More than 20 bales of mixed plastic stored at the Midcoast Waste Transfer Station in Rockport may be trucked to an incinerator unless a market is found for the material.
The mixed plastics in the bales at MCSW is made up of colored and clear plastic found in food containers and packaging, stamped with the numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
Number 2 plastic, commonly used for milk and laundry detergent containers, is still sold for a profit. It is separated into natural and colored, which command different prices on the market.
At a Sept. 27 meeting, the MCSW board of directors gave the go ahead for disposal by incineration of the accumulated bales of mixed plastic. Interim Manager Beth Kwiatkowski said Sept. 28 she is researching options for trucking and disposal, while continuing to look for someone to recycle the material.
Kwiatkowksi, who is interim manager while Jim Guerra is on medical leave, said MCSW will have to pay for the materials to be removed from the transfer station, whether the bales are trucked out for disposal or for recycling, because buyers are no longer paying for mixed plastics. She is looking for the most cost-efficient choice. Trucking out recyclables, even when buyers are not paying, generally costs less than trucking out trash.
While prices for recyclables fluctuate, and are influenced by a global market, MCSW transfer station usually earns money for most of its recyclables. Natural (uncolored) number two plastic earns about $600 per ton, colored number two plastic earns $300 per ton, and cans, cardboard and paper continue to earn revenue, according to Kwiatkowski.
For decades, recyclables have been collected at transfer stations and sold to buyers who use the material to make new products. Selling recyclables earns money for transfer stations, while sending trash to be hauled away for incineration, or in the past to landfill, costs
For residents, recycling lowers the cost of trash disposal. There are also environmental benefits. Recycling plastic, which is made from petroleum, means that less petroleum is consumed. Solid waste that is not recycled is incinerated both at the Penobscot Energy Recovery Corporation, in Orrington, where MCSW now sends its trash, and Ecomaine, in South Portland, where trash will be sent beginning in 2018.
Lissa Bittermann of Ecomaine told the MSCW board of directors Sept. 27 that the bottom has fallen out of the market for mixed plastics. She said she had talked to managers of area transfer stations.
“Everybody’s getting stuck with these mixed bales,” she said.
On Sept. 27, Bitterman offered assistance to MCSW for its backlog of mixed plastic bales. She said she would see if Ecomaine could take the bales for incineration, which she called the worst-case scenario. Dragon Cement was identified by Kwiatkowski as a possible resource for burning the plastic.
Bitterman said if, as a last resort, the bales are incinerated, a location closer to the area is preferable.
“If you need a home for the bales, we will make it work,” she said.
Bitterman reminded the board that Ecomaine recommends single-stream recycling. With single-stream, all types of recyclables are placed in a single bag, and then separated both mechanically and by hand at waste processing facilities, such as Ecomaine.
Bitterman referred to MCSW plans to redesign the Rockport transfer station to increase efficiency. She cautioned against redesigning the facility to accommodate source separation, which she called “an antiquated system” saying that this is “not the direction the industry is going in.”
Joan Welsh, of Rockport, was one of a small group of people who attended the MSCW meeting. She expressed her concern to the board that if recycling of the mixed plastics is stopped, it would be difficult to get people to recycle it in the future if market conditions change.
MCSW, Rockland and many other towns in Knox County will contract with Ecomaine for the disposal of solid waste beginning in April 2018. While Rockland has contracted with Ecomaine for recycling services, MCSW has not done so at this time.
In a Sept. 28 interview, Rockland Public Services Director David St. Laurent explained that the Rockland transfer station on Limerock Street is making changes, so that in 2018 residents will be able to drive through and drop bags of trash in a hopper, then drive up a bit further, and drop recyclables in another container. “It’s exciting,” he said. “It’s an opportunity.”
To read the full story visit https://knox.villagesoup.com/p/burning-plastic-recyclables-is-last-resort/1691610.