New Hampshire bill would limit out-of-state trash

New Hampshire lawmakers have proposed new legislation that would prevent trucks from bringing waste from beyond state borders, according to the Concord Monitor.

One bill would prohibit new landfills from having private ownership, giving the state authority to restrict the types of waste accepted, while a second would limit the out-of-state trash a landfill can accept. While private entities would still be permitted to operate landfills, ownership rights for new landfills would be reserved for the state, county, town or city.

However, the proposed regulation would not affect existing privately owned landfills, such as Turnkey Landfill in Rochester and North Country Environmental Services Landfill in Bethlehem.

The bills follow the establishment of a committee to study how much waste is arriving in New Hampshire from other states. The study committee recommended placing a moratorium on construction of new landfills until the state has improved its solid waste management plan.

Almost half of New Hampshire’s trash comes from out-of-state, according to the story, with 900,000 tons dumped in commercial landfills in 2020, and the bills addressing out-of-state trash are reported to have bipartisan support in the New Hampshire legislature.

“People don’t want New Hampshire to be the dumping ground of New England,” Rep. David Rochefort, a Republican, told the Concord Monitor. “It benefits a few corporations. But aside from that, it actually is a detriment to more people than it is a benefit.”

Rochefort says he plans to introduce additional legislature in January to cap the out-of-state trash accepted by landfills at 15 percent.

The text of New Hampshire House Bill 1145 can be viewed here.