Brunswick officials are urging residents to dispose of “bulky waste” items, particularly non-recyclable furniture, before the Graham Road Landfill closure on April 1.
“It’s coming right up on us,” said Town Manager John Eldridge at the council meeting on Monday.
In a phone interview, Councilor Kathy Wilson said the town is still working to figure out how to manage the disposal of some “bulky waste” items after the landfill closes, such as old couches, mattresses and chairs.
March 31 will be the last day the landfill will accept certain non-recyclable, items under that classification.
“We’re in the process of closing our solid waste landfill which means we’ll no longer be able to accept solid waste or recycling materials there,” said Town Engineer Ryan Barnes. “But there are still other things we can accept there, such as wood waste, leaves and grass, scrap metal, white goods, tires, (and) electronic waste.”
According to a memo from Eldridge to the council, the council will vote on whether to authorize funds to improve the existing processing facility at Graham Road Landfill on Feb. 16.
The processing facility improvements would cost roughly $250,000 and be funded from Solid Waste Impact fees.
According to Barnes, the proposed improvements “would make the facility more user friendly” for residents to use, specifically by paving an access driveway.
If approved, the town hopes to “have some portion of the facility (improvements) constructed and open at the point the Landfill closes,” Eldridge said in the memo.
Barnes said the town has not yet selected a contractor for the paving work but “a lot of the work will likely be done in-house” with town crews.
The town awarded the landfill closure project to Alton-based Sargent Corporation as well as Portland’s Woodard and Curran. The total cost of the project will be roughly $6.85 million.
$5.9 million of that will go to the Sargent Corporation which will bring in materials to cover and then secure the landfill.
The town negotiated Woodard and Curran down from $1.3 million to $950,000, and they will be responsible for “daily inspection work” as well as “some technical work with quality assurance for the installation of the geomembrane,” Eldridge said.
An estimated $4.2 million will be sourced from the pay-as-you throw reserves, and an additional $2.4 million will be from the landfill reserves. The difference will be sourced from the general fund.
Additionally, the town qualifies under the Maine Landfill Closure and Remediation Program, which could reimburse the town for up to 75% of the cost, although the exact amount and timing of these funds are unclear.
“Although the landfill will be closing in terms of municipal solid waste disposal, nothing’s going to change with the curbside collection,” Eldridge said in the council meeting. “That’s going to continue in the same manner that it is now.”
The town signed a one-year contract with Casella Waste Systems, which will continue to pick up trash in Brunswick, but instead of bringing it to Graham Road, they bring trash to Pine Tree Waste transfer station in West Bath, The Times Record reported in November.
The closure has been a long-time coming, as the DEP recommended the town to close the landfill as far back as 2014. Due to water discharge violations the DEP also made the town to pay $10,000 in fines last year.
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