I am writing in regard to the article in the March 24 issue of The Times Record reporting on the closing of the Brunswick landfill and the costs of the annual waste disposal plan (“After landfill closes, Brunswick eyes $1.29 million annual waste disposal plan”). The article explains the cost of waste disposal with a contract with Casella Waste Systems and then the additional cost if the town also partners with Ecomaine, a nonprofit waste management company, which uses a process of converting waste to energy.

Ecomaine also has a strong recycling program. Although adding ecomaine to the contract, increases the cost for waste disposal, it is a step well worth the cost as there would be positive advantages to our environment. As the article stated, the town “could effectively lower its municipal net greenhouse gas emissions by around 80%, and noted that landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the US.”  Ecomaine has a state-of-the-art waste-to-energy facility that combusts solid waste to produce electricity for use in Maine.

I believe that the town of Brunswick needs to show that our community is environmentally responsible and needs to take the steps to help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore I urge the Town Council when they meet April 5 to vote to partner with ecomaine.

Nancy D. Bliss,
Brunswick