ROCKLAND, Maine — The city council voted unanimously Monday night to support the city manager’s recommendation to contract with a southern Maine company for long-term disposal of solid waste.
City Manager James Chaousis was given authorization to negotiate a contract with ecomaine of Portland for both recycling and waste disposal.
Rockland will continue to send its trash to Penobscot Energy Recovery Co’s incinerator until the current contract expires in 2018.
Councilors agreed with Chaousis that the proposal by the Municipal Review Committee to turn to the proposed Fiberight plant in Hampden had too many uncertainties.
Councilor Valli Geiger said the Fiberight proposal would have required the city provide a certain amount of tonnage over a longer term. This would go against the city’s goal to increase recycling and reduce the amount of waste produced, she said.
The council also voted to support the creation of an administrative working group consisting of city staff, experts and stakeholders to work on designing a single-stream recycling program to optimize recycling efforts; design an integration plan that considers landfill closure and transfer station; analyze composting options, including private-public partnerships, municipal programs, and regional considerations; and analyze the feasibility of curbside service.
Last month, the boards of the Mid-Coast Solid Waste Corporation, which serves Camden, Rockport, Lincolnville and Hope, and the three-town cooperative that serves Thomaston, South Thomaston and Owls Head voted separately to recommend that their communities enter into a contract with ecomaine of Portland. Those towns also currently send their waste to the PERC incinerator in Orrington.