GORHAM – The owner of Plan-It Recycling & Transfer Inc. is looking for a company to buy its facility and remove the massive piles of waste that have accumulated at its site.
The Department of Environmental Protection hopes to reduce the amount a buyer would have to pay for the cleanup by using the waste to help close a landfill in the Augusta area, said Eric Hamlin, an environmental specialist in the DEP’s Solid Waste Management Division.
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The department last week took samples of the waste and will analyze its chemical composition to determine whether it’s safe to put in the landfill, Hamlin said.
He estimated it would cost $700,000 for the buyer to dispose of the waste in a commercial landfill. It would cost less than half that if the state removes it, he said.
Hamlin said waste management companies, which he declined to name, have expressed interest in taking over the facility and that a lower cleanup cost could make it more attractive to those prospective buyers.
Plan-It Recycling, which opened in 2004, stopped operating in January when a Cumberland County Superior Court judge ordered owner Roland Smalley not to accept any more material at the site. The temporary injunction followed an earlier order prohibiting the company from taking in more trash than it was hauling out, but it didn’t comply with the terms, said Bill Dale, attorney for the town of Gorham.
The town and the state last year filed lawsuits against Plan-It for violating local and state waste storage laws by letting piles of trash accumulate on its 5-acre site at the corner of Route 25 and Gorham Industrial Parkway.
Dale is meeting with the Town Council in executive session Tuesday to give an update on the lawsuit and discuss settlement options.
Hamlin said the state may seek a permanent injunction, but that wouldn’t be necessary if the facility is sold.
Last month, Rockland also filed a lawsuit against Plan-It, which owes that city about $163,000 in fees for disposing construction and demolition debris at a landfill there, said Kevin Beal, Rockland’s attorney.
Beal said Plan-It had been behind on its payments for years, but had reached an agreement with the city under which the company could continue to use the landfill while paying off its debt.
He said the company stopped making monthly payments in December.
Hamlin said about 11,000 cubic yards of construction and demolition debris remain at the Gorham site. He didn’t know how much other waste was there.
Plan-It also accepted waste from homes, including appliances, leaves and recyclables and universal waste such as fluorescent light bulbs, batteries and computer equipment.
Smalley hasn’t been able to clean up the site for financial reasons, said his attorney, David Perkins, of the Portland-based firm Perkins Olson.
“The endgame here is to find an operator for the facility that has enough resources for that site to bring it into compliance, and we’re optimistic that will happen,” Perkins said.
Meanwhile, the department is waiting on the results of the waste analysis.
Hamlin said the DEP’s primary concern is the amount of gypsum included in the waste. Gypsum — found in wallboard — contains sulfate, which can create a gas that is toxic and smells bad, he said.
Hamlin said he expects the lab results at the end of next week.
“I think everybody’s kind of holding their breath waiting for that,” he said.
Staff Writer Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at: 791-6364 or at lbridgers@mainetoday.com
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