.
