Victory in Gorham, ME: A solution for trash found without re-opening landfill

Posted by Tracie Konopinski on

As the Maine Community Organizer, I have been working with a newly formed group of residents in Gorham to oppose a plan to re-open a landfill that has been closed for over 15 years. Last night, the Gorham City Council voted unanimously to use existing facilities to manage this waste. At Toxics Action Center, we applaud this decision and continue to work to increase recycling and reuse in Maine while minimizing the amount of trash we have to throw away. 

See the American Journal's coverage of the issue:

Rubble rouser: Gorham debris would be hauled north in plan offered by Grondin

By Robert Lowell

GORHAM – Thousands of tons of debris piled at a padlocked recycling site in Gorham could be trucked to an Old Town landfill if a proposal by R.J. Grondin & Sons is approved.

Under a proposal still in court mediation, the Gorham construction company would remove the debris and acquire the Plan-It Recycling property. Grondin is one of the mortgage holders on the property.

At issue is an estimated 27,000 cubic yards of debris left piled at the closed Plan-It Recycling plant in the Gorham Industrial Park, near the Westbrook city line.

If approved, the plan would negate an earlier, controversial proposal to bury the rubble in a long-sealed town landfill off Huston Road.

Neighbors of the Gorham landfill closed 15 years are rejoicing.

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Read the entire article here.