Hampden, Maine, MRF starts test runs

Video courtesy of Municipal Review Committee

About 30 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) was tipped at the Municipal Waste Solutions (formerly Coastal Waste) facility in Hampden, Maine, last week for the first time in more than three years.

Co-owned by the Orono, Maine-based Municipal Review Committee, which oversees solid waste management for 115 communities in Maine, and Innovative Resource Recovery, the facility closed in 2020 when a loan was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, MRC Executive Director Mike Carroll said last year.

The material recovery facility (MRF) entered receivership in 2020, according to an asset management letter from Boston-based CommonWealth Resource Management to the MRC, and the MRC has been working to start up operations since then.

RELATED: MRF and pulping plant now co-owned by Maine waste district | Coalition of municipalities poised to buy Hampden, Maine, recycling facility

After seeking a partner that could help provide capital to restart the facility, the MRC established in June what Carroll calls a “landmark agreement” with Innovative Resource Recovery, a firm reportedly backed by White Oak Financial LLC, to become co-owners of the facility.

Innovative Resource Recovery CEO James Condela, former CEO at Continuus Materials LLC, says he’s optimistic about the future of the partnership.

"Joining forces with Municipal Review Committee is a significant milestone for us," he says. "We are excited to contribute our expertise in resource recovery to the Hampden facility, working alongside MRC to revolutionize waste management practices and foster a circular economy. Together, we are creating a partnership that is a model for other regions and communities to take for a more sustainable future for generations to come."

Innovative says it continues to advance engineering and development efforts on all fronts for the plant restart. A flurry of workers has been on-site, cleaning, greasing and maintaining equipment, Carroll says in a news release.

Within weeks of the ownership change, Innovative and MRC worked with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for approval to bring 30 tons of waste into the MWS facility from five different MRC communities to run a processing test through the MRF equipment and conduct a study of what is in the waste stream.

CP Manufacturing, a division of San Diego-based CP Group, has twice visited the site during testing to help initiate operations, the MRC says.

About the MRF

While typical MRFs divert 10 percent to 30 percent of materials from landfills, the MRC says the Hampden facility is capable of diverting 60 to 80 percent of materials, preserving dwindling landfill space for true waste with no beneficial reuse and keeping disposal costs low for residents.

The MRC says the facility is the first in the nation with an integrated pulper. Plastics, metals and cardboard are recovered. The remaining mixture of trash and paper is treated with water, and the paper breaks down into pulp. Through pulping, the facility can recycle fiber-based materials, such as dirty paper plates, coffee cups and pizza boxes, the owners say. These can then be washed and put toward beneficial reuse such as in the form of renewable natural gas (RNG). The RNG is used to power the facility, offsetting fossil fuels. In the future, it could also be used locally as a natural gas substitute to lower Maine’s carbon footprint, the owners add.