Dive Brief:

• An organization representing over 180 towns in Maine is considering the construction of their own landfill and recycling center in order to reduce costs. The facility will be built in Greenbush or Argyle.
• With the current waste contract between the Municipal Review Committee Inc. and Penobscot Energy Recovery Company (PERC) coming to an end in 2018, leaders are beginning to explore opening a replacement facility, and are talking the first steps necessary to get the project underway.
• There is no estimate at this time as to what the expected cost for the facility and landfill will be. 

Dive Insight:

The facility is expected to be 80,000 square feet and may include a zero-sort recycling plant, and an organic digester that converts food and organic materials into ethanol.

In 2012, PERC hauled 311,630 tons of municipal solid waste, and produced almost 166,261 megawatts of electricity.