Landfills compete for demolition debris

    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — One man’s trash is another man’s treasure — or so it appeared during City Council’s February meeting. City officials are hoping a change in policy with regard to the disposal of certain construction materials and a reduction of the tipping fee to $80 will ultimately lead to increased revenue for the Presque Isle Landfill. The PIL has reportedly been losing business to the Tri-Community Landfill in Fort Fairfield, since a change in policy there allowed the mixing of debris, making disposal of construction materials easier and less costly.
Councilors discussed the issue during their monthly meeting on Feb. 2.
“I have two recommendations: one is a policy issue about demolition material and the sorting of wood, the other is reducing the tipping fee for anyone coming to the landfill from $112.50 to $80,” said City Manager Jim Bennett.
In a memo to councilors Bennett explained, “We have recently been made aware of a policy change at Tri-Community Landfill that is having an impact on the amount of waste being received at the Presque Isle Landfill. TCL used to require that all ‘clean wood’ be removed from construction/demolition debris (CDD) before it was landfilled. Both TCL and the PIL have had the same policy for approximately 15 years. TCL has recently changed their policy and is allowing clean wood to be mixed with their CDL when it is landfilled.”
Bennett noted TCL “has also been accepting waste from towns that utilize the PIL. Some of this waste is municipal solid waste, aka garbage, and some is CDD.”
TCL has offered tipping fees of $112 per ton for non-contracted waste and $87.50 per ton for contracted waste. The lowest tipping fee for the PIL is $112.50 per ton for MSW and CDD. The result of TCL lifting the ban on landfilling unsorted debris, plus offering lower tip fees than the PIL, has resulted in some of the material that used to be landfilled at the PIL is now being disposed of at TCL, said Bennett.
Dana Fowler, director of the Solid Waste Department, said if the tipping fee was reduced, the city could “have a loss in revenue.”
Council Chair Emily Smith countered, noting the city “could have increased drop-offs.”
“Which means we’ll fill up the landfill faster,” said Councilor Vice Chair Mike Chasse.
Councilor Craig Green quipped, “Can we call TLC to see if we can start a new show called ‘Garbage Wars,’ because that’s what we’re starting.” Councilor Pete Hallowell added this was a “race to the bottom.”
When Emily Smith asked if anyone had any reservations, Green said “no.”
“I understand why we’re doing — in the back of my head — if we’re getting beat out on this, and people don’t want to come to our landfill, this should be the handwriting on the wall that our program isn’t working and something needs to be done,” said Green.
Councilor Randy Smith said the city has “some sort of duty to remain competitive with the landfill.”
“This may or may not do that, by maybe we should give this a try,” he said.
Bennett said how landfills operate is an ever-changing process.
“Our landfill generated a plus last year and this year. In a decade, how landfills operate has changed. You need to accommodate for changes that have occurred,” said the city manager.
“They’ve changed their mode of operation, rules have changed, and the game and players have changed,” said Green.
Bennett said the question is whether or not people who’ve made decisions continue to change things.
“The expenses for both landfills are still there. The more you lower the price for stuff going into the landfill, the more it increases the cost to taxpayers. In 2009-10, we increased the cost of waste going into the PIL, part of that was nonprofits. Now we have less waste due to recycling. It has an impact on Presque Isle and the other six communities using the landfill,” said Bennett.
Bennett said if the city has to change policies because other things change, it will do that.
“If this doesn’t increase waste, we’ll have to continue to address the issue,” Bennett said.
Councilors expressed concern over shortening the life of the landfill.
“Bringing in more tonnage means losing some of that life,” said Emily Smith.
Fowler said the landfill was “losing life every day.”
Green noted the proposed change would mean “losing at a faster rate.”
Fowler said while some material has been lost to TCL, getting some back “would reduce the life of the landfill.”
Councilors concluded discussion, voting to approve a revision to the policy of the Presque Isle Landfill, effective immediately, to allow the inclusion of clean wood with CDD and to accept CDD from any source, regardless of its municipality of origin, and to reduce the tipping fee for CDD to $80 per ton, until further notice.
Council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 2, at City Hall at 6 p.m. The public is welcome and encouraged to participate. For more information, call 760-2785.